4 Tips to Celebrating Halloween Safely this Year

Halloween is one of the most cherished festivities of the year, a time of falling leaves, jack-o-lanterns, spooky décor, and avalanches of candy. You get to see the coolest costumes, meet new neighbors, and spend the evening making kids happy with full-sized candy bars.

But with Covid-19 lurking, you might fear that trick-or-treating is a tradition that offers more trick than treat. Is there a way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, without feeling cheated of the holiday’s most treasured festivities?

Here are 4 tips to enjoy Halloween, even during the pandemic.

1. Halloween costumes are still a must

There might be controversy over whether or not trick-or-treating should be banned this year, but one thing is as popular as ever: Halloween costumes. There’s something about dressing up as your favorite comic book character or spooky villain that oozes Halloween holiday flair.

Virtual Halloween costume contests will be all the rage this year. After all, it would be a bit of a letdown to dress up if there was nobody around to admire all that hard work. Even if in-person parties aren’t happening, you can still group chat in your scariest masks.

Want to go one step further? Perform your own Halloween stage play! Even while safely social distancing, you can recreate a classic story or even improv an entirely new story from your imagination. You can choose anything from pirates to fairy tales — after all, with the year we’ve had, it’s your time to shine.

You can even give your story a comedic flair with a mash-up of everything (thinking of ways to incorporate pirates, Alice in Wonderland, and zombies into the same show is sure to prove a creative challenge).

If you feel like getting carried away with the Halloween spirit, a good Halloween costume shop like Halloweencostumes.com should have anything you need for décor, props, and costumes. Browsing their offerings should give you lots of ideas.

Your kids will love imagining their own story, and you can capture the whole creative endeavor on film. Years from now, you might watch your theatrical debut and think it was your best Halloween ever.

2. Get innovative with trick-or-treating

There is a lot of debate about whether or not trick-or-treating is a COVID-friendly activity. You can find as many arguments for and against it as there are lollipop flavors. If trick-or-treating is important to you, find a way to participate that will give you, and your neighbors, better peace of mind.

Placing your treats outside on your front porch is considered less risky than handing it out at the door. Want to be even safer? Create individually wrapped bags pre-packed with treats for children to pick up so they aren’t reaching into the same bowl.

3. Host your own outdoors Halloween Fair

Putting on a Halloween Fair in your own yard is one of the best ways to celebrate the holiday without feeling cheated of all the trimmings. Using games and crafts, you can create a special Halloween experience that your kids won’t forget.

You can hide candy around your yard and coordinate a spooky trick-or-treating candy hunt. You can make your own caramel apples or create spooky Halloween gingerbread houses using your family’s favorite candy. The ideas are limitless!

You might want to invite your neighbors in on the fun. With proper precautions, they can participate in a socially distanced way. Pumpkin carving is always more fun outdoors where there is less mess—and it is something that can be enjoyed with others from a safe distance. Get out a few tarps or newspapers, set them out on the lawn or patio (6 feet from each other), and get to carvin’.

For those outdoor activities, remember that Halloween costumes aren’t always cold-weather friendly. Consider adding a couple of patio heaters to your space to keep fingers and toes warm. This will keep everyone warm, happy, and healthy while enjoying a true 2020 Halloween.

With the proper forethought, your Halloween “block party” can be fun and safe.

4. Remember, Halloween is for the grown-ups too

Sure, Halloween is largely about costumed children toting their plastic pumpkin buckets from house to house on the search for their favorite candies. But if you love Halloween as much as any kid does, you might be feeling the Halloween pandemic blues particularly hard.

Perhaps you feel robbed of your annual costume party with extended family or friends, or maybe you simply find yourself mourning the lack of trick-or-treaters at your door. If this is the case, it is important to plan something special for yourself as well.

Why not create a backyard get-together for the grown-ups?

In this case, install a new fire pit in your backyard that will bring that traditional autumnal ambiance to your backyard for months to come. Gather up your favorite Halloween treats and get cozy around the fire.

For those with a killer sweet tooth, you can make creative candy s’mores and other treats, take turns telling spooky stories, or enjoy a bit of your favorite pumpkin-spiced drink.

Don’t forget to have your favorite Halloween playlist rockin’ in the background with some backyard Bluetooth speakers.

Halloween isn’t canceled

While many things might look a little different this year, they certainly aren’t canceled. Now, more than ever, children (and adults too, let’s admit it) need to feel a sense of normalcy. Traditions and beloved pastimes give that extra morale boost you need to survive the ups and downs in the midst of a pandemic.

The good news is that Halloween has always been about getting creative. And perhaps this year, that’s not such a bad thing.