When I was a kid, it was relatively common to dress up as a “hobo.” Thinking back, I suppose this could have been offensive in the same way as dressing up as a homeless person (since that’s essentially what a hobo is), but it was always that sort of fictionalized “wandering hobo” type character that you’d see in old cartoons.

And, it was always more creative than just wearing last year’s clothes. We’d wear our dads old trench coats, rub dirt on them, get the fingerless gloves, the ratty hat, use makeup to draw a fake beard…it was a real costume!

As for decorating your lawn with garbage, that’s got to be the stupidest suggestion I’ve ever heard. That’s like saying, “empty a trash bag on your lawn and call it Halloween decorations.”

Another year, my brother made me a robot by using a large white box and gluing pinwheels near the top as eyes, and cutting a hole out for the mouth (where I could see out of. Those were my favorite costumes, and super cheap!

Happy Halloween to you:)

Here comes November!
kayellen

Dressing kids as homeless people is exactly the kind of ignorant, classist advice I’d expect from the major media outlets (wow – that was the shotest I’ve ever ranted!)

Goodwill is a great idea for costumes. My son’s going to be “Optimus Prime” which was actually pretty cheap at Target.

Take care,

John