With Halloween just around the corner, many parents are wondering how to keep the season silly, spooky, and safe for kids. The CDC recently issued guidance discouraging traditional Halloween activities like door-to-door trick or treating, costume parades, “trunk or treat€ events, and haunted houses in order for everyone to stay safe this season. So, what’s left? While traditional fall festivities may look a little different this year, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy Halloween. Check out some of these ways to celebrate Halloween safely with your family.
Go All Out With Decorations
Halloween decorations are arguably the best part of the holiday. Whether your decorating style is harvest chic or haunted graveyard, we are here for it. This year, we’re encouraging families to go all out when it comes to decor. Think it’s too early to break out the skeletons and scarecrows? Think again. In light of everything we’ve endured this year, decorating a week or two early could help spread spooky cheer throughout the neighborhood. As the holiday nears, go on drives or walks with your family to see everyone else’s Halloween display.
Have a Virtual Costume Contest
Even if door-to-door trick or treating has to wait until next year, dressing up for Halloween is non-negotiable. One way to display your costumes safely is through a virtual costume contest. Get your friends and family together via webcam and take turns showing off your cute, scary, and silly characters on Halloween. Vote for your favorites and award the winner with a special prize.
Have a Socially-Distanced Pumpkin Carving Contest
Get some friends or neighbors together for a pumpkin carving or painting contest! Have everyone take photos of their masterpieces to share in a private Facebook or email group. Everyone can be a winner with categories like scariest, cutest, most advanced, or best effort. If you’re getting your neighbors involved, invite everyone to leave their jack-o-lanterns on the porch or by the mailbox so that they can be seen on “pumpkin rides€ or walks through the neighborhood.
Throw a Virtual (or Small Group In-Person) Snapology Party
Let Snapology help save Halloween with scary fun virtual programs designed for kids of all ages. One of Snapology’s awesome party hosts will keep the activities and fun going during the hour-long program so you and the other parents can sit back and relax. Themed programs like Monster Mania and Virtual Escape Rooms will bring children together from a distance and help make this Halloween better than ever.
Incorporate Masks into Your Costume
If you and your family plan on heading out this Halloween, don’t forget to mask up! Thankfully, masks are the norm on Halloween with or without a global pandemic so not much here has changed. Since getting creative with costumes is a Halloween rite of passage, just consider incorporating masks into your family’s costumes as a fun challenge. Use markers or paint to decorate your child’s mask with silly smiles or monster mouths. Don’t feel like getting crafty? Check your local stores or get one handmade from Etsy. Keep in mind that the CDC states that decorative or novelty masks do not substitute the need for medical masks, so be sure to double up masks if need be.
Find Fun Ways to Deliver Candy
If your neighborhood is still celebrating Halloween with old fashioned trick or treating, keep your family and others’ safe by finding cute and creative ways to deliver your candy. Hang a clothesline in your yard to hang candy or goodie bags from. Create a “candy chute€ to send candy down to trick or treaters as they come by. The CDC recommends leaving individual goodie or to-go bags for children lined up at the end of the driveway to limit interaction and honor social distancing guidelines for non-family members. Be sure to maintain your distance from trick or treaters and encourage them to do so as well. Your neighbors will appreciate your focus on safety this year.
Get Outside
Haunted houses may be out this year, but anything can be Halloween-themed with the right attitude. Take advantage of perfect fall weather with a “haunted forest€ hike or leaf-peeping drive. Learn some history in your area by visiting cemeteries and finding the oldest tombstones. Wear your costumes out and about and take some silly family pictures. Go on a fall or Halloween themed scavenger hunt in your neighborhood. Have a picnic in the park and decorate your own candy apples. However you choose to celebrate Halloween with your family this year, be safe and have fun!
