I don't get why Hallowe'en can't 'happen' this year

[BabyLlamaZen]

I know a lot of people hate halloween, so this isn't about that!

For those who find it a bit of fun, especially with kids, I dont get why everyone is going on about how it's ruined and cancelled?

Isn't the whole point doing up your house all creatively and spooky then going for walks around your neighbourhood to have a look? I.e. your daily walk. Ok so we won't be going inside other houses, but did you ever? My plan was to leave individual paper bags of sweets in a basket on the front step with some sanitizer. People take them at their own risk, like every year? 🤷‍♀️

How is it worse than going to eat in a cafe next to strangers? We know it's mostly airborne. Am I crazy?

@FourTeaFallOut

Your bowl is now Haribo and COVID

Trick or Treat?

well u cant knock on peoples doors and start touching things can you so maybe its best not to do the walk round at all

When I was little in Ireland we always played lots of Halloween games and trick or treat wasn't really a thing. I remember it being lots of fun. Some ideas for games here.
www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2016/0923/818665-5-easy-but-simple-halloween-party-games/
www.independent.ie/lifestyle/traditional-halloween-games-26781550.html
www.irishmirror.ie/whats-on/family-kids-news/irish-halloween-games-traditions-samhain-9062654
We were so excited to find the ring in the Halloween barmbrack.
I am always amused when people say Halloween is an American tradition. The tradition of Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Multiple hands in buckets of sweets - not a good idea.
Multiple kids speaking to people at their doors (and most probably not social distancing) - not a good idea
People who could have covid handing out sweets
Kids with covid putting hands in buckets for sweets
Rule of 6 means no going round in groups.

.......It's just not the year for it, is it!

I'll be decorating the outside of the house- ds2 is keen to do it, and we usually do several pumpkins. I think I'll probably peg bags of Haribo to the hedges and let them help themselves, if they want to.

After the normal tail off time (usually about 7.30/8) ds1 will be coming over and we're going to watch a spooky film together. With popcorn, obviously.

I did fret for a while over whether to do anything, but my thought is that if parents are happy to take their kids out for a Halloween walk, then I'm more than happy to give them something to look at (and give them sweets, if they're allowed)

We’ll be doing it and will use a line and peg up the sweets in little bags to avoid anyone cross contaminating 🙂

Treasure hunt for sweets around the house, spooky movie with the lights off, sparklers in the garden.

Handing out sweets is just not really safe or sensible right now.

I wish we could do away with trick or treating and just have people decorate houses like at Christmas and going for a nice moonlit walk with all the lights and spooky Decs!

No need for the sweet element at all imo.

@AGoatAteIt thank you - dc1 is 9 too - he has also suggested Harry Potter

Perhaps the potential of catching Covid at each house one visits will add a real element of scariness to the whole event rather than those fake cobwebs?

@DilysPrice

I never do the rummage in a bowl thing anyway - someone always grabs half the bowl with surprisingly enormous hands for such a small child. I just drop a couple of goodies into each proffered bucket. I find it hard to get worried about that as a means of transmission.

But if you’re getting close enough to do that, you’re within 2m! No wonder this bloody thing is spreading as fast as it is...

People on our street are talking about doing a costume parade - I don't really see why kids shouldn't do it, albeit not in big groups, as there's no evidence touch is a big issue, but I do get that not everyone will be comfortable with that.

depending on the weather we will leave a string with bags of sweets near the front gate.

One metre distant for a period of five seconds, outside, with both parties masked? I honestly can’t be bothered to worry about that level of risk. But if my neighbourhood association does go along with it they’ll probably go with the more cautious “dump bucket on doorstep - stand well back while sweeties are dispensed - recover bucket” routine. That’s what we do when we lend out or freecycle stuff to each other at the moment. Masks are key to this whole Halloween I’d have thought. Personally I’ll be wearing a gas mask, just because that’s my fancy dress costume of choice anyway.

But has anyone seen any good spooky face coverings in the shops for wearing during the day?

I have a friend in the US, where Halloween is bigger than here, and their town has agreed to doing individual or bags of sweets, spaced out, for kids to take.

