This year, Halloween will create a lot more toil and trouble in our lives to keep it healthy and safe for all, but it is possible to pull off a boo-tiful Halloween during this pandemic.
The Vermont Department of Health offers advice for figuring out how safe your Halloween plans are. Weigh these three factors: 1) will everyone be able to maintain six-foot spaces 2) will everyone be wearing masks 3) will the places you go be uncrowded.
Trick or treating and other Halloween activities are still options in some of our neighborhoods. By confirming that those three factors are considered before heading out, and by talking with your kids ahead of time about health and safety practices as they relate to COVID-19, you decrease your family’s – and your neighbors’- risk of contracting the virus. It keeps our vulnerable populations safe while providing an opportunity for our community of kids to socialize carefully.
Staying home on Halloween is still the best way to protect yourself and others in your household from COVID-19. Families should consider this option if you have seniors or people with compromising medical conditions living within your space. Here are some ways to have a bone-shaking good time while staying at home: hide treats around the house or yard for kids (and adults) to find, run a Halloween movie marathon, host a family Monster Mash Dance Party (with or without costumes) and invite others to participate virtually, have a pumpkin carving contest, or design a spooky scavenger hunt.