How Many Days Until Halloween? 2 Days Left on Oct. 29

Two days separate tonight from Halloween. Halloween is two days out, on Saturday, October 31, with one working day and one weekend day remaining.

A single business day left means the planning phase is finished. What is left is a short list of things that need hands rather than decisions.

Tonight, in about an hour

Carve the pumpkins if they are still whole, then move them somewhere cool rather than leaving them on a warm porch. Test every flashlight and every battery light that will be used tomorrow, because a dead battery discovered at six in the evening on Halloween is not a fixable problem. Put the costume in one place, including socks and shoes, since the item that goes missing is almost never the costume itself.

Sort the candy for anyone in the household with an allergy, and keep the non-food treats in a separate bowl if both are going out. Check the forecast again and decide whether the setup moves under cover. Charge the phone, because a phone that dies while a child is out walking is the most common way an evening turns stressful.

Something else belongs on tonight’s list, and it has nothing to do with decorations. Decide who answers the door and for how long. A household planning to stop at eight thirty should know that in advance, because the alternative is a porch light left on and a stranger standing at the door at ten.

Anyone out for the evening should put the bowl somewhere covered rather than on an open step, and empty it on returning rather than leaving it out overnight.

Tomorrow belongs to workplaces

Friday belongs to offices rather than families. Most workplaces hold their Halloween events on October 30, since the holiday itself falls on a Saturday. A costume needed for a commute should be the version that can be worn sitting down, which is close to the opposite of the version worn on a sidewalk.

Tomorrow is also the last day to buy anything. Shops will be open on Saturday, but the shelves will hold whatever nobody else wanted, and the queue at a pharmacy on Halloween afternoon moves at its own pace.

By tomorrow evening the work is done. The porch light comes on at dusk, the bowl goes out, and the only remaining decision is how long to keep answering the door.