Over the years, I've figured out some tips and tricks to making Halloween fun, even for people like me who aren't really Halloween people. 

Here are my tips for a happy, pumpkin-spice free Halloween:

Stock up on your Halloween essentials early! You know Halloween is coming, it definitely happens every year. So do yourself a solid and pick up your huge bags of ridiculously small candy bars as soon as possible! Or just suck it up and be proud to be the house giving out nickels (your call).

Make sure to sort those assorted bags of miniature candy into "candy I really like" and "candy I feel meh about" before the kids start coming around so that you don't get stuck with a pumpkin head full of Mounds bars at the end of the night. No one needs that.

 

 You don't have to stick to pumpkins to decorate! It may be decorative gourd season, but beautiful, seasonal faux floral stems will still look pretty through November. Choose faux florals in a limited color palette (think warm fall tones) with lots of different textures for the most interesting arrangements. 

Reward the kids with the creative, homemade costumes! Can we all agree that the Elsas and Annas get one pack of Skittles, but the awesome walking bubble gum machine or an old school television set that you know this kid made from things in their house and spent a few hours on gets three Milky Way bars?

Our neighborhood gets a good number of trick or treaters, so I like to keep dinner simple because I'm just jumping up and down to wrestle my dog at the front door every few minutes. My favorite dinner on Halloween is chili, because it's one of those magical dishes that the longer you ignore it while you're cooking, the more delicious it is.

My favorite homemade chili recipe calls for a tiny bit of cocoa powder, which means it pairs well with kit-kat bars. 

I have this rule that chili must be accompanied by freshly baked cornbread. You can find my top secret, super artisan, closely held family recipe for cornbread here.

If you have a dog, and your dog still doesn't understand what on earth is happening on Halloween, despite your best efforts to explain it to the dog every year, make sure you at least make an awesome costume for the pup. That way every time she starts barking at the kids at the door, you'll at least have the pleasure of looking over and laughing because she's dressed like a hot dog.