This year’s election has been outlandish, unhinged, and frankly a bit scary. In other words, election season is right at home around Halloween. Halloween’s timing just before the presidential contest makes political costumes a must, but it also makes the odds of someone showing up to the party in an inappropriate costume even higher. To help avoid a costume faux pas, here are some dos and don’ts for dressing like your (least) favorite politicians…

Tim Kaine

DO:

--Dress like your Dad

--Flash a thumbs-up a lot

--Do something weird with your eyebrows

DON’T:

--Ever stop smiling

--Go a sentence without mentioning Hillary Clinton

--Act as dull as the real Tim Kaine

Mike Pence

DO:

--Flip Trump and Pence’s names on the campaign sign

--Carry your Bible in your back pocket (and thump it when necessary)

--Speak in the beautiful Baritone of a former talk radio host

DON’T:

--Interrupt your friends to say, “Trump never said that!”

--Wear a shirt without a button-down collar (seriously, he always wears these!)

--Change into your Pence 2020 shirt until after Trump leaves the room

Bill Clinton

DO:

--Wear an apron that says Mr. First Lady

--Act self-depricating when asked about your wife

--Arrive on-time to the party

DON’T:

--Flirt with party guests that aren’t Hillary (especially Melania or anyone in a blue dress)

--Remind everyone that you were president first

--Mention Obamacare

Melania Trump

DO:

--Look flawless

--Strut everywhere you go

--Carry a trophy that has “wife” written on the front

DON’T:

--Speak, unless Kellyanne Conway or Michelle Obama wrote what you’re going to say

--Mention locker rooms, even if you’re only talking about changing after spin class

--Move your face, unless it’s to purse your lips like a supermodel

Hillary Clinton

DO:

--Rock a bold pantsuit. The brighter, the better!

--Open your mouth really wide when you laugh

--Make a bad pun using the word “Trump”

DON’T:

--Trip when entering or leaving (people will think you're fatally ill, obviously)

--Check your phone all the time, especially your email

--Interrupt Donald Trump when’s he’s speaking: he will make himself look stupid without you saying a word

Donald Trump

Just don’t. I promise you’ll regret it.