Hallowe'en doesn't have to be fightful

What killjoys grown-ups can be - half of parents surveyed by the professional killjoy association, the Children's Safety Education Foundation, say they won't be allowing their children to trick or treat this Hallowe'en. They are worried about children's safety, the reaction of the elderly, and generally disapprove of the American import.

If I tried to ban Hallowe'en in my house it would be like calling off Christmas, such is the excitement. My five-year-old has been planning to be a witch, with her sister as her cat and her brother as her ghostly sidekick, for weeks. The combination of fancy dress, going outside past bedtime, the frisson of fear and free sweets is irresistible.

Of course I only think this is acceptable because they are all small and extremely unthreatening. Last year we went trick-or-treating round Notting Hill and the pavements were like Oxford Street at sale time: the throng was so deep that sometimes you couldn't move. Apart from the dads tagging along trying to spot Claudia Schiffer, there were hordes of hoodies in face paint, taller than me, with menacing airs. There needs to be a cut off point at about 5ft, or age 10, whichever is first.

Furthermore, the fun should stop at 8pm, beyond which the oversized horrors turn up and the mood changes, like Sunday turning into Monday at the Carnival. Nobody wants a round-up of the usual suspects wearing masks and demanding goodies on their doorstep at 10 o'clock at night.

Perhaps the credit crunch will have reined in last year's excesses: there were American bankers' houses decked out with pumpkin-scented Jo Malone candles, models of full-sized witches, and pricey cupcakes in the place of trashy E-number sweets. What a relief it will be for everyone to provide mini Mars Bars that look like they've been squashed in the glove compartment. (Otherwise M&S has really let the creative juices run, with a perky selection of five-for-four treats such as "snake eggs", 99p milk chocolate eggs with a decorated candy shell and a huge sack of "witches' toes" £1.99 own brand Wotsits.)

Hallowe'en needn't be a fright for the grown-ups if it's kept for those too small for Hogwarts, tricks are banned, and the treats are small, cheap and inconsequential. That should see off the Asbos in scream masks on a sugar rush and the over-leveraged Masters of the Universe dispensing lavish bonuses to those who haven't earned them.