When I was 3 years old, my mom dressed me up for Halloween as my treasured clock radio. Yes, for reasons I no longer understand, I spent an entire holiday dressed as a pre-iHome electronic wake-up call. I trick-or-treated that year encased in a giant cutout piece of white foam board, festooned with permanent marker buttons.

With Halloween around the corner, my roommates and I have to get ready for little kids coming up to our door trying to get their grubby hands on our hard-earned candy. Living off campus in a residential neighborhood means that there are going to be costumed critters running around on sugar highs.