Halloween is just around the corner, but the world looks a lot different this year. We’ve all made a lot of changes and adjustments to life due to COVID-19, and our spooky season traditions are no exception.
Here’s what you need to know to stay as safe as possible this Halloween.
Your Old Favorites are High Risk Activities
The most high-risk Halloween activities are all the things you probably love and want to do most this year:
- Traditional door-to-door trick or treating, especially with kids from multiple households
- Trunk or treat events in parking lots
- Indoor crowded costume parties
- Indoor haunted houses
- Hayrides or tractor rides with people not in your household
- Fall festivals located outside of your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19
The CDC continues to advise people to avoid large-group activities, face-to-face activities with strangers, and indoor activities. This is especially true if anyone in your household is immunocompromised or at high-risk of being especially impacted by the coronavirus.
Consider Safer Halloween Celebrations
Just because your favorite Halloween traditions aren’t safe this year doesn’t mean you have to ignore the spooky season entirely. You may want to consider some of the following ways to celebrate this year, despite COVID-19:
- Plan an at-home Halloween party that includes only household members or a limited number of people who have also been social distancing. If you invite people over, plan an outdoor party to maintain distance and avoid the risks of indoor events.
- Carve pumpkins with your family members.
- Decorate your home inside and out.
- Plan a virtual costume party with friends and family.
- Have a Halloween-inspired movie night. Watch silly or scary movies together. You can also watch a movie a night leading up to Halloween or plan a Halloween movie marathon on October 31. If you want invite a few friends over, setup a projector in the backyard and create your own drive-in movie theater experience!
Safety Tips if You Go Out for Halloween
If you decide to go trick-or-treating or to a party this Halloween, follow safety precautions to keep yourself, your family, and your community as safe as possible.
- Wear a mask at all times.
- Only allow three to four people in your trick-or-treating group and only from your household or other homes where social distancing has been practiced.
- Don’t get too close to a person’s front door. They may decide to leave a candy bowl out to avoid answering the door completely which is the safest option.
- Don’t share candy, toys, bags, or other items to avoid multiple people touching the same item.
- Bring hand sanitizer and use it frequently, especially after ringing a doorbell.
- Only attend Halloween events where the number of people is limited and social distancing is possible.
- Avoid traveling to or from areas with increased spread of COVID-19.
The safest thing to do this Halloween is to stay home and celebrate with the people in your household or virtually. If we all do our part to limit the spread of COVID-19, maybe next year we can go back to the kind of spooky fun we really want to have.