It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Its my favorite time of year. I love Halloween. I love candy, and scary movies and spook alleys (I'm taking my son to his first this year!) I'm far from the PTA resident Halloween expert (that would be Topher, who I believe picks out his costume about 8 months in advance) but when I came home from work last night and all the Halloween decorations were out, it made me smile.

The other day I introduced my kids to one of my childhood Halloween traditions, watching the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. That crazy, cooky, old-fashioned cartoon voiced entirely by Bing Crosby.

I probably hadn't watched this movie for about 15 years, and it was as delightful and as charming as I remember it to be. But it was also kind of crazy. I was amazed at how odd it was.

It feels very grown up. It makes no apologies about the lyrics it uses and doesn't dumb it down for the kids at all, even though it is a kids cartoon. It uses words like "debonair" and "elucidate." Can you imagine Twitch from the Fresh Beat Band saying "elucidate?" I don't think so. Remember Katrina, and how she is kind of a jerk? That wouldn't fly on TV today. My friend Kacy said this much better than I am saying it now, but it feels like kids shows are dumbed down for kids now. There was probably a lot of marketing money and child psychology that went into why Dora yells so much, but all I'm saying is we're still watching Bing Crosby sing about the odd schoolmaster 60 years later. Take that, Backpack.

But my kids still loved it. It definitely holds up. They laughed when the short lady danced around like a crazy person, just like I remember laughing when I was younger. They were a little spooked out by the cackle of the Horseman as he chased Ichabod through the hollow. And they were puzzled by the ending (spoiler!) Did Ichabod die? Was the Horseman Brom Bones? I still don't know the answers.

So happy Halloween season. Bring on the candy corn, autumn leaves, pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored everything. Just don't make me watch The Fresh Beat Band Halloween special. I don't think I can handle it.