Halloween will be here before we know it, and this year will be extra special, as South students are no longer required to pay to wear a costume! However, there are still guidelines and regulations regarding the types of costumes that students can wear. As such, here are five Halloween costume rules that you should definitely follow in order to ensure that wearing your costume to school is as fun as possible.

1. Leave all weapons at home

I know most people already know this, but it is important to mention. While, yes, weapons used for most costumes are fake, things like toy swords and bows can still hurt people if they get hit with them. Toy guns also look pretty close to the real deal, and, as such, can cause a scare if they are brought in. I know it may somewhat compromise the integrity of the costume, but save the weapon for trick-or-treating or a Halloween party. And, if it ruins your costume (ex: you wanted to be Freddy Krueger, but you can’t wear his classic gloves), go as something else, or wait until after school.

2. Make sure you are dressed modestly

When we were little kids, this wasn’t a problem. That pirate costume or police uniform kept us all cool and covered. However, as kids get older, hormones start kicking in and we want to start showing off more, so to speak. While it’s fine at a party or a movie night with a boy/girlfriend, this is not okay at school. Make sure you follow the school dress code; keep all inappropriate areas covered; don’t wear short-shorts; make sure you’re not dressed offensively; etcetera.

3. Try to keep masks to a minimum

This is definitely one of the hardest ones to follow. After all, if you really want to look like your favorite action movie hero, you need to be wearing their face. Face paint can work, but only if it’s for things like scars, eye masks or other types of facial damage. Painting your face another color may take a while, and you’re out of luck if you have gym. If you don’t need a mask, don’t use one. However, if you need one, you probably should bring it, but make sure it doesn’t get in the way or become too distracting.

4. Make sure your costume cannot be thought of as hurtful

In today’s world, it’s become harder and harder to say things without hurting someone. So, make sure your costume couldn’t be thought of as hurtful to someone. It could also be seen as inappropriate, even if, again, you didn’t intend for it to be like that. Even if you wore it as a joke or didn’t mean for it be hurtful, it could still be thought of as so. The school doesn’t know your inside jokes, and they also don’t know why you wore some costumes in the first place.

5. Try to avoid horror characters who are overly scary

Again, this is a tough one to work around. After all, Halloween is thought of as a time of fear. But some horror icons simply don’t work. Going as say, a Scream/Ghostface killer is fine, but Pennywise probably won’t fly. This one is really a letdown sometimes as you can get in trouble over just because one person thought you looked freaky. So, you may just want to save the horror for late night, dark basement viewings.

Dressing up for Halloween is a lot of fun. Trust me, I know. I have plans to dress up this year (I’m going as an Inkling), and I know many people do as well, especially with the previous years’ payment policy no longer being required. However, some costumes just won’t fly. Follow these rules, and I’m sure your outfit will. Happy Halloween!