I really can't see how that's worse than them being in school together 6 hours a day. WE live in a village and all the local primary kids go to the local school so even if they walked together (and only the parents socially distanced) I don't think it would add any risk to what's already happening. The secondary kids also all go to the same school and tend to hang out with the ones in their year and/or trick or treat with siblings so they're all in the same 'bubbles' anyway.

You could say only go around with other kids in your school bubble if you wanted and they could still have Halloween that way.

As long as people aren't knocking on doors and having face to face conversations it seems no more risk picking up sweets sitting in the open air than picking up shopping. You can hand sanitise after each sweet / bag goes into the pot if you want to.

@BabyLlamaZen

I know a lot of people hate halloween, so this isn't about that!

For those who find it a bit of fun, especially with kids, I dont get why everyone is going on about how it's ruined and cancelled?

Isn't the whole point doing up your house all creatively and spooky then going for walks around your neighbourhood to have a look? I.e. your daily walk. Ok so we won't be going inside other houses, but did you ever? My plan was to leave individual paper bags of sweets in a basket on the front step with some sanitizer. People take them at their own risk, like every year? 🤷‍♀️

How is it worse than going to eat in a cafe next to strangers? We know it's mostly airborne. Am I crazy?

That sounds great, have fun!

Unless we get put into a band of doom by Boris today, I'm going to be setting up a trick or treat sweet delivery mechanism. Currently thinking either zip wire from upstairs window, or (if I have more time) a big scary face, with a length of (clean!) guttering coming out of the mouth. Sweet gets shot down the tube into the proffered bucket. Loads of spooky fun and distanced.

I don't get why I can pick up a Mcdonalds from someone who is serving 100s of people (definitely less then 2m distance, they have to hand it to you!) but kids can't get given sweets.

Because there are multiple people touching them... That's why.

And that’s different from picking and touching things from shops how..?

We don’t do Halloween really but surely you just carry a bucket, then get pre packaged little packets of sweets to give out. Parents can quarantine them if they want or wipe the outside. Surely you could organise with some local friends a way of doing it that’s hygienic with people you trust. 4-5 families and your sorted. People seem very quick to cancel things rather than just adapt.

One metre distant for a period of five seconds, outside, with both parties masked?

You can't put sweets in a child's bag from a distance of 1m.
Small children are not very good at social distancing. They will crowd round in groups like they always do.

As an aside, where are all these places that people can leave sweets outside and they won't all be gone by the time the third group gets there?

We are going on a “pumpkin hunt”, the kids will get dressed up and look for houses dressed up, every time the kids spot a house I’ll chuck some sweets in their buckets they have (they are only 3 and 4). We’ll also dress our house up too so other children can do it too. There’s been quite a few things on local groups about not knocking, but still going out to spot pumpkins. Maybe a little naff but our children are only little and are easily pleased 😆!

Hmm. People round here don't have 'bowls of sweets' as such, the few that answer the door have single haribo packets, which could be 'covid secure' (taking wording from workplaces..which seem anything but in all honesty) in, wiping down, sanitizer between door openings and such. As I understand, you have to be around a positive person for 15 mins+ for the test and trace thing, so it must be around that time to get infected (with rare exceptions, such as someone coughing in your face no doubt)

So you could make it safer.

But at the same time, I get why its 'banned' as it does give mixed messages really. Stay in, but go out, but stay in again, like many of the press conferences! Maybe the government are finally going to stick to making sense?! And not repeatedly contradicting themselves? Heres hoping.

We’re going to have a spooky film night with sweets instead in a decorated living room.

You can’t hand out candy from 2m away, many won’t have face masks and will be in groups. If any have the virus they will take it from house to house. It’s not just about touching the sweets.

As I understand, you have to be around a positive person for 15 mins+ for the test and trace thing, so it must be around that time to get infected (with rare exceptions, such as someone coughing in your face no doubt)

Having a group of children shout "Trick or treat" in your face from a short distance away is on the official list of common ways to get infected.

• Well, no it's not. But shouting is known to be a way to spread the virus.