Halloween Health and Safety Tips for 2020

If You Decide to Trick-or-Treat:

Stick to Small Groups

The CDC advises against door-to-door trick-or-treating, and some jurisdictions are banning it this year. But if you and yours do decide to trick-or-treat, keep your group small, ideally limited to immediate family or a social pod you’re already part of. Keep a safe distance from other groups of trick-or-treaters. Wait for the group ahead of you to disperse before you approach doorways of homes.

Don’t Ring Doorbells with Your Hands

That witch’s broom or Harry Potter magic wand can do double duty this year — as a doorbell ringer. If you don’t have costume props, bring an item you can use to ring doorbells, anything to avoid pressing a finger on the same button that dozens of others have touched. In any case, bring along hand sanitizer and give your child (and yourself) a squirt periodically throughout the evening.

Wipe Down Those Treats or Let Them Sit

For kids, there’s nothing more agonizing than waiting to enjoy their Halloween candy. But this year, they’ll need to exercise a little patience to trick-or-treat safely. Allow candy to sit out overnight — on top of the fridge, maybe — or wipe down wrapped candy with sanitizing wipes before letting kids dig in.

If You Welcome Trick-or-Treaters:

Set Up a Treat Table

Instead of answering the door with a bowl of candy, set up a table outside with individually wrapped treat bags. If you don’t want to miss seeing all the little kids in costume, sit outside and watch the action, but stay at least six feet from the treats table. You can also use glow-in-the-dark tape to mark directional arrows in the driveway and keep traffic moving one-way.

Get Creative with Treat Handouts

Since close-up contact with trick-or-treaters is possibly unsafe for them and you, consider creative solutions for handing out candy. Create a candy chute with a long piece of decorated PVC pipe so that kids remain at least six feet away. Another clever idea? If you’ve got a pet door on the front door, purchase some scary zombie gloves and pass treats through the pet door. After all, a socially distanced zombie is the best kind of zombie!