Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

Since Christmas decorations are in the stores, I guess it's time to start thinking about Halloween.

In truth, my kids have been thinking about Halloween for weeks. The Professor wants to put up gravestones and scary ghosts ("But not too scary, Mommy.") in the yard. (Me, I want zombie arms.) And BamBam has been changing into costumes from the dress-up box and asking "Today is Ha-ween?" almost daily. And last weekend, my parents took The Minions to a Pumpkin Patch. So, I need to start planning this year's Pumpkin Post Mortems, as well.

And then there's the costumes.

My kids have changed their minds so many times this year about what they want to dress up as, that I can't even keep them straight anymore.

I can't figure out if it's best to just make them pick something early to give me the time to purchase/make whatever we need ... or to just let them keep randomly cycling through their preferences until the week before Halloween and then *shudder* fight the crowds to get what they want.

So far this year, The Minions have "decided" they want to be:

• Batman and Robin
• Adam and Jamie from Mythbusters
• A Knight and Dragon (which is what they were last year)
• Jedi (two years ago)
• Shaggy and Scooby
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Superman and Batman
• Indiana Jones and Chewbacca*

I suspect they will settle shortly on Batman and Robin. You'll note that The Minions tend to forgo the more traditional ghosts and witches and vampires and even the more mundane police officer or firefighter or doctor. They tend to gravitate toward more geeky guises. I can't imagine where they get that from.  Ahem.

And yes, I am the dork who thinks its fun to dress my kids up in matching outfits. In fact, one of these days (before the boys think Mom and Dad are so totally unhip that they can't hang out with us anymore) I'm going to get my act together and plan costumes for all four of us around a theme.

Because, yes, I'm also the dork that thinks it's still fun for adults to dress up for Halloween, too. The ZenHusband and I have been doing it since before The Minions even came along.

< tangent >

What is it about Halloween that brings out the inner slut in so many women?

I admit that I've been somewhat guilty of this one myself: The ZenHusband and I did Batgirl/Penguin one year (tight); Peter Pan/Cap'n Hook another year (sorta skimpy) and Pirate/Wench (cleavage-y) yet another year. (We're still planning to do a Red Riding Hood/Big Bad Wolf combo one year, too. But we're looking for just the right wolf costume.) So, yeah, I've worn costumes that were a leeettle bit on the risque side. But, I think, still within a certain level of decorum.

I don't have anything against "sexy" costumes, per se. But, wow! Some of the costumes I've seen women sporting look like they came out of a fetish magazine. Or at least Playboy. It's getting to the point where you can hardly even find an costume that's not overly sexualized.

And I suspect that most of the women wearing these x-rated costumes are all buttoned-up-and-denim 364 days a year. But October 31 rolls around and that gives them an excuse to go all fishnets and stilettos and barely-there. Why is that?

I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if these women were built like the models on the costume packaging. But, really? A-Cup Vampira and Muffin-Top Wonder Woman are just wrong.

< /tangent > 

Bottom line: While Thanksgiving feasts are great and I do love me some Xmas mornings, Halloween is, to my mind, the big winner on the Holiday Fun-o-Meter. And I'm ready to get revved up for this year's Spooky doin's.

How do YOU "do" Halloween?

Quivering with antici ...
Zen

*Okay, so technically, Indiana Jones and Chewbacca don't "match" like the others, but my ruling on the field is to allow it under a general "George Lucas" theme.

Post Title: Do I really have to tell you this one?