Here’s a suggestion: Don’t dress up this Halloween

Around this time of year, a dull sense of panic sets in. Next week is Halloween. It’s on a Tuesday, because of course it is, which means the parties will be this weekend. You’ve got just a few days to figure out what you’re doing.

There are plenty of people who get a rush at this time every year. They love Halloween, and love dressing up. They want to be the one in the most eye-catching, cleverest costume. They’re OK with spending upwards of $100 on one that’ll really pop. They want to spend hours researching. The whole process makes them feel great, which is super cool.

But then there are the people who think, “Man, I really wish I didn’t have to deal with this.”

It’s a totally understandable stance. You’re tired. The news cycle is exhausting. You have other things to stress about, to spend money on. And yet days before Halloween you’re forced to think, “What the hell am I going to be?”

And let us stop you right there. Just stop thinking entirely. Stop every train of thought you have.

Let us tell you this: You don’t have to. You don’t have to dress up. You don’t have to do anything. You’re not hurting anyone by not dressing up.

If your answer to the question, “Do you want to dress up in the next week?” is “No,” then you have your answer.

If you’re reading this article then you are of an age that you can read. (Congrats!) So you are also of the age to make your own decisions as far as Halloween plans.

If you don’t want to dress up, then don’t. There is no rule. There is no law. Relax a little.

“But what if I want to go to a Halloween party?!”

This is a logical question, so let us tell you what will happen if you indeed don’t dress up, and go to a party.

You dress up in an outfit of your choice. You walk into the party. A person (who’s probably highly inebriated) walks up to you and says, “Hey, what are youuuuu dressed up as?”

To that question, you can say: “Me.” Or, if you love white lies, you can be like: “I’m dressed up as me when I went through my awkward middle school phase, which I actually never outgrew.”

To this, this person will say, “OK, cool” and then either walk away or start telling you all about their own costume, after which a conversation is born.

Bing-bang. That’s it. You’ve done it. You’ve just gotten away with not dressing up on Halloween.

What are regrets? Haven’t heard of them. What are missed opportunities? Sorry, not familiar.

This is a year that has made self-care and self-preservation critical. This is absolutely a year that doing something you don’t want to do has felt even more exhausting and laborious too. So if you’re feeling like not dressing up, just don’t do it.

You don’t even have to go to a party! There’s no law about that either. You can sit at home, giddily watch 12 episodes of the Great British Bake Off or the incredible film Hocus Pocus in your bed. If you think that will make you feel great, then do it. If you feel like going to a party, but don’t want to dress up, you can get away with it!

Do whatever you feel will make you happy, and feel joy.

The only traces of that party you will see are blurry photos on Facebook, which you can swiftly untag yourself from if they make you feel weird.

We’re here to tell you that you don’t have to dress up on Halloween, or even start to think about it. You can — and should — live your Halloween as you choose.