As Halloween fast approaches, people are looking for many alternatives to trick or treat during Covid-19.
If you are still going out trick or treating in areas that are not hot spots for Covid-19, you should take the recommended public health advice outlined in your region. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams issued the following statement in response to Covid-19: “Everyone partaking in trick or treating should wear face coverings, whether it is the children going door-to-door, the adults accompanying them or the homeowners handing out candy.”
Some people are coming up with creative ways to hand out candy at a safer distance. Geoff Burke, owner of Watermark Plumbing Services created the concept of a candy chute for people to hand out candy. It’s a long tube, running the length of the railing, it’s meant to deliver candy straight from homeowner to trick-or-treater. He stated “It is fast. It is efficient. It is a lot of fun for the kids as well.”
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many families are skipping trick or tricking altogether this year. Halloween can be celebrated in many different ways inside the comfort of your own home.
Halloween does not have to be canceled! Check out these fun and safe alternatives to trick or treat during Covid-19. They will make your Halloween celebrations just as fun!
Mini Pumpkin Hunt
If you are not keen on buying a lot of candy this year, not to worry, you can decorate mini pumpkins and hide them in your backyard or around your house! Use washable markers to draw googly eyes and faces, or check your local dollar store for your choice of art supplies.
Another nifty idea is to create mini marble pumpkins with nail polish. You will need a mini pumpkin, preferably white, a few bottles of nail polish, a plastic container deep enough to submerge the pumpkin, toothpicks, Q-tips, and some water.
In addition, you can create an arts and craft project for decorating the bags you will be using for the pumpkin hunt.
Candy Scavenger Hunt
Create a scavenger hunt in your backyard or around your house. Repurpose plastic Easter eggs or biodegradable paper candy bags to hide the candy inside. Decorate the eggs and bags with googly faces. As a fun add-on, create a list of spooky clues for the child to follow. If you are going to have the scavenger hunt take place in the dark, use glow in the dark pens to decorate the eggs and bags. You can also have the kids decorate their Halloween tote bag using the pens. It will look awesome in the dark. But be safe, have the kids carry mini flashlights so they can see where they are walking.
Virtual Halloween Party
Many children are getting familiar with virtual chats and social gatherings amid the pandemic. This year, you can create a Virtual Halloween party with friends and family. An excellent alternative to trick or treat during Covid-19. Everyone dresses up! Organize activities for the kids to do together virtually, such as a timed decorating wall contest using tape and dollar store decorations. Play Halloween themed bingo or charades.
Clay Pumpkin Keepsakes
You can play Halloween themed music while making these fun crafts. It’s a great family activity for both younger and older kids. You can place your child’s handprint, a picture, and the year on the clay keepsake. Display these every Halloween; such a great momentum for years to come. Your child can recollect the different, yet unique Halloween of 2020.
Halloween Piñatas
If you are looking to limit the candy consumption that night without losing the fun, you can create a piñata that can hold all the candy for that night. For less of a splatter, place lightweight candy into latex gloves and tie the ends with ribbon. You can purchase a Halloween themed piñata or if you have a creative gene, try to make a pumpkin or ghost pinata with just a few art supplies from the dollar store.
Bobbing for Donuts
To play this game indoors, use the frame of a door, masking tape, and string to gently tie around and suspend the donuts. Have your kids place their hands behind their backs. No hands allowed. Each player is given a designated hanging donut. Players race each other to see who can be the fastest to eat a dangling donut. If space is limited, you can have the players go separately. Set a timer to determine the winner. A challenge where you can have kids and adults alike play against each other. I would spread some newspaper on the floor for easy cleanup. Don’t forget to take a group shot with all their messy little faces.
Halloween Movie Watch Party
Choose a Halloween movie that is appropriate for all the ages attending the virtual party. The host should send out an invite beforehand so everyone can join and start the movie at the same time. Make sure you choose a video chat that can host large groups for extended periods of time. Prepare enough snacks for the duration of the movie. Have little ones or need to stretch your legs? Setting a designated time for bathroom and rest breaks can be helpful. Have your costume on and snacks ready! Sorry for the folks who enjoy complete silence during a movie, it probably won’t happen that night. But it’s not a regular night, it’s HALLOWEEN.
Spiders and Cobwebs Maze
It’s like having a mini spooky maze in your home. You will need a hallway, fake cobwebs (or white streamers), little plastic spiders, and masking tape so you won’t damage the walls. Note: you can find bags of stretch cobwebs normally at the dollar store this time of year. Tape the stretched cobwebs on the wall in a zigzag pattern, using different heights, moving down the hallway. Strategically place the cobweb so the child won’t crawl under the maze the whole way but wide enough apart so they can still climb over and under. You can leave a trick…or a treat at the end of the course. Create a spookier maze, by using glow in the dark cobwebs and spiders.
Play Spooky Musical Ghosts
Fun and an active game you can play to wear off the sugar high from all that candy. Spread out sheets, play some music, have the kids dance while moving in circles around the sheets. This game follows the rules of musical chairs so there will be fewer sheets than children playing. When the music stops, the last person who doesn’t place the sheet over the head like a ghost is out. You can have fun with the volume during the dancing phase. The lower the volume the slower they walk and dance; the louder the volume the faster they walk and dance.
Poke-A-Pumpkin
This is a fun game to play during a stay at home Halloween party. It is safer than a free for all dash for candy you can get from a piñata. All kids have a chance to collect the same amount of treats; and it’s easier to clean than piñatas but just as fun! You will need a few art supplies to create this budget-friendly game. Each child gets a turn to punch out one of the circles to get a prize or candy. This game is a great way to control their candy consumption, plus it’s a fun and different way for them to collect their candy.
Play a Minute to Win it Games
These games are short and sweet and fun for all ages. You can even play games virtually with your friends. The more the merrier. Play more than one of these games in a night.
i) The Jack Stack game requires you to recreate a large jack-o’-lantern puzzle face that is drawn on stackable cups. The players will stack and unstack the cups within a minute. You get points for each time you stack and unstack the cups in the correct order. The person with the most points at the end of one minute wins.
ii) Sorting Skittles, to play you will need a large bag of skittle, 2 plastic spoons, and 3 plastic bowls. Fill one bowl with skittles and place it in between the players. Players are given two colours each, they fight to grab their colors out of the same bowl of Skittles. Whichever player has the most skittles in their bowl after one minute is the winner.
There are many alternatives to trick or treat during Covid. Let’s focus on creating fun and memorable moments with family and friends.
Where can I get some?
