Charter One Realty Blog

Costumes, community, and fresh air are some of the reasons to love trick-or-treating at Halloween. Due to COVID-19, many people are wondering how their families can have fun without risking their health.  This may be a good year to skip trick-or-treating altogether and start some new Halloween traditions.

Go big on the decorations!

Build anticipation for the big day by making your Halloween décor a showstopper. Get your child started on crafty sessions now. Think Paper chains around the mailbox, lights over the door, and construction paper silhouettes in the windows.

Plan a scary (or not-so-scary) movie night.

Host a full-length feature with a theme that ties to Halloween or your child’s costume, or plan a marathon of Halloween-themed TV episodes.

Camp out under the blue moon.

In case you hadn’t heard, there will be a full moon on Oct. 31, 2020 – something that happens just once every 18 or 19 years. It’s also a “blue moon,” aka the second full moon of the month. So set up a tent, and enjoy the show. Howl if you want to.

Create a Quarantine-O-Ween scavenger hunt.

Instead of your child trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, have them trick-or-treat around the home or yard. Hide treats, create clues, and send your child on a spooky scavenger hunt.

Host a neighborhood drive-by trick-or-treat or reverse trick-or-treat.

If you have a yard and the weather allows, talk to your neighbors about scheduling a car parade on your block: Kids (with adult supervision) stay in their own yards while neighbors drive past slowly and gently toss treats out car windows, parade-style. Or have family and friends drop off treats for your child at your doorstep – a contactless twist on the trick-or-treating tradition.

If your family does decide to trick-or-treat, you’ll have to do things differently to keep everyone safe. Here are a few safe, socially distant ways to enjoy the holiday.

1. Wear a mask (and not just the costume kind). Keep in mind that most costume masks alone aren’t effective at stopping the spread of germs. So make sure your child wears at least a two-ply face mask, and check that they can breathe comfortably if they are also going to use a costume mask. 
2. Limit the group size. Keep your child’s trick-or-treating group to just siblings or a close friend or two.
3. Limit the houses you visit. To limit unnecessary exposure to others, just go to a few homes on your street, or to visit just a few friends you know well.
4. Social distance. Leave lots of space between any other trick-or-treaters.
5. Plan ahead to avoid contact. Neighbors should wear masks and gloves and stay outside their front door or at the end of their driveway or yard, so kids don’t have to touch door surfaces. Instead of having kids reach into a communal candy bowl, they should use gloves to hand out individual bags to each child and set up a one-way route to avoid crowding.
6. Practice good hand hygiene. Remember to have kids use hand sanitizer in between homes to further reduce risk.
7. Stay home if you might be sick. If any of your family members are feeling sick or think you may have been exposed to the coronavirus, please stay home and quarantine!

Do you have your own ideas for creating new Halloween traditions this year?

Share them with us in the comments below. Be safe, stay spooky, and mask up!