Staying Safe on Trick or Treat Night

/ Beth’s Blog / By

Trick or treat night can be high-risk for spreading Covid-19. Many traditional trick or treat night activities involve children and families being packed in close and reaching into a bucket that may have been touched by many children over the course of the night. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to avoid halloween traditions all together. Stay safe this year with some helpful tips from FLOC.

If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Still Planning to Give Out Candy? How to Keep it Safe

The safest idea this year may be turning out the lights and keeping the bags of goodies between you and your family. However, many people may still want to participate. Although the traditional way of handing out candy is high risk there is a moderate risk option that can help to keep you and your community safe this year.

Participating in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard). Simply set up a lined table with goodie bags placed at least a couple inches apart. Make sure to keep your distance from the table but, with a few feet distance, you can still greet children as they approach.

If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 second before and after preparing the bags.

What Not to Do for Trick or Treat Night

Hopefully with these tips (recommended by the CDC) you are able to have a happy and healthy trick or treat night. However, we are aware that it can be tempting to fall to peer pressure from families and friends. Below is a list of activities that CDC says pose a high risk and should be avoided if possible.

  • Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
  • Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
  • Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
  • Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
  • Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household

Steps to Take to Keep Your Children Safe from Covid on Trick or Treat Night

Make trick-or-treating safer

  • Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters.
  • Give out treats outdoors, if possible.
  • Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.
  • Wash hands before handling treats.
  • Wear a mask.

Wear a mask

  • Make your cloth mask part of your costume.
  • A costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask.
  • Do NOT wear a costume mask over a cloth mask. It can make breathing more difficult.
  • Masks should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing

Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live with you

  • Indoors and outdoors, you are more likely to get or spread COVID-19 when you are in close contact with others for a long time.

Wash your hands

  • Bring hand sanitizer with you and use it after touching objects or other people.
  • Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
  • Parents: supervise young children using hand sanitizer.
  • Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds when you get home and before you eat any treats.

Low Risk Activities

If trick or treat sounds too risky this year that are many options still available to you and your family to continue to have fun. Please see some of our fun suggestions for safe activities:

  • Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
  • Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
  • Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
  • Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
  • Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
  • Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
  • Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house