I love Halloween. Love, love, love. It's my favorite. Not to minimize the problems (Hi there, business that prominently displays intensely gorey, life-sized horror mannequins along a vital thoroughfare! You guys are jerks!), but I had a bit of a rude guffaw reading the blog of a crunchy granola mum the other day who was ever so gently wringing her hands over the meaninglessness and commercialism of Halloween. I have personally found Halloween to be hugely community-spirited, and (besides the trick-or-treat candy we buy, which, as evidenced by our deeply religious neighbors' dark house and "No Candy" sign, is totally optional) actually refreshingly free of expense and commercial hassle.
Without buying anything, my kids and I enjoy looking at the decorations at Target and our grocery store, both always very mild, avoid the costume aisles (typically a bit of horror there), and give creepy movies, Halloween and party stores, and homes that prefer adult-sized scares a wide berth, and we've always found a few fun and creative activities to do that don't cost anything.
No new stuff comes into the house that isn't going to be ingested (and flagrantly poached by the parents, I'll admit), we have a great time carving pumpkins, we see our neighbors dressed up and giving a friendly wave and a smile from the curb as their kids come to our door, we drink cider and cocoa and admire whatever random doofy costume our oldest comes up with every year despite having purchased something specific.
So much fun, cranky kids who stayed up far too late and ate rather more sugar than anyone should, ever, notwithstanding. That does actually suck a little bit.