Halloween 2020?

[Midpack]

We think NC has done a decent job of handling the pandemic.

The county we live in is not going to discourage trick or treating, they just offered unenforceable suggestions.

Not sure what we’ll do, you?

Most notably, there is no guidance to not participate in trick or treating but the list does provide helpful information for doing so safely.
DO

• Carve pumpkins and decorate your home with your family; drive around and check out your neighbor’s decorations as well
• Host a virtual Halloween costume party
• Make individually wrapped candy available or individually wrapped goodie bags
• Wash your hands before and after preparing bags
• Space out candy or goodie bags in a safe place outside, preferably 6 feet from your door
• Wear your favorite costume and a cloth face covering to your favorite socially distancing restaurant with your family
• Make and enjoy your favorite fall beverage and foods at home with your family
• Create a scavenger hunt in your yard for your own children
• Wear your favorite costume and have a Halloween movie night with your family.

DON’T

• Host or attend large neighborhood pumpkin carving or block parties, haunted houses or festivals
• Host or attend crowded costume parties or events
• Participate in traditional trick-or-treating in crowded areas, self-selecting candy, or touching of candy or candy dishes
• Go to crowded bars or restaurants that are not adhering to capacity limits, mask wearing or other COVID-19 safety guidance
• Ask the bartender for a drink after 11PM
• Host “trunk” or treat events
• Substitute a Halloween costume mask for a face covering or exchange masks or coverings with anyone else.
• Harris did not say these are hard and fast rules or that there would be any violations for not following the guidelines.

 

[retire-early]

The last couple of years we have stopped buying candy to give out for Halloween.
Just not in the mood.
This year doubly so.

 

[skipro33]

On the 'don't' list is trunk-or-treat event. Our neighborhood is doing that for the social distance aspect. I wonder why they discourage it

 

[retire-early]

On the 'don't' list is trunk-or-treat event. Our neighborhood is doing that for the social distance aspect. I wonder why they discourage it

Probably because the candy givers have to get within 6 feet of the children when handing out candy. And because children trick-or-treat in groups.

 

[Dtail]

Normally we participate and enjoy doing so, but not this year.

 

[sengsational]

Trunk or treat is where kids go from car to car in a parking lot (I guess) to collect candy, instead of door to door. I've never heard of it until now.

DW bought candy (against my suggestion), and plans to put it in a bucket on the porch so we don't need to answer the door.

Usually we get so few kids, DW ands up eating the good candy (chocolate), and we throw out the rest. I just use a bunch of my limited resource willpower not eating the dang stuff

 

[pacergal]

The Halloween costume association ( I am not affiliated) has an interactive map for your county and information for safe trick or treating:

halloween2020.org

The map is interesting and you can take a pledge.
We plan to have tape markers 6 ft apart on our driveway, the candy on a table on the deck with a bottle of hand sanitizer, and I plan to be sitting on a chair out on the deck to greet kids about 10 feet from the table. As long as the weaterth cooperates!
Otherwise, I will have a umbrella over the candy and I will be in the garage about 10 feet away.
We have tons of kids here, and I usually go through 3-4 large bags of candy. Bit I don't know what to expect, so I am being prepared.

 

[Alan]

We don’t normally participate in the door to door stuff, we leave the outside light off and the curtains closed. Our son however is the opposite and loves it. Last year he had so many trick or treaters he said he almost ran out of candy.

I don’t expect Halloween trick or treating to happen this year as we expect tighter restrictions to be announced tomorrow limiting the numbers allowed to mix outdoors (advisory) and indoors (mandated).

The same goes for Bonfire Night on November 5th when we normally walk down to the cricket fields to eat, drink and watch a fireworks display. I can’t see those events with crowds allowed in our area by then.

 

[JoeWras]

DW is working on making tiny little bags right now.

We're going to place them on a table near the curb and hang out on the porch from a distance while the kids grab a bag.

This was one of the suggestions in the OP's original post. Same state, same list in our county.

 

[Poopycat]

So glad I live in an apartment with controlled access this year so I don’t even have to bother with trick or treaters! Or buying candy and dealing with temptation.

I do hope kids get to go trick or treating this year. Seems like it can be done in a low-risk way. As a kid, I would have been heartbroken if I couldn’t go trick or treating.

 

[braumeister]

Quite a few people around here are planning to use "treat tubes".

Take a length of PVC pipe, or even just tape cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls together. Have the kids hold the end of the tube over their bag while you slide the treats down the tube. Social distancing made easy.

 

[Alan]

Quite a few people around here are planning to use "treat tubes".

Take a length of PVC pipe, or even just tape cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls together. Have the kids hold the end of the tube over their bag while you slide the treats down the tube. Social distancing made easy.

That sounds much better than testing your basketball skills

 

[Aerides]

Lights out here, not gonna hand out candy this year.

