Halloween is one of children’s favorite holidays to celebrate, dressing up as their favorite character and running around from house to house trick-or-treating. Still, is it safe in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic and with the flu season approaching?

According to the CDC, there are different risks involved with various celebratory Halloween activities. Unfortunately, the beloved door-to-door trick-or-treating is a high risk, assuming the house owner did not take any precautions to protect children from potential COVID-19 exposure. They also say it is only moderately risky if the owner is wearing a mask, the candy is prepackaged in candy bags, and goodies are handed out at a distance.

If you decide to proceed with trick-or-treating, be sure to celebrate safely with these tips:

1. Make sure to wear a mask
2. Wear gloves and sanitize your hands after each house
3. Social distance at least six feet
4. Before eating any candy, wash your hands

Even if you are deciding not to participate in trick-or-treating, no matter what, Halloween is going to look different across the country this year and present challenges. Below are Halloween activities, plus the CDC risk rating associated with those activities.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention Halloween Risk Guidelines

Low-Risk Activities

• Carving or decorating pumpkins at home
• Decorating your house
• Halloween Scavenger hunt admiring the decorations
• Virtual Halloween costume contest

Moderate-Risk Activities

• Trick-or-treating accepting only individually wrapped goodie bags
• Costume parade
• Visiting pumpkin patches
• Outdoor scary movie night

High-Risk Activities

• Traditional trick-or-treating
• Trunk-or-treating
• Attending costume parties
• Indoor haunted houses
• Haunted tractor hayrides
• Fall festivals

How are you and your family celebrating this year? We would love to see and hear about your experience!