Fun and play foster creativity and connection, yet adults often lose easy access to them.

Cultures around the world use costumes and masks to make fun more accessible.

Social media has made costume play a daily habit, with real benefits and real costs.

Real life is often funnier than fiction. Case in point. I wrote this post on Halloween in a witch costume, sitting in a museum hotel in St. Louis, where I'd come for a baby shower. It sounds like a game of Mad Libs, but every word is true.

After years of reflecting on kindness, I enjoyed the irony of my outfit. And I had plenty of company.

"Witch" is the most popular adult costume this year, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey, with an estimated 4.8 million American adults planning to dress as one.

We start doing it early. Children try on roles constantly: superhero, doctor, astronaut, princess, or monster. Pretend play is how kids test out identities and feelings. In a cape, a child can be brave for an afternoon and see how bravery feels. A toddler pushing a doll in a stroller is trying on what it might feel like to care for someone the way Mom or Dad does.

Adults rarely get that opportunity. Halloween gives it back to us. For one night, we can be spooky, silly, sexy, or whatever strikes our fancy.

And we take that fun seriously. The National Retail Federation expected half of Americans to dress in costume this year, spending about $4.4 billion. Even pets are part of this, with pumpkin and hot dog costumes topping their list.

Fun can seem like a luxury, something we get to once the serious work is done. Psychologists suggest otherwise. Barbara Fredrickson's "broaden-and-build"........

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