On Saturday, I got the opportunity to go trick-or-treating for the first time in many years.

I went trick-or-treating in Newport News with my cousin, her boyfriend and her son. Cole, my 5-year-old cousin whom I call my nephew, was dressed in a Spiderman costume, complete with a web-slinger.

My cousin and her boyfriend were dressed as boxers, with April wearing butterfly wings and Cas wrapped in stripes of yellow reflective tape. The idea was for them to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” but it didn’t quite work after April’s wings and Cas’s antennae fell off.

Meanwhile, I went in my usual not-working getup, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt I’ve had for about four years. At least the T-shirt had the Reese’s peanut butter cup logo on it, so I was somewhat Halloween-themed.

After I arrived at April’s place, we set off. At our first house, the nice lady who answered the door and gave Cole candy noted his mom’s costume and commented, “The adults seem to be enjoying this more than the kids.”

That theme continued throughout the night, as we found house after house with outrageous decorations, adults dressed in costume to hand out candy, spooky soundtracks playing in the background and seemingly no children who lived there. I’m sure many Suffolk trick-or-treaters can relate.

The novelty of trick-or-treating for the first time in about 14 years quickly wore off, as my legs became more tired and we saw the same children in the same costumes crossing our paths time and time again. The cutest one of the night (besides Cole, of course), was a tiny baby dressed in a tiger onesie.

Once we arrived back at the house, it was time for me to investigate the haul and steal the candy I wanted. Since chocolate is my favorite and Cole, for whatever reason, doesn’t really like chocolate, I usually get all of his Halloween candy I want.

This time around, however, practically the only chocolate Cole got was Reese’s cups, which is the only chocolate he likes. I couldn’t steal a 5-year-old’s favorite candy in good conscience.

Now that Halloween is over, the Christmas marketing in the stores that was out even at the beginning of October will now take over in full force. As another News-Herald columnist wrote several weeks ago, Christmas stuff appears in the stores earlier and earlier every year. I will not be surprised if the “Christmas season,” as determined by retail stores, eventually comes full circle and just never ends. In fact, on Sunday, I saw a lot that still had pumpkins for sale already advertising Christmas trees, arriving in a couple of weeks.

Hope everybody had a happy Halloween, and may you make it to New Year’s Day with your sanity intact.