While shoppers were grabbing scary Halloween costumes last week, Brenda and Walt Smith were searching for Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus outfits.

Their grandson, Nicholas Turner, is headed to Afghanistan this month, and the Smiths on Sunday gave him the Christmas celebration he will miss this year.

Their home on Blanche Drive was decorated with a Christmas tree, fully lit, train underneath. And people came — about 21 family members and friends — to play games and give him a Christmas he won’t easily forget.

The night before, children who walked to the house to trick-or-treat were thoroughly confused.

“They came to the door for Halloween and asked if we were trick-or-treating when they saw the Christmas tree up,” Mrs. Smith said.

She anticipated that, but the plan was already in motion. The Smiths wanted Turner to have a good memory, something to look back on while he’s a long way from home.

Turner, who is in the Marine Corps, is based in Hawaii but was training a bomb-sniffing dog in California before he came home. He went to school in Virginia to learn how to use the dog, Kayla, which is in Hawaii awaiting his return.

Mrs. Smith — Nana to her eight grandchildren — said Turner was a military man in the making for most of his life. By the time he was in the eighth grade, his mother joked to Nana that she was the only mom around whose son had a survival kit under his bed for his immediate family.

While a student at Paulding County High School, Turner was in Delta Force, an ROTC training program. He earned the honors of Best All Around for three years in a row, Nana said. After graduation, he decided he wanted to be a Marine.

“That’s where his heart is,” Nana said. “He’s married to the Marines.”

Turner has already been to Iraq, where he saw a friend and fellow soldier killed by a shot to the head, his grandmother said. They were in a Humvee. But Turner’s persona belies any trace of fear. And if his family is a little scared, they’re not saying.

His fraternal twin brother, Patrick, said he is proud of his brother. “He’s doing a good thing, I love him,” he said.

On Monday afternoon, Turner taped a segment with Mayor Mickey Thompson that will air on CITI-TV. He talked about his favorite topic: the military.

The 20-year-old is a fan of the History Channel and can watch hour after hour of it, Nana said. She said a family member was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed, and Turner has been able to identify with that history while in Hawaii.

Turner leaves for Hawaii in a couple of days, with pleasant memories of Christmas and the love and support of his family.

And those Santa Claus outfits?

It was still October, and even Party City didn’t have them in yet.