Safe Trick-Or-Treating During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Trick-or-treating is a central tradition of Halloween, to the extent that it’s hard to imagine the holiday without it. Unfortunately, we may have to do more than imagine it for Halloween 2020.
We’ve previously covered the dieting dangers of trick-or-treating, but this year, there’s more to worry about, namely the scary COVID-19 virus. For many, trick-or-treating is an annual happy time to get together with the family and take the grandkids around town, creating lifelong memories in the process. To miss out on it would be difficult. Good thing that, if we’re clever and everyone does their part, there may be ways to go trick-or-treating while staying safe!
Note: We are not saying you and the kids or grandkids can or should go trick-or-treating for 2020. You should follow any state, local, and federal guidelines. We simply wish to provide ideas for safer trick-or-treating in 2020 if guidelines allow for them.
Following the Standard Guidelines
To safely trick-or-treat, you must keep following all the state, local, and federal safety guidelines for any activity, trick-or-treating included. This means social distancing with people outside of your household and wearing a mask. Social distancing is pretty self-evident — just keep a six-foot distance from others. Masks, on the other hand, may be a bit tougher.
To safely trick-or-treat, you must keep following all the state, local, and federal safety guidelines for any activity, trick-or-treating included.
While wearing masks is normal for Halloween, we don’t mean you should wear a wolfman or alien mask. You should wear your COVID-safe mask, even under Halloween masks if you can do safely, since your rubber monster mask likely won’t give the right amount of protection against the virus. If the idea of wearing a mask under a mask is a bit much for you, you can try building one into your costume (think mad surgeon) or getting a Halloween-themed facial mask.
Trick-Or-Treating in the Community
Trick-or-treating has always been a going-out-into-the-community activity. Kids usually go up to a house, ring the doorbell, shout “TRICK OR TREAT,” and get candy. This year, we’ll have to do it a little differently.
While you normally may hand candy directly to the kids, praising their excellent costumes, you need to keep safety in mind. To encourage social distancing, you could leave candy in a bowl at least six feet away from yourself. You can still sit on the porch or a safe distance away, but that social distancing is critical to their safety, and yours. An even better way to do it is for the trick-or-treaters to put their candy bag down in front of the house, step back, and allow the homeowner to place the candy in the bag (after sanitizing). This prevents the potential spread of illness by limiting the amount of hands in the candy bowl. Want to be even safer? Put candies into individual sandwich-style plastic baggies the night before, after you sanitize your hands. The advantage of this is that the kids can grab and take a little bag with them, which limits the risk of exposure for everyone. You can even leave a little bottle of hand sanitizer next to the treats for trick-or-treaters to use!
Want to be even safer? Put candies into individual sandwich-style plastic baggies the night before, after you sanitize your hands.
Luckily, the CDC has found no evidence linking handling food or consuming food to COVID-19. As long as you handle the food correctly before it’s given to the kids (why we limit the amount of hands in the candy bowl and sanitize prior to handing it out), everyone should stay safe. It’s important that everyone follows these rules, however, since one person not doing their part could mean spreading the illness to every other house in the neighborhood.
Alternative Option: Do a Backyard Candy Hunt!
If communal celebrating isn’t an option, and who knows if it is depending on where you are and the current state of the virus, you can still trick-or-treat with just your family. No, we don’t mean having the kids continually ring your doorbell and asking for candy. Instead, tweak an old tradition from Easter — Easter egg hunting. If you have the space, hide candy around your yard, house, or apartment. You can even put the it in Halloween-themed Easter eggs to protect them from the elements. Then, send your little monsters off searching for the candy — dressed up in their costumes, of course!
The point is to make it fun for the kids so that they don’t even miss traditional trick-or-treating.
If you want to add an extra bit of Halloween-y fun, have a member of the family dress up as a witch or goblin of some kind and hide along with the candy. The trick-or-treater that finds the witch or monster can get a special prize. This can be anything from extra candy, to a gift card, to being crowned Queen or King of Halloween. The point is to make it fun for the kids so that they don’t even miss traditional trick-or-treating. Who knows, maybe you all will enjoy it so much that next year, you skip trick-or-treating and do this all again!
● ● ●
This may all seem like a lot of preparation and worry, but we all need to do our parts to ensure that this pandemic doesn’t get worse. As we mentioned earlier, an event like trick-or-treating, where people go house to house, can become a disaster quickly. All it takes is one person not doing their part or not knowing they’re sick, and the entire neighborhood is now at risk of infection. By taking these precautions now, you can limit the risk toward your neighbors and loved ones, as well as your surrounding communities. Sadly, this type of precaution for once-carefree traditions is the new normal, and the sooner we get used to the “new normal,” the sooner we can hopefully return to the old normal.
Featured Blogs
- Learning to Ski
- The Stories Behind Classic Christmas Carols
- 4 More Tips to Make Christmas Tree Hunt Less Stressful
- Why Do We Celebrate That? Other Festive Holidays
- A Senior Guide to Boston
- A Senior Guide to Edinburgh
- How Does Medicare Cover Osteoporosis?
