In a year of social distancing, should Halloween be cancelled this year? We have been really serious about social distancing and curbing the spread of the pandemic so I am just as weary as you might be about allowing crowds of kids at my doorstep reaching their germy hands into a communal candy bowl. While Halloween might look a little different this year, there are flexible and creative alternatives to trick or treating. I have seen so many black and white, all or nothing decisions being made this year over everything from restaurant closures to school closures and I love finding flexible ways to be safe and adapt.
Here are my top 5 alternatives to trick or treating for a flexible Halloween celebration:
1. Host Capsule Parties
We have been hosting friends in our backyard for some time and I’ve enjoyed the challenge of keeping everyone safe while still being together. Here’s how this goes: invite some friends over, limit the number to as many as you can safely manage. Create little capsules by separating people into their own family cocoon. You could do picnic spreads or tents or simply organized your seating into groupings. Then, instead of a main buffet, each family gets their own special platters of food. You could even do a mini family piñata for each capsule!
2. Drive By Candy Parties
Make your own candy bags (HERE are some of my favorite party materials), then coordinate with your friends to be waiting outdoors and drive past your friends houses and throw candy surprises at them. Just make sure you practice your pitch!
3. Zoom Costume Party
Yeah, this does sound lame because of our zoom fatigue these days, but if your family and friends live far away this is really not a terrible idea. It would be fun to make the same menu so that y’all can enjoy a meal remotely. The kids can get dressed up and show each other their creative costumes while you catch up with your loved ones.
4. Set Up A Trick-Or-Treating Candy Station
If you live in a hood where local kids can walk over to your house, set some tables apart from each other in your yard. Space individually wrapped candy bags on a station that includes some hand sanitizer and gloves in case someone comes bare faced and supervise kids approaching safely and grabbing a bag!
5. Stay At Home Bash
There’s also nothing wrong with making this year a super intimate family affair. It might feel a little more like Christmas but that can’t be a bad thing, right? Get dressed up, make a themed meal, buy gifts for the kids and make a DIY home candy bar. Most importantly, enjoy the pivot this year and try and have a sweet and fun time!
