A Costume Exchange ~ Really?

I understand the concept of food banks, winter coat exchanges, even prom dress exchanges. These things help those less fortunate in a society that seems increasingly geared to leaving people behind. But this past week I heard a new one: there on the morning news show was a woman and her interviewer talking in earnest about this new effort for the poor..... a Hallowe'en costume exchange. Um.... really? Wait.... REALLY?

Ok, wait. I agree we have to give those less fortunate a break sometimes and help them out. I've been there and the kindness of others can really make a difference. And I'm all for recycling of any kind. But a costume exchange? Has it really come to this? C'mon!

In my day we didn't even BUY costumes. My dad burned an old dried out wine cork once to make char to put on my face for that fake 5 o'clock shadow, then an old beat up hat of his and an old jacket, and out I went as a hobo, an old pillow case for the goodies I collected. One teen boy came around our place with those wax wrappers out of bread bags pinned all over him. I guess he was supposed to be a loaf of bread? A bakery? I don't know. In fact, we didn't actually know what a lot of the kids were supposed to be, but they all got candy. It wasn't some sort of requirement to be dressed in a fancy store-bought rendition of a politic figure or a movie character to be given a treat. You didn't even have to be a "little" kid to get a treat.

I remember our first year in a new community, Mom hadn't known how much candy to buy for Hallowe'en and she was running out. My friend and I, about 15 at the time, threw on some silly stuff out of the closet, went a few streets over and collected some candy. Then we came home and gave it to Mom to give out. Hey... hey... we didn't want our windows soaped or our house toilet-papered. Recycled candy works. (Yes, the next year she bought LOTS more candy.)

Sure we bought a few things for my daughter's Hallowe'en experiences... a foam nose and funny hair among them, and one year a witch's hat. But these were drug or dollar store items used to enhance something out of the closet to make her look funny, and they were used over and over again, by one or another of us, for something.
OK, time to take stock: some canned goods for the food bank; winter coat that's a bit worn, but it's still got life and it's too big for me now and I'm never going to go there again, right? Heh... hope not. So I'll wash it up and take it to the winter coat exchange. Red foam nose. Hmmm... not much bounce left in it. I dunno. Maybe not. Feel bad. I mean, I guess things are pretty bad out there. A charity costume exchange? Really?