Due to COVID-19, Halloween might seem very different this year, but you can still make it fun for your ghouls and goblins. Here are some ideas for safe trick-or-treating and ways to celebrate the holiday at home.
Door-to-door trick-or-treating is possible if you take proper precautions. Trick-or-treaters and their parents should wear masks and practice social distancing. Limit the trick-or-treat area to your neighborhood. Only dispense or allow your children to accept individually wrapped pieces of candy. Placing candy out on a table in your yard where children can easily access it is preferred over personally handing out individual pieces of candy or allowing children to put their hands in a candy dish. After you return from the magic night, make sure everyone washes their hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. You may also want to sanitize the candy before giving it to your children.
If you do not feel comfortable sending your children door-to-door for goodies, you can still have a great time celebrating the holiday at home. Pumpkin carving or decorating is an annual tradition that is not affected by the pandemic. It is also a great family bonding activity.
Have a costume party with members of your family. Wear a costume to dinner and allow each member of the family to introduce themselves to the others while in character. Serve Halloween-inspired foods. Get your kids active in the kitchen by allowing them to help with the meal preparation.
You can spend the evening playing lots of Halloween-themed games. Hide pieces of candy around your house and let your children find them. Go on a Halloween decoration scavenger hunt as a family by adding extra decorations around your home or driving around your community looking for spiders, witches, skeletons and pumpkins.
As we prepare to purchase items we also must think about how much we want our budget to be. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent $8.4 billion on Halloween. Halloween is the third most expensive holiday, following Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Use the following tips for a more budget friendly Halloween experience.
Costumes
Consider re-using or re-purposing old costumes. If you (or the kids) insist on new costumes, take last year’s costumes to a consignment shop or sell them online to offset the cost of the new ones.
Swap costumes with friends so that you can have something new without spending money.
Get crafty and make your own! You can find lots of ideas online for fun and inexpensive do-it-yourself Halloween costumes.
Candy
Wait to buy your candy. Stores will often start to lower prices on candy a few days before Halloween.
Candy is often cheaper to buy at a warehouse club where items are sold in bulk.
Instead of candy, consider buying inexpensive non-candy items such as erasers or spider rings.
Decorations
Check dollar stores, consignment shops and thrift stores before purchasing new decorations.
Craft your own decorations. You can still have great decorations if you make them yourself. Get the kids or friends involved and have some fun!
Wait to buy a pumpkin until a couple days before Halloween when many pumpkin patches will have reduced their prices.
For more ideas on raising healthy families, contact the Greenup County office of the UK Cooperative Extension Service.
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