The Halloween Fairy

Does the Halloween Fairy visit your house? No? Well, maybe she will this year!

On Halloween night, after all the children have gone to bed, the Halloween Fairy may pay a visit. Like her sister, the Tooth Fairy, the Halloween fairy likes a good deal, and is willing to barter. For the small price of a carefully selected bag of candy and other treats, this frugal, tummy-loving fairy will leave a special non-edible treat. At our house she has been known to leave a book or game for each child.

This is how my monsters prepare for her nocturnal visit: after trick-or-treating for an hour or two, my ghouls come home to empty their bags onto the kitchen table to scan and sort their loot. After I take out all the unwrapped, old-looking and otherwise too-nasty treats, the beasties are welcome to pick what they would like to keep. I've never set a limit on how much they can choose. I always say: "Take what you want". For the past two years, they've not kept more than 10-15 pieces each. As for the rest, the happily throw it back into their bags and hang them outside their bedroom doors in anticipation of the morning. They prepare for bed with glee and [I assume] dream of what the dawn will bring. They seem to believe that the "better" the bag, the "cooler" the gift will be. I've done nothing to temper that belief. :)

For the price of a couple dollars per kid, the Halloween Fairy helps them stay away from sugar overload and upset tummies. Hopefully this year, she'll remember to take the price tags off.

Usually the Fairy is kind enough to leave me a small stash of Smarties and other special snacks that can be used as bribes doled out as treats every once in a while to make me look like a hero. I'm sure the rest is composted *whistling innocently* or taken into work by the Fairy's good husband.

Here's a pic of my little freaks last year:

That's Fronk N. Shteen on the left, and Spider Fairy on the right. This year I have to come up with a Jedi master [where am I supposed to find a brown robe to fit such a skinny little dude?!] and a Fairy Witch Princess.

Wish me luck!