How to Celebrate Halloween During a Pandemic

Fall means it is time to celebrate Halloween. For some, they wait all year to celebrate Halloween with trick-or-treating, costumes, scary movies, and haunted houses. This year Halloween will look a little different because of COVID-19, so how can you celebrate Halloween while keeping yourself and your children safe.

Low/No Risk Activities

As always, with COVID-19, maintain social distancing and wear a mask when you are able.

• Pumpkin Carving Party – Decorating or carving pumpkins outside with members of your household is the safest bet. Still, you can also invite friends or neighbors over to have a small get-together. As long as everyone is outside and appropriately distanced.
• Door Decorating Contest – You can have a neighborhood door decorating contest where each house gets two tickets that they use as votes. Neighbors can drop off tickets at the places with the best doors; whoever has the most tickets at Halloween receives a prize or bragging rights.
• Halloween Scavenger Hunt – Give children a list of Halloween-themed items that they can look for when they take walks around your neighborhood, such as a ghost decoration, pumpkins, cobwebs, etc. The kids write down where they saw the items and whoever completes the list gets a treat.
• Virtual Halloween Costume Contest – Set up a virtual meeting where friends and family can log in to share your costumes. When you are done sharing your outfits, you can vote to see who has the best costume.
• Halloween Egg Hunt – Bring a spring tradition to Halloween by getting pumpkin or skeleton shaped plastic eggs, like these. Fill the eggs with treats and have children or even adults hunt for the goodies. You can have this event outside and with masks for extra protection.

Medium Risk Activities

• One-Way Trick-or-Treating – This still allows children to experience trick-or-treating, but not as many people will see their costumes. Those participating houses will wrap up and set out goodie bags for the trick-or-treaters to grab as they visit a home. It would be best if the treat set-up in at the end of the driveway or on the sidewalk. Those that bag up the treats should have clean hands.
• Outdoor Costume Parade – If wearing your costume is the most important part of your Halloween tradition, consider a costume parade outside and where everyone participating can socially distance.
• Attend a Haunted Hallow – Haunted houses are a great Halloween tradition, but instead of attending a haunted house that is indoors, try to find a haunted hallow or haunted forest. The point is that it is outside, and you can appropriately socially distance. Remember, if there will be screaming, you need to add a few feet to your distance.
• Go Apple Picking – Consider visiting an orchard or pumpkin patch to pick your own. It will be a great family event while still being outside and typically have wide distancing between people.
• Have an Outdoor Movie Night – If part of your Halloween tradition is watching a scary movie together with family or friends, think about setting up a back yard theater, making sure everyone brings their snacks, and remain 6 feet apart.

Halloween can still be fun for everyone with a little creativity. Enjoy your time together in the fall air, and stay safe.