Halloween treats

OK, I admit it. My munchkins are unique. Take their Halloween experience, for example.

Instead of racing door to door demanding candy like the other crazed goblins in our neighborhood, they wanted to stay home and hand out candy. And not just when kids rang the doorbell.

They solicited trick-or-treaters. Threw open the door and Who II bellowed, in her best Ethel Merman impersonation, "HEY, KIDS! We got a LOT of CANDY HERE!"

Then, they'd yell, "You have to ring the doorbell!" and slam the door, refusing to open it until the goblins did their bidding.

Who I would carefully count the number of kids awaiting treats, then dole out the appropriate amount of treats. Who II had door duty, opening and closing, hollering "BYE BYE!" as the ghouls and monsters (and a couple of girls dressed as the "Deal or No Deal" bimbos) trotted off to their next conquest.

Baby Who was adorable in her pumpkin costume and scoped out the treat bowl -- even figuring out how to unwrap a lollipop all by herself.

Imagine the disappointment when 8 p.m. came and we informed the Big Whos that all the trick-or-treaters were back at their houses, basking in sugar highs. "No, some people might still come," Who I insisted. She finally gave up the ghost about 8:15.

Now, don't think I've sucked the joy out of the ghostly activities. They DID trick-or-treat at preschool -- and came home with such a mother lode that I could have avoided buying candy at all and just "regifted" what they got. They'll NEVER eat it all in a year. And they did visit a handful of houses in the neighborhood to show off their costumes and see their friends. But their true joy was in giving out the candy.

'Tis definitely better to give than receive, even on Halloween.