Halloween & COVID-19: Have Fun While Staying Safe
Halloween is a fun night of costumes and candy for kids of all ages. Choosing costumes, decorating pumpkins, and getting special treats brings joy to many children. But we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, and so it should come as little surprise that Halloween celebrations and trick-or-treating will look different this year. However, there are still plenty of ways families can have fun while avoiding the scare of being exposed to or spreading the virus.
Plan ahead
Halloween will look different this year, but it can still be fun and enjoyable if you plan ahead for a safe holiday by planning if you’ll participate, what you’ll wear, and how you’ll hand out candy safely.
Spooky movie night
Celebrate with a movie night and dress as your favorite characters. Do this as a family at home.
Decorating pumpkins
This is one Halloween tradition that's as safe and fun as ever. Children can draw a face with markers. Then parents can do the cutting. When the carving is done, consider putting a battery-operated light rather than an open-flame candle inside. Roast the seeds from the pumpkin for a healthy snack!
Halloween-themed treats
Make some fun Halloween treats as a family. Decorate a pizza with toppings in the shape of a jack-o'-lantern, for example, or make tangerine pumpkins (peel the tangerine and stick a thin slice of celery on top to look like a stem).
Hand out candy safely
Don’t allow dozens of hands to reach into the same candy bowl or picky trick-or-treaters to rifle through your candy to find the best one.
- Instead, use tongs to remove the candy from the bowl and drop it into each trick-or-treater’s bag.
- Wear a mask when you open the door.
- Wash your hands frequently.
Trick-or-treating can be done safely
Trick-or-treating is largely an outside activity and is a much better option than an indoor gathering. While wearing a mask and keeping a six-foot distance is key, kids and families can trick-or-treat in a safe way.
- Keep your mask on at all times.
- Stay six feet away from others.
- If there’s already a group of kids at one door, wait until they leave before approaching.
- Don’t let your kids eat candy along the way until it can be wiped down at the end of the night.
What to do when you get home
Once you’re home from trick-or-treating the impulse might be to dive right into eating candy but remember to first:
- Wash your hands and your child’s hands.
- Wipe down candy wrappers with a disinfectant wipe before your child eats anything. Don’t wipe the candy itself; that would be dangerous.
- Throw away any candy that isn’t individually wrapped.
