...from, what else, an economist's point of view: link .

So let's do something to reform Halloween. The first step would be for Halloween donors to give kids money instead of candy. Kids could then go to the supermarket the next day and binge on the candies they really like.

And then there's Christmas: link (pdf)

(HT: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/ )

While the former article is at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the latter isn't, and the topic, as far as we economists and economics geeks are concerned, is deadly serious. I don't know about other folks, but in my family we stopped bothering with Christmas gifts by the time we were teenagers. Once my parents found that they had to ask me or my brothers what we wanted, it became pretty obvious that there wasn't much point, and that they might as well just give us cash. That, or they'd bake cinnamon bread and give it to everyone in the family as a Christmas gift. Dirt-cheap to make, tasty, and something you just can't buy in a store.

On the other hand, I know other families where everyone gives everyone else gifts every year, regardless of age, and the gifts are often both (1) excessively expensive and (2) not particularly desired by their recipients. It's the sort of thing that makes me want to shout, "STOP!!! Don't you people realize that you are just throwing money down the drain with this ridiculous Christmas gift giving?" And it would be one thing if these people had more money than they knew what to do with, but some of these folks don't have extra money to be throwing down the drain. (Hint: once the collectors start calling about your student loans, once your cell phone service gets cut off for nonpayment, and when you're already deep in debt buying expensive furniture and electronics on store credit, you probably shouldn't be spending money on anything but the absolute necessities. I would think this would be obvious, but apparently not to everyone.)

Perhaps the best gifts I ever got were in the form of IRA contributions. My parents would put money in an IRA in my name rather than giving it to me as a check. The money grows tax-free; there are limits on withdrawing it until you retire (you can't just blow it on the stuff teenagers might normally blow money on); and it helps instill good practices about retirement savings at a young age. Once the account is open, you can no longer use the excuse that "oh, I know I really *should* open an IRA and start saving for my retirement, but [insert excuse here]." Once the account is open, many providers will even send you envelopes every year, reminding you that all you need to do is write a check and mail it back to them to make this year's contribution. There are a lot of people these days who are quite irresponsible in their saving/spending habits, so getting kids to start saving money at a young age is definitely something more parents should do.