I thought about just putting out a bowl, but we already get enough kids that are too old to be trick or treating anyway, and left unsupervised, I imagine the bowl will get emptied pretty quickly.

There's a thread on my neighborhood nextdoor filled with enthusiasm and no mention of precautions, so I figure we'll just sit this one out.

 

[11522914]

Sadly, lights out and won't be handing out any candy.

Over the years the kids have grown up and there are now very few. Out of 9 families on our cul-de-sac 6 have been here over 28 years.

 

[Car-Guy]

The last 10 years or so that we lived in the big city we'd turn off the lights and not give out any candy... Since we moved to the country it's not been an issue... Matter of fact, no one has ever knocked on our door "at anytime" in the ~15 years we've lived out here.

 

[Midpack]

There are quite a few young families with young kids in our new neighborhood, so we want to give out candy if possible. Last year it poured, so turnout was very low. I guess we'll wear masks and maybe keep a table between us and the kids who show. I kinda like the PVC tube idea though it might be tricky for the very small children, and they're the ones we most want to treat.

 

[sengsational]

I love the treat tubes idea! I was thinking of taping one of my tablet computers up outside, and starting a zoom meeting with that device and join the meeting with my laptop. Then I'd be able to put on some zombie makeup, and interact with the kids, ha! If the tablet camera included the end of the treat tube, I'd be able to make remote candy deliveries! I've got many feet of 2" PVC pipe...hmmmm.

 

[Badger]

I enjoy seeing the little children in their costumes and they have always been well mannered. About 10 years ago I started handing out 100% fruit juice boxes instead of candy. The response was amazing. All the children (and parents) liked having something to drink as they walked the neighborhood and ate candy. Out of the many 100s of children over the years none were disappointed.



Sadly this year we will be turning off the porch lights due to the pandemic and hope for a safer holiday next year. I don't want to encourage the children to crowd together at the door and possibly infect another child and my wife and I need to be careful of our health too.


Cheers!

 

[Boho]

Someone should publish a list of candy that's packaged in waterproof packages. I'm thinking of rigging something up to attach to the door but I won't bother if I can't figure out what candy comes in a washable wrapper.

...bags of chips should work

 

[PaunchyPirate]

This year it’s lights off, curtains pulled and watching TV from the bedroom on the back of the house. I try not to participate in any optional activity that could cause even a single person to catch the virus.

 

[Midpack]

I enjoy seeing the little children in their costumes and they have always been well mannered. About 10 years ago I started handing out 100% fruit juice boxes instead of candy. The response was amazing. All the children (and parents) liked having something to drink as they walked the neighborhood and ate candy. Out of the many 100s of children over the years none were disappointed.

+1. I’m stealing that idea, thanks!

 

[jollystomper]

It will be a quiet Halloween here. Children stopped coming by after our kids and our neighbors kids on our street moved out. We do not have sidewalks and our street is busy, So parents do not feel as safe bringing their kids down our street as they are reluctant to walk across our lawns (when we had kids living on the street their friends did not care ).

Normally we would either go to a friends house in a busy neighborhood, the adults would be in costume and hand out candy to the kids. Sometime a local jazz/ballroom outfit would have an adult Halloween dance and we would then head over there and dance the night away. Those will not be happening this year.

At least DW and I will have a break from costume ideas (DW loves to wear costumes and can sew very well) and I will not be tempted by the leftover candy (if I can resist going to the after Halloween 50% off sales ).

 

[travelover]

Our local Costco usually has huge displays of candy. This year - nada.

 

[Helen]

Halloween is my favorite Holiday. I was so looking forward to this year since it is on a Saturday, is a full moon, is a blue moon and we gain an extra hour at 2am on Sun

We are setting up a 10x10 tent in our driveway and will put a table across the front of the tent with treats, my wife and I will sit at the other end of the tent. I just ordered small toys for a goodie bag. I will go to Costco and buy full size candy bars knowing I can return any unopened boxes.

We won't have the bar under the tent this year. We usually have , beer, red wine, white wine or a shot of Crown Royal for the parents. I might have cans of beer to hand out to the adults though.

We also won't have the party inside for our friends who don't want to pass out candy. Last year the party was roaring, but I was handing out toys and candy in the garage dressed as the wicked witch, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Our first Halloween in this house was 9 years ago and I think we had 34 kids. Last year we had 208 kids. I think the parents drag the kids here knowing we have a bar :^) I'm guessing we will get 50 kids this year if the weather isn't terrible.

 

[donheff]

Halloween is a big deal in my neighborhood. We typically get a couple of hundred kids, all working their way down to nearby East Capitol Street, where homes typically serve up a couple of thousand treats! At 72, I'm not going to sit on the stoop this year. We will package up some treats for the grandkids and the kids on the block but the door will stay closed and dark. All the other suggested Halloween alternatives don't interest me.