Tips for having a low-risk Halloween

Like nearly everything else in 2020, this year’s Halloween holiday will be unlike any before.

In September, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children to go door to door as a high-risk activity for spreading COVID-19.

While traditional trick-or-treating might prove to be too risky for some families, there are a few ways you can still celebrate Halloween safely. According to the CDC, participating in trick-or-treating in which individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard) is considered a moderate-risk activity.

Here are few other low-risk Halloween activities you can participate in:

1. Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them.

2. Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends.

3. Decorating your house, apartment, or living space.

4. Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.

5. Having a virtual Halloween costume contest.

6. Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with.

7. Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house.