My daughter has always loved Halloween.
It brings together some of her very favourite things: dressing up, socialising, and free food.
While at seven that meant wearing a princess costume and trick or treating with her friends, now it means becoming a mini-skirted version of Red Riding Hood and trying to party on a school night. (We said no.)
I realise for some readers Halloween is a weird American tradition that we don't go in for, but I can tell you, the younger generation have embraced it wholeheartedly.
There are some things about Halloween I like - tell me another day when neighbours wander around meeting each other and talking, while the kids burn up their sugar high rushing wildly between houses - and there are some things I don't.
I just can't relate to the whole "it's fun to be frightened" thing.
I personally loathe horror movies, rollercoasters, surprise pranks, and anything else that is aimed at having me fear for my life.
Geez, isn't life hard enough without adding that pressure?
I don't find it funny or fun and I can't understand why anyone would. It's a reminder to me that people really are very different. For instance, some people like maths and team sports as well. So confusing.
I was chatting with my daughter about inappropriate Halloween costumes, and what makes them off limits. For example, a Ku Klux Klansman or a Nazi officer would be pretty awful choices, because the real and lasting impact of their particular evil is still very much being felt.
But then I wondered: why is it okay to dress as a murder victim? Or decorate your front lawn with skeletons, hanging victims or fake dead bodies?
I know some people consider something like Halloween a healthy reminder of death, or a chance to laugh at the bogeyman, but I'd rather swap my pumpkin for a watermelon (it's not autumn here, guys!), and carve a happy face.
That'll give the trick or treaters something to smile about, apart from lollies.
