via Shutterstock
Jack-O-Lantern in Face Mask for Halloween 2020
In a normal year, the week before Halloween would hold last-minute costume changes, chili party prep, and trick-or-treat buddy selection. But this 2020—are we even surprised anymore?
With COVID-19 cases climbing to record peaks across the region, national and local officials have spoken—and it’s not great news. Trick or treating is out this year.
The CDC recently released a set of guidelines ranking activities as low, moderate, and high risk. The high-risk activities include go-tos like indoor costume parties, haunted houses, and trick or treating.
“You have people from multiple families getting in close proximity; you also have people who are reaching into bags grabbing candy, putting it in their bag—lots of close contact,” says Dr. Razaan Byrne, a pediatrician at Children’s Minnesota. “Then, of course, with coronavirus being airborne, those particles can go into the air as you’re breathing.”
But don't fret. Trick-or-treating alternatives abound. By now, we’ve all seen someone building their own candy chute (PVC pipe + duct tape = genius), and trunk or treating, where kids pick a bag of candy from the trunk of a car. The concern all those alternatives have in common: that many people gathering in one place creates a high-risk environment, just like traditional t-or-ting.
“Even though outdoors activities are generally safer, we have seen infections occurring when people are clustered close together outdoors in places like concerts, so even events like hayrides may be risky,” says Beth Thielen, MD, PhD, an adult and pediatric infectious diseases physician at M Health Fairview in a press release.
Instead of risking increased virus spread, we rounded up a whole pillowcase of ideas to substitute for no door-to-door traversing this year. (And hey, who doesn’t want an excuse to buy all the good candy and keep it for yourself?)
Read on (if you dare!) for ideas to get your witch’s brew bubbling.
Safe Trick or Treating
If your wee ones have their hearts set on collecting candy this year, have family members hide behind doors while the kids go knocking room to room.
via El Burrito Mercado
El Burrito Mercado Candy
And while at-home trick or treating is the only low-risk option recommended by the CDC, some locals still plan to distribute Halloween candy in their neighborhoods by laying goody bags on the lawn or at the end of the driveway. If you’re taking this route, make sure to wash your hands—a lot!—while preparing the bags, and keep in mind that this is a moderate-risk activity.
Editor’s Pick: Grab some unique goodies from local grocers United Noodles and El Burrito Mercado. They’re a fun surprise, and they may just become your family’s new favorites.
Coloring Masks
It’s time to turn that frown upside down 2020 style. Use fabric markers (like these ones from Legacy Toys) to turn those now-ubiquitous face masks into a costume of sorts.
“You can still have the cloth integrity and then add a color on the outside,” Dr. Byrne says. Think twice before coloring your surgical masks, though. “Those are not meant to get any sort of moisture on them because then it loses the integrity of the barrier.”
Though they complement your costume, ‘Ween masks don’t offer the same COVID-19 protections as cloth or surgical masks. To avoid breathing issues, don’t pair your Scream mask with a protective face mask.
Halloween Arts & Crafts
via Kidcreate Studio
Kidcreate Studio's Glow-In-The-Dark Starry Night Ghosts Art Kit
Spend the evening with scary movies (or non-scary, we don’t judge) rolling while tapping your inner Picasso and making your own art to give your home that extra touch of pumpkin-y goodness. Eden Prairie’s Kidcreate Studio is offering a Glow-In-The-Dark Starry Night Ghosts Art Kit a la Vincent Van Gough that comes with everything to make a glowing version of the masterpiece, complete with tissue ghosts. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to paint Starry Night yourself—we certainly don’t—it also comes with a link to an instructional video.
Pull Up a Chair Around the Campfire
Kick off Halloweekend with a backyard bonfire. Move to the front yard to wave at neighbors—while getting in on s’more of that ooey-gooey, chocolatey goodness. Scary stories, anyone?
Support a local biz at the same time with a North Mallow marshmallow kit, decked out with gourmet grahams, mini chocolate bars, and two full-sized bags of marshmallows of your choice. With a caramel swirl mallow in their mouth, who could be disappointed in 2020?
Pumpkin Carving Contest
It’s time to spoon into your kids’ competitive spirit with a pumpkin carving competition. Paring knife? Check. Print off stencils or go rogue and free hand it. Bonus: Show off your gourd ghouls to the rest of the neighborhood safely—no alterations needed.
Halloween Drive-Ins
Take on Halloween from your car with drive-in movies, haunted drive-thrus, and safe trick or treating. Head to St. Paul, Burnsville, Edina, and the Mall of America for drive-thru trick or treating and other seasonal fun like a car photobooth.
Brighten your night with Sever's Holiday Lights in Shakopee (a little early for the red and green, but these are Halloweeny, we promise.)
Or get in the ghostly spirit with a drive-in showing of Coco in Maple Grove on October 30.
A Scavenger Hunt
Take full advantage of the Halloween items from years previous and create a scavenger hunt. Anything goes—pumpkins, skeletons, the source of the howling wind in the attic that may or may not be a ghost. Get the kids involved in planning and ask them to hide a few spooky surprises for you.
Take to the neighborhood (don’t forget masks and hand sanitizer!) and check off a selfie list of Halloween decorations. Twelve-foot skeletons on a neighbor’s lawn? You betcha.
Editor’s Pick: Give your scavenger hunt a pirate theme. Make a map with clues and have your kids follow the dotted lines. For where ‘X’ marks the spot, use a suitcase filled with chocolate coins and costume jewelry. Bonus points if you don an eyepatch and parrot.
However your spend your Halloween, make it a family affair. “I’d encourage parents to get the kids involved with the activities that they're going to do for Halloween,” Dr. Byrne says. “Lots of kids will have fantastic ideas about what sort of fun activities they'd want to do as a family in order to start a new tradition in the time of COVID.”
