The One Day of the Year It's Okay to Take Candy from Strangers

As much as there are elements of Halloween that I don't like, I'll admit that I find it kind of heartwarming that one day of the year, even the most curmudgeonly of neighbours buys a bag of candy, turns on the porchlight, and allows - nay, rewards - children to knock on his door and beg.

Our munchkins got fully into the spirit of things. Behold, the Snow Princess and the "Mutant Ninja Turtle":

His costume came with a mask, but he didn't want to wear it. So everyone thought he was a knight.

Trick or treating was lots of fun. We had to have a few etiquette lessons: at the first houses, The Boy announced that he does not like peanut butter or chocolate, which led to some people apologizing that it's all they had. He blithely said, "that's okay" before coming back to his mortified parents who instructed him to simply smile and say thank you.

This being Minnesota, 8 out of 10 houses count a dog as one of the occupants. There were a few occasions where The Girl would run up to a door, ready to hold open her bag and then scream and run even faster back to where we were waiting on the sidewalk. Never fear, her TMNT brother was there to save the day, and he would yell at the owner of the carnivorous canine "is he friendly?! Is he FRIENDLY?!" until he could turn around and assure his quaking sister that all was well.

We only did a few blocks, but managed to come up with a fair amount of loot:

The requisite check for razor blades and needles

The spoils of victory

The Boy also had his very first Pixie Stick yesterday. His response: "Now *that's* good."

Of course, all the excitement and pixie-stick-action (bollocks on all those studies who say that sugar does not cause hyperactivity) led to a late bedtime and a verrrrry cranky morning. The kids were a bit grouchy, too.