Now there’s just a handful of days to get your Halloween duds ready. The costume stores were probably busy this past weekend with all the house parties. Growing up I heard the story told and re-told about my stint as Little Red Riding Hood one rainy Halloween. It wasn’t raining when my dad and I left the house, but it was predicted that evening, so we took an umbrella along. Too bad trying to use an umbrella around a porchful of kids didn’t work out so great and I ended up getting wet, so my dad took me home and we made it a very early night. Unfortunately, my costume was red satin and not colorfast so I had red dye all over my warm, light-colored coat and it ruined it. A lesser evil was that I toted along a paper shopping bag with the Big Bad Wolf’s picture emblazoned on each side which was part of the get-up. Sure, it looked cute, but that sack got wet as well, plus I dragged it on the ground and lost most of my candy before I got home. So much for magical memories for that particular Halloween.

I like checking out the kids’ costumes when I pass out candy, but sometimes I’m not familiar with the trendy characters. Most of the trick-or-treaters at my door are older kids anyway, and they just don a “Scream” mask or go as themselves – not so imaginative for the latter idea. Last year I had three kids, maybe one the year before. But you don’t want to leave the light off signifying no candy and thus risk damage to your house. The last time I went trick-or-treating was age ten, the first year we lived in the U.S. I went as a hobo, dressed in my father’s old flannel shirt stuffed with a pillow inside, some ratty denim jeans and an old pillowcase filled with crumpled-up newspapers on the end of my mother’s mop handle which represented all my worldly possessions. An old fedora was plopped on my head and my mom, who used to smoke in those days, saved some ashes from her ashtray and smeared the cold ashes all over my cheeks to resemble a few days’ growth of beard. We strived to have me resemble Red Skeleton’s character of Freddy the Freeloader.

Have you seen this clever glow-in-the-dark, stick-figure costume a proud dad made for his toddler? It is so innovative and I wonder how many people will try to copy it for their kids? Have a look and give yourself a grin: http://www.ryot.org/toddlers-awesome-led-stick-figure-costume-wins-halloween/439069