we live short, meaningless lives - we have a few decades to experience as much as we can, and then we die horrible deaths.

your kids only get a few years worth of samhain to really experience and then they grow out of it. 

taking that away from them so that some geriatric they've never even met and won't even remember can live an extra three weeks is not teaching them anything except how to be stupid and miserable. it's the worst lesson in the history of the world.

and, if he was my dad, i'd flip him the bird and go out and have a good time - before i'm old and miserable, too.