Have Safer Halloween Festivities During COVID-19

Halloween During COVID-19 The usual spooky festivities for Halloween may feel extra scary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Sacramento County Public Health​ has important guidance to help ensure safer trick-or-treating for everyone to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Follow the guidance below to have a fun and safe Halloween!

Firstly, you will need to wear a face-covering – so why not make it fun! Have your child select their own face covering, and then decorate it together to match their costume.

When you are out trick-or-treating, travel only with your household members (don’t forget – wear your face covering), be sure to maintain 6 feet of social distance from others, and make interactions brief with others outside your household.

Keep from transferring the virus with your hands. When you touch objects or your face, the virus may be lurking, so wash your hands often and have hand sanitizer handy.  Be sure to clean/disinfect high-touch surfaces. Also, have everyone wait to dig into the candy until hands are clean before unwrapping the candy, and then again before eating the candy. Do not share costume props or food. And, of course, if you feel sick or could be contagious, you must stay home and away from others.

This year, you need to make it an outdoor festivity. In an outdoor area, such as a porch or driveway:

• Set up a table to stand behind and hand out candy using candy-grabber or tongs;
• Make treat bags and hang them from streamers outside for kids to grab; or
• Place a bowl of candy and bottle of hand sanitizer at the end of the driveway/walkway; and
• Always wear a face-covering around others, don’t touch your face, and practice good hand hygiene when handling candy.

These ideas will help you and others be extra safe while still celebrating Halloween

• Host a virtual Halloween “watch” party with online video/chat and have best costume or craft project contests;
• Have a Halloween movie night with household members either at home or drive-in;
• Do reverse trick-or-treat by dropping off small gift bags on your neighbor’s porch;
• Put on a trunk-or-treat on your street (Halloween decorated car trunks) with socially distanced parked cars in driveways;
• Coordinate a contact-free neighborhood scavenger hunt;
• Organize a neighborhood car parade or socially distanced costume parade for best decorations/costume and give treat bags or toss candy (preferably with candy grabbers).