Favorite thing about Halloween?

Simplest thread ever, but:

What’s your own personal favorite thing about Halloween?

Love the dressing up, love the spooky TV episodes, love the thematic foods: graveyard pudding, Halloween Cap’n Crunch, readily available caramel apples & cider, etc.

Apple cider. Though I like mine chilled, not hot.

Getting a peek inside of strangers’ houses.

Of course I don’t trick-or-treat anymore, being too old to go for myself and not having any children to take, but when I was a trick-or-treating participant, that was really my favorite part. All of those doors you pass by every day and never get to open, but on this one magical evening all you have to do is walk up and knock and not only does it opens right up, they give you candy, too!

I look forward to the leftover Halloween candy marked down at the supermarket on November 1. Gonna get me some Reese cup pumpkins for 80% off.

Dressing up. Making costumes and doing something to totally change your everyday appearance is great fun.

Mom and I refer to November 1, December 26 and February 15 as “National Half-Price Chocolate Day”. :smiley:

My friends and I have been carving pumpkins together since about 1999, so that is my favorite part.

My other friends have been having a Halloween party every year for I don’t know how long, and now that I’ve found my costume confidence (I have Halloween costume…issues) I enjoy that too.

Leftovers. We’re supposed to have torrential rains tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to all the saltwater taffy.

I really enjoyed this part too.

Now I just enjoy the candy.

Horror movies and halloween tv specials.

I LOVE trick or treating. I enjoy seeing all the kids in costume and some neighbors I only see this one time a year. This year will be extra special because it’s numero uno grandson’s first Halloween. My son, dil, baby and I are all dressing up as Harry Potter characters. I expect to make extensive use of the video function on my smart phone. :smiley:

French Maids, Sexy Stewardesses, etc. That’s really about it for me.

None of it really. My kids get excited. I get free candy, but is it really free when I have to walk eight blocks for the discards?

^^^^^ That. ^^^^^

Also the day after Easter.

That when it’s over, the real holiday season begins.

Seriously. Halloween is a stumbling block to happiness.

I love that Halloween is much easier to ignore than Christmas.

I’m Pagan, so we celebrate Samhain. I enjoy the bonfires, the feasting, and the turning of the wheel.
My group of friends also has a Halloween party every year where we get ridiculously drunk, and it’s always good fun.

I like seeing other people get dressed up; it’s a neat insight into a person’s preferences, psyche, and/or resources.

I also liked an opinion I read online that Halloween is one of the few major holidays in the U.S. where it’s celebrated because people WANT to celebrate it and have fun, not because they’re pressured by their families or society or tradition or whatever to get gifts or travel to meet relatives or whatever. I see the point in it.

This was written by a person who is not obligated to costume children and walk them around the neighborhood after dark, soothe them when they’re scared silly by That Neighbor’s decorations, then deal with their sugar-high at bedtime.

I truly dislike Halloween, but I have a daughter, so I can’t ignore it.