11 Tips to Avoid Covid-19 During Trick or Treat Season

October is Halloween season and it is one of the holidays that the kids most love to celebrate. For communities and families who are used to celebrating the tradition of Trick or Treating where children get to pick out candies and sweets and knock from house to house wearing creative costumes of their favorite superheroes and fairytale characters, this would be very tough for them to explain to their young ones that this year may be very different from the usual Holiday celebration.

Coronavirus is still the number one enemy of people all over the world and of Canadians, with approximately 1,500 recorded active cases in Alberta alone. 

But, tough times are also a time of creativity and new ideas.

You can still prepare a safe and enjoyable Halloween celebration for your kids with the safety measures in place. Covid-19 doesn’t have to take away a memorable year for your kids. And according to health experts, Alberta has no plans to cancel Halloween.

These are some ways to celebrate Halloween with your kids during this pandemic

1. Let them wear their costumes

Halloween won’t be fun without dressing up and fulfilling your child’s dream character. Let them pick out their favorite character and prepare a costume for them. Just make sure to incorporate a mask with their costumes that are compliant to local health protection standards.

2. Decorate your home

Put up some Halloween cobwebs inside and outside your house. Buy some spiders, skeleton, and pumpkin decors to add up for the mood. You can even add lights and mechanical ghosts for the kids to enjoy.

3. Carve Halloween Pumpkins with Your kids

Teach the kids how to make a Halloween pumpkin on their own with your supervision. This moment may become a bonding time for your entire family.

4. Stream a Halloween themed movie

Pick a family-friendly Halloween movie and watch it with your kids and some of their cousins or friends next door to enjoy. Make their movie night even more special by preparing some popcorn and drinks for them to eat and drink.

5. Try Scavenger hunting of treats

Try a scavenger hunting game inside or outside your house for your kids to play and search for treats. Add spooky challenges to each station to incorporate a Halloween theme. 

6. Observe Social Distancing while Trick or Treating

Print out floor signs, social distancing signs, and other covid-19 related signages to remind everyone to observe social distancing while trick or treating outside your house (If your community is pushing through with trick or treat activities with physical distancing and health protocols).

7. Use a Plexiglass or a plastic film as a barrier for your door

Just as it is used in cashiers and other establishments, you can also use this to wrap your front door to make it easier to give out candies without making contact with kids outside your door.

8. Set up Virtual Parties

You can use any virtual platforms to set up safe parties for your children and their friends. Coordinate with other families on how you can pull off an online party for the kids while showing off their costumes and treats.

9. Only give out wrapped candies

It is better to give out individually wrapped candies than finger foods like doughnuts or cupcakes and other homemade delicacies given out in trick or treating.

10. Mask On

Make sure that the kids are wearing their masks all the time to avoid the spreading of viruses.

11. Sanitize the Treats before eating

Make sure to wipe or clean the candy wraps before letting your kids eat it. Do not let them eat the candies until they are done trick or treating.

If you are planning to host a Halloween party, make it a small or intimate gathering only. Large celebrations are highly discouraged for now. On the other hand, if you need to attend a family or small neighborhood Halloween party, make sure these things are observed properly:

• Always wear your mask all the time.
• Observe a six feet social distancing from other families.
• Avoid a buffet-style party. Make sure that your food is served.
•  Have separate tables for every family for transmission to be prevented.
• Bring a sanitizer at all times.
• Wash your hands when you enter other people’s homes or establishments.

As soon as you get home from trick or treating with your kids, let them wash their hands first before getting into their bowl of treats. Make them give you their bowl of candies and wipe the bowl and every piece of candy wrappers in it with a disinfectant cloth or tissue. If there are candies inside the bowl that are not individually wrapped, throw it right away and don’t let them eat it.Remember to always check for the latest news, regulations, and provisions given by your cities on how to celebrate Halloween in this pandemic. Coronavirus is still evident around the world. It is better to be safe and look out for the safety of your children first more than anything else. If you have symptoms relating to Covid-19, find the nearest walk in clinic Calgary to get tested in. Otherwise, you can also consult online doctors to avoid the risk of infection from clinic crowds.