As you probably know, animation writing happens a long, long time before the show is on TV.  Somewhere between a year to two…And at its absolute fastest, nine months.  As a result, we’re often writing stories that take place in drastically different seasons to whatever we’re experiencing.  That Halloween special can be penned in July for next year’s holiday, leaving you craving candy corn and cursing Trader Joe’s for declaring pumpkin bread mix a seasonal item.  Or it can be sleeting out, but your characters are enjoying a beach day.  That kind of thing.

You can bemoan the fact that you are in bizarro season land, OR, you can embrace the situation and celebrate the holidays twice (or as many times as necessary).  Why not bust out that Egon Spengler jumpsuit for a trip to the store in January if it gets your writing into the Halloween spirit?  And I say yes to chocolate bunnies, even in scorching conditions where they’ll melt in your car into eared goo-puddles if left there for 30 seconds.  Try not to get confused when you’re making a turkey and writing valentines – those are two types of heart nobody wants to get mixed up.

In a town where the year is marked by Oscars, Staffing Season, and Emmys, you can declare it to be any holiday you want!