Best Practices for a Safe and Fun Halloween

Best Practices for a Safe and Fun Halloween

1. Avoid Trick or Treating if you or anyone in your household isn’t feeling well, has a fever, or is under quarantine 

2. Trick or Treaters: Wear a cloth or surgical mask WITH your costume mask. Candy Givers: Wear a cloth or surgical mask (if you are not in costume) 

3. Porch/Outdoor Lights:

  • Light On = Trick or Treat here!
  • Light Off = Maybe next year!

***Do not enter someone else’s home*** 

4. Candy distribution:

  • Only use/accept candy that is in factory-sealed packaging
  • Consider spreading out treats on a table or prepare individually sealed bags ahead of time - AVOID (hands in) BOWLS
  • Limit treat choices
  • Maintain social distancing (wave to the kids from a distance or from behind a door)
  • Provide hand sanitizer for trick or treaters

5. Practice social distancing (keep at least 6 feet apart from other groups) 

6. Stay in your immediate neighborhood 

7. Use hand sanitizer and wash your hands when you get home! Alternatives to Trick or Treating

  • Costume parade on your block/neighborhood
  • Celebrate/have a theme dinner with your family/pod at home - wear your costumes!

For more information, ideas and additional guidance visit the following links:


not everyone has a porch/outdoor light...if the house is dark skip it.  One year I was in bed around 9 since I had to be up early, and kids were banging on my door and playing with my mail slot.

i plan to put a sign on the door indicating I don't have candy.  I have to get down steps to get to the door and am disabled.  I can't run up and down the stairs.  I usually leave a bowl with non edible treats (since kids to help themselves too much like they do with candy), but won't do that this year.

Last year it rained, this year its covid...i feel bad for the kids...2011/12 we had the blizzard and then Sandy back to back and they missed 2 years then also.


Due to COVID concerns, more than the usual number of households will be opting out of providing treats this year for a variety of reasons. This will result in a lot of disappointed young ones. Placing a bowl outside, edible treats or not, is a bad idea due to increased possibility of contagion if everyone is reaching into the same bowl. 

I questioned the porch light on or off recommendation for another reason.  The younger children who do go trick or treating this year will be out while it is still daylight (no visible porch lights on anywhere then) since there is no Halloween Parade this year.  The reply I received from the Mayor was if you are offering treats, put a note on your door stating that, if you are not offering treats, do not open your door.  This does not solve the problem. 

 


Unfortunately, I suspect there will be few trick or treaters this year.   I will be happy to throw candy down from my porch or leave candy on steps leading to porch but I don't think there is going to be a lot of business. 


We decided that we are not doing it this year (lights out). Frankly, I think it's weird to even try in the traditional sense from any perspective. It would suck all the fun out of it which has always been the point.


Halloween is probably the worst holiday during a pandemic possible.


There should be a universal 'sorry no candy sign'  that everyone in the state can download and post on their door.  kids could be taught to look for the sign and avoid those doors (and not waste their time).  if someone can get the media's attention, maybe they can promote that...it would be easy enough for some intern to make up a sign.


Doesn’t even need to have writing. The state could just establish that hanging an 8.5x11” piece of blank white paper in your doorway means, “See you next time.”


Considering the number of households opting out this year due to COVID concerns, I would suggest the opposite, that a sign of some sort be placed by the front entrance to those homes that are participating.  Trick or treaters could then be told to look for the sign.  


problem is that most people won't bother to put up a sign saying they are participating....they could be a sign for both...a green pumpkin for participating and red for not. 

people not participating won't want to be bothered and don't want people touching their door....and have more of an incentive to put a sign up.


Turning off the porch light has always worked for us when we run out of candy. 

In our house I'm voting for skipping giving out treats, but spouse is trying to jury rig something to roll or shoot candy to the trick or treaters. I'm the one that answers the door. That is not going to happen.


A number of parents I’ve spoken to said they are considering letting their children trick or treat, but that 100 percent of all candy collected will be going in the trash - which to me just seems like a colossal waste of everyone’s time, money and effort. 


if people are concerned about germs on the candy, dump it in a ziploch bag and let it sit for 2 weeks...rather than throw it out.


We might do a candy chute down our railing, something like this one:

https://www.womansday.com/home/decorating/a34113748/halloween-candy-chute/

I plan to use clear plastic sheets (I have old transparency film) to roll and duct tape into a tube shape to fit down our railing. Then we can see if the candy gets stuck on the way down.

Our engineering feat may be a remote knocker (by stepping on a foot pedal).  Or we'll just use the security camera to let us know when people are coming to the front door.


How about no Trick or Treating this year. We are in the middle of a pandemic, a lot of families have other things on their mind, and posting "No candy" isn't one of them. My suggestion would be to allow your children to dress up if they want, and maybe walk (with a mask of course) around their block and maybe some DIY projects in the home this year with candy and other treats. I just don't see how involving strangers is smart when social distancing is the main course of action as of lately


As being outdoors with a mask on and keeping socially distanced is considered relatively safe, I don't mind if some kids stop by for candy as long as they follow our socially distanced setup for the distribution.

But, I may be more attuned to the parents and kids requests for setting up safe methods to get out and do fun things. I worked hard this season to adapt the sport I coach to provide as safe an activity as I could think of to get each kid a bit of outdoor time doing something they enjoy. And from the responses, the parents seem to have needed it at least as much as the kids.


To be extra safe, maybe I'll make our chute from a second floor window. I think I could make one that works better than this one though.



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