Halloween 2020: Trick or Treat?
This year has been strange, daunting, worrisome; basically nothing short of downright scary. With the endless bombardment on the news about COVID-19 and the horrors it can cause, American children have been cocooned at home, limited to seeing none or very few choice friends since March. Many of us with kids joked that it was the longest Spring Break in history, and some parents decided that day-drinking was perfectly acceptable given the circumstances. Life became all about masks or no masks, sanitizing and toilet paper hoarding. However, over the summer break, things calmed down and our new way of living became the norm. Schools across the nation put together a plan for the upcoming school year. New social distancing practices and ways of teaching were introduced and we learned new vocabulary: Synchronized learning, asynchronized learning, in-person learning, zoom class and the endless uploading of written homework has become a daily disliked chore. For my kids, life has become days of synchronized school in zoom classes, seeing their classmates virtually and socializing through their computer screen, followed by endless amounts of homework. But thankfully the much anticipated holidays are just around the corner, something we all have to look forward to, with Halloween starting the season.
Halloween 2020 will most likely not be the same fun loving spooky evening with the endless candy and creative costumes that we have become accustomed to. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has officially discouraged trick-or-treating in 2020. However, with a little creativity there are many other ways to have a fun and safe Halloween. Below are some activities deemed low and moderate risks according to the CDC :
Low Risk Activities:
Carve or decorate pumpkins with members of your household and display them
Carve or decorate pumpkins, at a safe distance (min. 6 ft apart) with neighbors or friends
Decorate your house, apartment or living space
Have a Halloween scavenger hunt, where kids are given a list of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk from house to house admiring the Halloween decorations instead of trick-or-treating
Have a virtual Halloween contest
Have a Halloween movie night with the people you live with
Have a scavenger hunt trick-or-treat style search with your household members
Moderate Risk Activities:
Have a one-way trick-or-treating with individually wrapped goodie bags lined up in your drive-way for families to grab and go while social distancing. Be sure you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds before and after preparing the bags.
Have an open air costume parade for a small group using social distancing
Go to an open air one-way walk through haunted forest where appropriate masks are enforced and social distancing. Since screaming and stopping is to be anticipated, the greater social distancing you keep, the lower the risk
Visit a pumpkin patch or orchard where hand sanitizers and mask wearing is enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
Have an outdoor Halloween movie night with a small circle of close family friends spaced at least 6 ft apart. If a lot of screaming will take place, increase the social distancing.
We hope you have a spooktacular, fun and safe Halloween! 🎃👻
