We are only a few days away from Halloween! Most of you were probably dressed as Honey Boo Boo or The Swamp people at a house party last night and will be heading to Costco today to load up for the 31st.
I am a huge fan of Halloween and I would like to see it as a holiday to spend with the kids, getting them ready to dress up, decorate and get the treats out.
On the other hand there is my wife Shelley Bo Belli. She hates Halloween - the dressing up, the nonsense as she calls it and having to answer your door every 15 seconds for kids.
Shelley was brought up on a farm so Mom and Dad just bought Candy for the kids. It's pretty hard to trick or treat when the next door is 2 miles away don’t ya know.
Every year I go to the Costco and buy the big bars. I remember what a score that was when we were kids, you had to spread the word of what house number on what street was the jackpot house and then we would run to be the first ones there.
Now Shelley loves Christmas way more than Halloween so I came across a great list compiled by Gerry Nicholls obviously a fan of the night of ghouls like myself and had quite a chuckle.
Here are just a few things on Gerry’s comparison.
There are no politically correct demands to replace “Happy Halloween “ with “ Happy Fall Festival” or “ Marry Costume Day.”
Nobody dares to sit you down and lecture you on the real meaning of Halloween.
You don’t have to have the in-laws over for the annual traditional Halloween dinner.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show destroys It’s a Wonderful Life; Frankenfurter’s Costume is way better than Santa’s.
There are no Halloween Parades to cause traffic jams.
Those are Gerry’s. We came up with a few of our own:
You can make a pumpkin pie when you are done with the decoration. Try eating a Spruce Tree.
People give you candy and money while you are wearing a mask and not even brandishing a gun. Santa makes you behave for an entire year.
We don’t have an entire month on Lite radio stations of horrible Halloween music like they do with Christmas carols.
It doesn’t take three days to put up your lights, just a few tombstones and a rubber Dracula do the trick.
You get to dress up and not be judged by your friends and co-workers.
You can look like a witch for one day and still be chosen as the Sunshine Girl.
You don’t need gift-wrapping, just an old pillowcase.
Santa Costumes are about it at Christmas; on Halloween you can dress like anyone on The Learning Channel and be a big hit.
Just a few Halloween facts and figures that are also quite astounding when it comes to what Canadian spend each year on the trick or treating, you have to consider costumes, candy, home decorations and things that go boo in the night.
Believe it or not, Halloween is the third most important retail season of the year for shopping. Quite astounding upward spiral in the last ten years.
A new poll from The Retail Council of Canada says a Canadian Family will spend about $75.00 to prepare for the big night, double that if you have three or more kids.
Most of the budget goes to candy as the decorations are used year after year, party people between 18 and 24 spend a way more because of adult costumes and alcohol consumption.
Quebecers seem to be the most in the spirit and are willing to spend more than any province on costumes and decorations.
There are those people who break the bank and the rules with huge light displays and fake graveyards and full haunted garages. They are my favourite folks of all.
So while Shelly hides in the basement watching a movie I will be happy to hand out the big bars and say hi to all the ghouls and goblins out in Lynx Ridge and say hi to the neighbours you always see at least once a year.
Happy Halloween everybody, Shelley will resurface again soon as I take down Dracula and put up the Christmas lights.
- Ger