Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year. Smack dab in the middle of the week. When I was a child, this posed no problems. I could go out around town and collect candy on any day of the week. If this would still work today and I wouldn’t be frowned upon by society, I would be out there now.

But no, things have changed. We have a problem this year. I’m not about to preach about how we as a society have drifted from and are losing sight of the true meaning of Halloween. Like it or not, this is what Halloween has become. For college students, Halloween has become a reason to party. It’s an opportunity to use your imagination, or leave little to the imagination. For many, the closest thing to candy corn they will have on Halloween will come from a bottle and served from a shot glass. Costumes will be planned, will be worn and will be torn apart. It only comes around once a year after all.

Or does it? Does one celebrate Halloween the weekend before, or the weekend after? If you celebrate early, the excitement and anticipation for Halloween is still there, but no matter how you put it, it is still three or four days before. But if you wait for the weekend after, Halloween has already passed. The excitement and the build-up are over. Plus, it’s November. Who celebrates Halloween in November? It’s like celebrating Christmas in July or New Year’s in December. It just doesn’t happen.

So the big question is which weekend will you choose? If you choose the early bird special, you will be treated to unseasonably warm weather this weekend, with a high temperature around 70 degrees. If you are a slowpoke, expect temperatures around 50. Those dressing up as a sexy nurse or a risqué paralegal will not be too happy. Chalk this one up for the pre-Halloween crowd.

On the other hand, the extra week can be helpful. It offers more planning time for the costume, more time to plan a party or more time to figure out just what you’re doing that night. Plus, think of how cool celebrating in November could be. Having Halloween in October is a mainstream concept. That is what everyone else does. Not to mention, going for the later show offers a chance for one of my favorite parts of Halloween, the discount candy. That bag of candy pumpkins and fun size candy bars that was two bucks the week before is suddenly only a quarter. The same costume you would likely find yourself plopping 10 or 15 bucks for is now only a few dollars. Nothing like celebrating on a budget. “Novemberween” gets the edge here.

So what to do? Good weather and Halloween spirit, or cheap costumes and hipster appeal. At the end of the day, it’s up to you. If you can’t decide, just celebrate it twice. Three times if you count the actual day, which often gets overlooked. Grab a pumpkin beer, or more likely, a can of orange camo Busch. Go ahead, live it up, it only comes around once a year. Sort of.