- What are Ulcers?
- Medicare's Coverage of Parkinson's Disease
- What is a Cognitive Screening?
- Spooky Spots for Halloween 2023
- 4 Ways to Keep Trick-or-Treating Safe
- 10 Classic Horror Books for Halloween
- Here's What Medicare Costs in 2024
- 10 Safety Rules for Seniors Who Enjoy Hunting
- Medicareful Living is Changing Its Name — Here's Why
- CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Costs
- Can You Keep Your Medicare Plan Each Year?
- A Senior Guide to Lucerne
- Is Expensive Cookware Worth It?
- The Drug Prices Medicare Can Directly Negotiate
- Does Medicare Ever Cover Cosmetic Surgery?
- A Senior Guide to Barcelona
- How Does COBRA Work with Medicare?
- Different Ways Medicare Can Cover Drug Costs
- Medicareful Living is Changing Its Name — Here's Why
- CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Costs
- Can You Keep Your Medicare Plan Each Year?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Lucerne
- Is Expensive Cookware Worth It?
- The Drug Prices Medicare Can Directly Negotiate
- Does Medicare Ever Cover Cosmetic Surgery?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Barcelona
- How Does COBRA Work with Medicare?
- Different Ways Medicare Can Cover Drug Costs
- All About Enrolling in Social Security
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to the Madrid
- Does Medicare Cover Open-Heart Surgery?
- Exercise Tips for Summer
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Lisbon
- Hosting a Safe Summer Barbecue
- Senior Summer Barbecue Tips
- Does Medicare Cover Biopsies?
- 5 Foods to Avoid if You Have High Blood Pressure
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to the Finger Lakes
- Does Medicare Cover Endoscopies?
- Ways Seniors Can Recover from a Workout
- Is Chocolate Healthy for You?
- Understanding Adult ADHD
- How Does Medicare Cover Hypertension?
- The Symptoms and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
- How to Determine What Temperature to Use When Cooking
- Eating Healthy on a Budget
- Keeping Fit on Vacation
- Is Your Tonsillectomy Covered by Medicare?
- Tips for the Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Kitchen First Aid Tips
- What Does FDA-Approved Mean?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Guide to New York City
- How to Caramelize Onions
- Why Do We Celebrate That? April Fools’ Day
- Medicare and Powers of Attorney
- The Essential Role of Eggs in Cooking
- What are Different Types of Complementary
and Alternative Medicine? - Tips for Remembering to Take Your Medicine
- What is Medicare Part E?
- Building Your Basic At-Home Senior Gym
- How to Make Stovetop Popcorn
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to New Orleans
- How to Navigate & Read Academic Articles
- Phytonutrients: What Plant Color Says About Nutrition
- How to Prevent or Reduce Inflammation
- Osteoporosis: Risk Factors, Signs, and Treatment
- How to Make Homemade Pretzels
- Researching Your Ancestry and Family Tree
- How Medicare and Social Security Work Together
- What is Nordic Walking?
- Food Questions You've Been Embarrassed to Ask
- How Medicare Changed for 2023 and Beyond
- Tips for Using a Microwave
- How to Clean Your Ears Safely
- Skiing as a Healthy Hobby for Seniors
- 3 More Great Places to Celebrate New Year's Eve
- Why Do We Celebrate That? More New Year's Eve Traditions
- Panettone, the Italian Christmas Dessert
- A Simple Homemade Gingerbread Recipe
- How to Make Christmas Decorating Jollier
- The Science of Winter Weight Gain
- Seasonal Picks: 3 Foods You Should Try This Winter
- 5 Tips to Make Getting Your Christmas Tree Stress-Free
- Show-Stopping Potato Side Dishes for Thanksgiving
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Boeuf Bourguignon
- Holiday Travel Tips to Reduce Stress
- Does Medicare Cover Pain Management?
- Is Hunting a Healthy Senior Hobby?
- Ways You Can Get More Politically Involved
- What are Medicare's Lifetime Reserve Days?
- Spooky Spots for Seniors Halloween 2022
- How to Make Soul Cakes for Halloween
- Jack O' Lantern Carving Tips for Halloween
- Easy Ways to Peel a Potato
- 2023 Social Security COLA Largest in Decades
- Exercise Tips for Autumn
- How to Make Candy Apples at Home
- Why are Medicare Insurance Sales Calls Recorded?
- Here's What Medicare Costs in 2023
- CMS Updates Medicare Enrollment Rules for 2023
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to London
- Does Medicare Cover Insomnia Treatment?
- Healthy and Easy Homemade Dog Treats
- The FDA Finalizes Ruling to Increase Access to Hearing Aids
- What the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Means for Medicare
- Tips to Make Flying and Airports Less Stressful
- CMS Projects Lower 2023 Part D Average Costs
- The 15 Golden Rules of Airplane Etiquette
- How Often Should You Shower?
- What are Medicare Pilot Programs?
- How to Care for Your Cast Iron Cookware
- Confronting a Loved One About Hurtful Behavior
- What Does Creditable Coverage Mean for Medicare?