Gaudiness Refuses to RIP

It started out as a single day. October 31. Halloween. A day for school kids to dress up—mostly in handmade costumes—and have a party. Bobbing for apples. Silly games. Freshly baked cupcakes and homemade apple cider. Then, near sundown, the trek through the neighborhood trick or treating.

Now it’s a season. A month-long celebration of gaudiness. Plastic tombstones, phony ghosts, blowup spiders, fake cobwebs, and a plethora of other lawn monstrosities. The costumes—once a work of art in their creativity—are now mostly bland replicas of the latest “in” thing. How much money do Americans spend on all this tacky stuff? A total of $8 billion in 2012 ($2 billion in candy and $6 billion in stuff). Is all this stuff really worth it? All the RIP signs I see around this time of year all scream the same message: Gaudiness refuses to “rest in peace.”

Thankfully, we live in a country where you are free to make your front yard the eyesore of your street. You are free to make believe your landscape is spooky. You are free to drop loads of money on all this pretend paraphernalia. You are even free to believe that you are enriching your neighborhood in the process.

I’m not anti-Halloween. My wife and I give out candy and love seeing some of the cool costumes—especially the creative handmade ones—worn by the neighborhood kids. But if you really want to make someone’s day in a meaningful way, skip the gaudiness in your yard and make a financial donation to your local food pantry or homeless shelter this Halloween. It’s one of the greatest “treats” you can give to those in your community.

If everyone did this, just imagine how much good $6 billion could do!