Planning a Safe, Extraordinary Halloween for Your Kids Amid the Pandemic
By: Kris Louis at https://parentingwithkris.com/
Many families are wondering if COVID has canceled Halloween. Here’s the thing: Halloween is still on—you just might need to make some adjustments to your normal routine and consider certain health and safety precautions. At SPARC Hope, we do our best to connect single parents with a variety of helpful resources, which is why we’ve provided these practical tips for planning a safe and wonderful Halloween this year:
Neighborhood Events
If your kids (and you) are looking for safe ways to interact with the neighbors on Halloween, consider these ideas:
- Do a drive-by candy toss where you drive through your neighborhood parade-style and throw individual candies into your neighbors’ lawns.
- Prepare treat bags to leave on the porches of your neighbors’ homes.
- Organize a neighborhood costume parade; you can designate a route for all the kids to march down while socially distancing.
- Deck out your lawn with over-the-top decorations for the neighbors to enjoy; you can save money on a ton of items by using cash back offers and coupons at retailers like Belk.
- Consider helping other children in your community have a magical Halloween by sponsoring their costumes!
Celebrating at Home
There are also plenty of things you can do without leaving your home, such as:
- Organize a haunted egg hunt by scattering Halloween-themed eggs throughout your home and lawn; if you want some added fright, make glow-in-the-dark eggs and have your kids hunt them at night!
- Arrange a virtual costume party for your kids and their friends.
- Hold a family movie marathon; there’s a wealth of spooky movies for kids of all ages out there!
- Put together a DIY fire pit, around which your family can tell ghost stories and/or simply relax after an eventful day.
Essential Safety Precautions
No matter what activities you engage in this Halloween, here are some basic-but-critical precautions to take:
- Always wear a cloth mask, and maintain six feet of distance from anyone who is not a part of your household.
- If you’re making bags of candy to distribute throughout the neighborhood, wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds
- Don’t replace your everyday face mask with a costume mask, unless the mask has at least two breathable layers and covers the nose and mouth.
- If necessary, find a Halloween-themed cloth mask rather than wearing a costume mask on top of the cloth mask, as this can restrict breathing.
You don’t have to forget about Halloween this year. Consider the ideas listed here for safe, fun Halloween activities to do in your neighborhood and at home. And whatever you do, make sure you are taking all of the necessary precautions to protect your family and neighbors from the virus.