The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to skip so many traditions in 2020, from graduations to birthdays to the Fourth of July, but will it stop Halloween? Although there are always risks in doing anything outside of your home, the CDC has plenty of recommendations of how to celebrate in the safest way possible if you don’t want to skip out on Halloween this year. The biggest thing is to try and avoid any sort of gathering that is indoors. Having a lot of people in a confined space has proven to be one of the quickest ways to spread COVID. There are plenty of other things you can do during this pandemic Halloween!

Wondering if COVID will affect your children trick-or-treating? Here are a few tips on how you can make the tradition of trick-or-treating safer:

  • Stay out of large groups and always keep 6 feet in distance with those who you don’t live with
  • Wear the required face mask, but don’t wear a costume that requires a mask because it may be difficult to breathe with two masks
  • Do not go trick-or-treating with people outside of your household. This is the biggest risk of trick-or-treating!
  • Bring hand sanitizer!
  • Avoid any sort of haunted houses—screaming can be a huge source of spreading the virus.
  • Make sure your kids are only touching the pieces of candy that they will be taking home.
  • Don’t allow kids to eat their trick-or-trick candy until they get home and wash their hands.

As a homeowner, if you would like to hand out candy on Halloween night, but are concerned about the coronavirus, here are a few ideas of how to navigate this scenario safely:

  • Wear a mask when interacting with any trick-or-treaters.
  • At the end of the night, use disinfectant to clean off any surfaces that trick-or-treat guests might have touched, such as the doorbell, doorknob, or candy bowl.
  • Set out a bowl or goodie bags instead of handing out candy directly.
  • Hand out something other than candy.

Don’t even want to risk trick-or-treating during the pandemic? Here are some alternatives you can do with your kids this Halloween:

  • Virtual costume party with friends and family over video chat.
  • Outdoor parade with all participants standing 6 feet apart.
  • Movie night.
  • Carving jack-o-lanterns
  • Have a scavenger hunt in your house or backyard for candy.

Although the CDC is discouraging trick-or-treating in general, there are a lot of precautions you can take to make trick-or-treating safer for your family and your community if you decide you want to participate. Overall, avoid trick-or-treating with those who are not apart of your household, don’t go to Halloween house parties, and wear a mask. It will be a different Halloween no matter what, but make the best of it and create new traditions!

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