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?

You can still have halloween just not trick or treat that should be fucking banded anyway
Encouraging kids to knock on random door begging for sweet (25% of kids overweight ) making peoples live a misrey .

Kids will be doing track & trace this year
Not trick or treat 😂😂
They will probably be way better at it than Boris so called world beating app

Made the mistake of telling the husband and kids about the drainpipe thing - they are now experimenting with pipes of various lengths from different windows.....and my dad has just come to help.....
🤦‍♀️

I'm going to see how things are at the time (we're in London) but assuming we will be at level 2 and allowed to meet 6 people outside we will decorate the house and will set up the camping table in the front garden with hand sanitiser. I've bought the Lidl Halloween chocolate lollies which are quite large as they come in a chocolate bar sized packet so they can be placed separately on the table and we can sit and wave from the doorstep with masks on.

If the government sends a clear message not to do it though I won't. But these children are playing together at school and in the local playground and we are currently allowed to meet 6 people inside and outside. There aren't going to be many opportunities for joy this winter so if we can do things like this as safe as possible then we should. Dementors be gone!

@SecretSpAD

Made the mistake of telling the husband and kids about the drainpipe thing - they are now experimenting with pipes of various lengths from different windows.....and my dad has just come to help..... 🤦‍♀️

Embrace it!!!!!!! 😃

I’m doing stuff at home with my DS, got a load of activities to do, pumpkin, costume and sweets. We’ll have a party on our own! Like anything, it’s what you make of it. If you want to be a misery and say it’s cancelled because you cant do what you always do then you’re boring.

@Cocomarine I have no choice! We won't get any visitors here as were off the beaten track but the three of them will get hours of amusement!

@londongirl12

I agree. No different to someone handing you a takeaway bag!

But the food deliverer will be following guidelines. Five year olds won't. We will not be handing sweets out this year and we won't be answering the door either.

I'm thinking no pps are or have been guiding/scouting people?

Games you can play at home:

Apple bobbing - there's other variations too like bobbing for sweets in a basin of flour or gobstoppers in a load of grapes depending how messy or not you can cope with

Doughnut on a string eating race - ring doughnuts hung on strings and 1 per person and you have to eat as fast as possible - no hands!

Spider drive - dice, paper and pencils, each dice result is a spidery body part, when you throw that number that's the bit you draw, winner is first to draw a complete spider

Pin the head on the zombie - like tail on the donkey but a head, blu tak to stick it on

Halloween story maker - paper and pencils, sit in a circle at table, each person writes

1 intro

2 a scary event

3 a funny event

4 an ending

after each part written fold the top of the sheet over so nobody can read and swap with neighbours usually rotating the sheets in an agreed clockwise or anti clockwise direction

Pumpkin carving/designing competition - if you don't want to do real pumpkins they can draw them and you can have prizes either way

Halloween based quiz with Halloween sweets for prizes - questions can be about anything Halloween related depending on age of participants, superstitions/customs from around the world are generally a popular topic

Scavenger hunt in the house

Adults only

Various drinking games, either watching movies and you have to drink every time a cliche appears/is said, or use the above games but apply drinking penalties to the losers

Trick or treating Isn't possible but you can still have lots of fun.

I'm alone this year so it'll be a glass or 2 of something alcoholic and my favourite scary movies.

People only trick or treat on Tele. If it's a big deal to you make it a family thing.

Any recommendations for scary films?

@D4rwin

People only trick or treat on Tele. If it's a big deal to you make it a family thing.

I must have imagined all those kids at my door thr last few years. 🎃

We will be decorating the house and dc dressing up then later having a Gilmore girls style junk food binge with American candy and pizza while watching scary films and having a few gin cocktails!

We don't do trick or treating usually- partly because we live so rurally and also because we generally go away for the Oct half term.

This year we are going to the Lakes as normal so we will do a pumpkin in the cottage and I have bought DS a Halloween Where's Wally book plus a little Halloween torch (he's only 6). We usually go for a walk around when it's going dark to look at pumpkins/decorations so we can still do that.

I'm disappointed that the school Halloween disco party can't go ahead because DS enjoys that but it's not the end of the world.

I'm decorating the house, but the front gate will be shut and I'm not answering the door.

I'm thinking of putting some pre bagged sweets or lollies out, on a line or something with a bottle of handgel. It tend to be one or two smaller kids with their parents, not big groups of kids, so I think it will be fine. No crowds.

I'm taking dc out on a walk and I'll give them a sweet for every pumpkin they find. If they are any sweets out, I might take one for them, and then put those in a separate bag.

They can have the sweets I gave them when they get home. "Found" sweets after they've been put to the side for a bit.

DC have had bugger all the look forward to, so this is the best workaround I can think of.

I would do all of the above but leave the sweets on doorstep.

In fact, I will be doing all of the above and leaving out the sweets on doorstep. Kids can take their own little bag around the walk.

My post didn’t make any sense. I posted it while multitasking and I’m not the best at multitasking!

I mean, I WON’T be leaving treats on the doorstep but, instead, will give my kids their own individual bag to have on the walk around the neighbourhood. I like the idea of adding one treat for every pumpkin we spot.

We’re going to have a ‘party day’ just the 3 of us- Halloween treasure hunt, several games, making cookies (themed cookie cutters), pumpkin carving, decorating the inside of the house. Will probably take DS (4) to ‘trick or treat’ at my parent’s house (literally drive a couple of miles, knock on their door, come home), because he’s absolutely desperate to go trick or treating for the first time.

A few houses in my area really go to town decorating so trick or treating is usually a big deal here and those houses have still decorated so not sure whether they’re expecting trick or treaters. We have decorated our window as usual but I won’t be answering the door. I considered leaving a bowl of sweets out but then thought about how many hands would be going into the bowl and I don’t think it’s wise.

We’re going to watch Halloween films, Bob for apples, I’m planning on a hunt around the house searching for wooden Halloween figures I bought and we’re going to bake a Halloween cake. I always make mummy hot dogs and Halloween pizza every year too.

You can still ‘do’ Halloween without trick or treating.