Halloween “trick-or-treating” in Covid times

[LittleRa]

I know many of you will have already seen or heard of this idea, but I think it’s such a good one that I’ll share it here in case anyone hasn’t seen. So the idea is (if you wish to participate) to carve a pumpkin and put it in your front window, add decorations etc if you like. You then take your own child out in their costume, with their trick-or-treating bucket/bag and you take your own bag of Halloween sweets. For each pumpkin in a window they spot as you walk around, you give them a sweetie to add to their haul.

Nice idea but not really a huge amount of fun for the kids in my opinion. Might as well just stay at home and give them sweets

@Imknackeredzzz It’s as fun as you make it. My DD enjoyed walking around the streets spotting rainbow pictures or teddy bears in people’s windows during the full lockdown, and she didn’t even get a Sweet for that! You can big it up and make it as fun as you like, definitely more fun than just sitting at home and being handed the sweets imo. Maybe more age dependent, mine is 6yo.

I assume a lot of people will do normal trick or treating, I hope they do otherwise I won't bother with it!

@KylieKangaroo

I assume a lot of people will do normal trick or treating, I hope they do otherwise I won't bother with it!

Don't be ridiculous. Nobody is going to answer the door to potentially virus carrying strangers when in lots of areas they can't have friends and family in.

Nobody is going to answer the door to potentially virus carrying strangers when in lots of areas they can't have friends and family in.

I'll happily open the door if anyone comes. Unless I've been doing Halloween incorrectly all these years, you don't normally invite the children in. Just give them some sweets.

We are supposedly taking back control.
We are not the 51st state.
Let's not do Halloween any more. Covid 19 is a good reason.

WTF has the 51st state got to do with Halloween? It didn't originate in the U.S.

@nosswith Sorry don’t understand 🤷‍♀️ about the 51st state.
But I did say IF you wish to participate and if it’s something your kids would find fun.

It's a good idea Op. I suppose it is dependent on a lot of your neighbours participating in the Lit Pumpkin in the window on the night. Perhaps lots of people won't this year because they don't want children knocking.

When mine were little, I used to do a little Halloween party for them at home. They could invite a couple of friends to tea and we'd have Halloween themed food, decorate the house and play a couple of "Halloween" games, lucky dip in slime (jelly) was a good one. They'd all wear a costume.
Covid safe if you don't exceed 6 people.

I'm doing this in half term for my 2 nieces and their friend.

@SmileyClare Unfortunately I’m in a stricter local lockdown area (North East) so can’t even have a few little friends round, as we’ve done in previous years.

We don't plan to go out this year as usual,sadly as my kids love it. Our local FB is suggesting the same as you, OP and we will probably take part. I have also booked for us to go to Halloween event where we will stay in our party of 5, with organised Covid-secure activities. FC next year we will be out in the streets again as usual, it's usually a nice thing around here with a bit of community spirit.

It's a nice idea, but ... a lot of folks take a visible decoration as a sign that the house is taking part in normal trick or treating.

It's a minefield this year!

Nice idea but won’t work. The rule here for sometime has been if you see a pumpkin outside you can knock. If no pumpkin then don’t knock.

People might not want children knocking this year, adults might not want children knocking on strangers doors either after 100 other kids have touched it or touched the sweet tin.

Ah sorry LittleRa bloody covid eh?

I think they're quite easily pleased when they're small so you can make it fun.. The dressing up in costumes, doing face painting, making a pumpkin or some Halloween cakes for you and dd to eat are all things that get most kids ridiculously excited.

I bought my niece some plastic witches fingers with long black nails to put on your own fingers last year and she thought it was the best present ever and wore them all day.

I think the sad thing is i can see some people going to a lot of trouble to make it all safe for normal trick or treating (keeping garden gate open, providing hand gel, wiping door knobs, offering sweet bowls on long sticks ect) and then hardly anyone will turn up.

I really hope our village comes to a decision on exactly what's happening this year. Paper pumpkin trail vs attempt at normality. (Much easier to have a consensus in a village than a big town.)

You could just decorate your house with cobwebs and stuff and do a sweet treasure hunt round your house or garden? Turn the lights off and do it with torches?
Not quite the same I know.

We are also in the North East and our village is planning to do the pumpkin trail and for people to decorate their gates/gardens/outside of house for people to see as they walk around.

@nosswith

We are supposedly taking back control. We are not the 51st state. Let's not do Halloween any more. Covid 19 is a good reason.

Quite right.

Nobody does it in my road anyway so I can't see it starting this year.

Sounds like a nice idea in principal but I think here if you decorate here, then people will come a'knocking (they are not very bright in my corner of the world, the high level of cases in my city are caused by my small area having most of the cases in the whole city according to the figures - you just have to look outside my window and gatherings are happening ). We will have our own little Halloween party, we have ideas for 'spooky' activities for the day and evening. I will decorate but only for us, inside.

I’m going to do little individual party bag type things to give out and dress my kids up as usual and go on a “spooky walk” to my mum’s a few streets away. She will throw them sweets from a distance, we will go home and watch a scary film. Result!

I think its a nice idea op. Most of the children on my road go to the same school, and play together on the road, so we will probably limit 'trick or treating' to those families. As it's a saturday night I am going to suggest to some of my neighbours that they bring their bbqs and firepits out to the front gardens, and we can have a socially distant street party, (weather permitting) i think it would be lovely and atmospheric, don't know if anyone will go for it though. Halloween is quite big here (ireland) even though we stole the idea from America.

@nosswith

We are supposedly taking back control. We are not the 51st state. Let's not do Halloween any more. Covid 19 is a good reason.

What does that even mean?

Taking back control of who? What?
Do people still really think Halloween is something invented in America?
Seriously?

I always find the idiots who think Halloween is an American custom hilarious. Seriously people actually look into the history.

Anyway I expect we will get local guidelines from our council nearer the time. I would happily do it but we are the second worst area in Scotland apparently so not holding my breath.

Halloween is quite big here (ireland) even though we stole the idea from America
Holy shit you actually think that?

Willow2017 didn't you see the