By the time we finally got out the door on Halloween night, Olivia and Mateo had undergone costume changes too numerous to count. From pirate to ghost, from princess to fairy, until sometime during dinner Mateo announced that what he really wanted to be was Santa Claus. Lucky for me, I was able to put my hand on a St. Nick hat bought a few Christmases ago, which paired nicely with Mateo’s red pajamas, black belt, and red sneakers. Unlike the original Mr. Claus, this Santa was clean-shaven. After a few itchy attempts, Mateo opted to forego the fake beard.

At her school party on Friday, Olivia had been her usual favorite, a cat, but after witnessing Mateo’s transformation, she also changed her mind. “Vampire,” she said, and I won’t bore you with the machinations required to scare up that costume. When Tim returned home with a plastic bag, we noticed the costume’s “collar” was missing. Being the creative girl that she is, Olivia cut one out of cardboard and colored it with red marker. No matter. For Olivia, a vampire costume is all about the sleeves.

There’s no denying that Halloween has gotten out of control in the United States: What other country in the world celebrates a holiday that so blatantly promotes tooth decay? But how can we resist? One night a year, our neighborhood comes alive with packs of roving children, laughing teens, and babies dressed up like bumblebees. For the next few days, our kids will sort through their Skittles and Dots, M&Ms and Reese’s, trading away the ones they don’t like, and keeping the ones they do. (Anything dark chocolate, feel free to pass my way.)

For the next few weeks, I’ll make dire predictions about our next visit to the dentist. But right now, nobody is listening.

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