The beginning of October is an indicator of many things. It signifies fall, the start of fall activities and festivals, playing in the leaves, hot drinks, fall family bucket lists, and so much more. It also means Halloween will soon be upon us.
As we all know, Halloween looks a bit different this year, and it has all parents asking the same question:
Do I take my kids out trick-or-treating, or do we stay home?
In all reality, it comes down to your comfort level. Halloween poses a LOT of questions this year. Is it safe? Do I want my child(ren) to go up to a house, and ring a bell that has also been touched by multiple other people? Should we go trick-or-treating but wear face masks because we will be in close proximity to those opening their doors to give candy? Would I allow my child to take candy out of a bowl left outside someone’s house, where many other people have also put their (germ filled) hands into the bowl and touched the candy? For that matter, do I want to take candy that has been touched by complete strangers (who are handing it out), and has germs on it? I don’t know if the people handing out candy have washed their hands or used hand sanitizer before doing so…
So. Many. Questions.
For our family, we have made the decision NOT to go trick-or-treating this year.
We just aren’t comfortable with all it entails with so many unanswered questions and variables hanging in the air. So what is the alternative? Do we go to a socially distanced event instead? Do we not do anything?
We ended up deciding on having a small Halloween party with our neighbors. Just ONE neighbor; four kids and four adults. That’s it. Simple and safe.
My neighbor and I have planned to decorate both our houses, and the kids will go back and forth from one house to the other as they please. All four children will be in their Halloween costumes. I’m going to bake Halloween cupcakes, and we will have other treats as well. We also plan to have a Halloween candy hunt for the kids (kind of like an Easter Egg hunt on Easter). This way they all still get candy even though we aren’t going out trick-or-treating.
Neither my neighbor or I feel comfortable taking our kids out this year, so this is our alternative. And you know what? Our kids are totally fine with it.
Sometimes parents worry about our kids missing out on things. We think they will be upset if they can’t do this or that. But, if you just ask them, they might actually be OK with it. Both of my boys have said they don’t care that we are not going trick-or-treating this year. They love the party idea and are excited about it. After all, they still get new Halloween costumes to dress up in, and they are still getting candy. So, they aren’t really missing out on anything.
So if you are feeling unsure about whether or not to go trick-or-treating this year, just do what you feel is best for your family. I promise you, your kids will be OK.
