18

I know I'm not the only Gen X Mom who loves Halloween. What's not to love? It involves dressing up, hanging out past bedtime with friends and eating sweets-- three of the best things in the world. In addition, it does not involve any of the more problematic elements of some other holidays: visiting with annoying relatives, sitting in church or spending lots of money on people you don't know very well but with whom you're somehow obligated to exchange gifts.

Retailers, however, have caught on to Halloween's hip potential, and capitalizing on the suburban zeitgeist of "no occasion is truly great unless we've dropped a wad of cash at Target," turned this holiday into a 6 Billion dollar industry, second only to Christmas.  Now you can buy Halloween lights for your Halloween tree, animatronic Halloween displays for your yard and Halloween accessories for your Halloween themed and decorated events.  Several years ago, as this themed merchandise began to trickle into the aisles, it was exciting. I thought, "Yes! This is my holiday! Let's celebrate! Let's buy!" They had me right where they wanted me. Now, as all this spooky plastic landfill fodder has become more and more aggressive, appearing earlier each year, taking up more aisle space, all the while getting cheaper and more generic, I say enough.