To put out sweets at Halloween?

[GinAtMerlottes]

I’m in a tier 2.

I don’t really understand why people are saying we can’t do trick or treating? It’s a big thing here and the children will miss it if we don’t go. Obviously we won’t be going around in a big group and will be keeping distance.

I have a wall alongside my drive, and I plan to set out small bags buttons/lollies etc along one by one so children can take as they walk past. I can literally see no problem with this. AIBU?

We're in Tier 1, and had an email from school and public health saying not to do it.

I agree I can't see any problem with that either. We intend to do the same and DH will sit outside so no one's going to ring the door bell and there's not going to be a bowl to rifle through. I think it will just be a small number of people but I'm happy to go ahead.

We’re doing a pumpkin trail here, when child sees a pumpkin, parent gives them a sweet. No knocking on doors or giving out sweets.

I'll leave sweets out for kids to help themselves. We're in Tier 1

Round here a row of small bags of sweets on a wall is likely to all go to the first child passing by unless they are chaperoned by a skinny parent.

We are in Tier 3.
Our area is having a pumpkin trail which states not to knock on doors but just spot pumpkins in the windows and parents give sweets to their own children.

I think YABU, it’s being discouraged for very obvious sensible reasons. There are alternatives for children to enjoy Halloween in a different way, like the trail idea above which seems to be happening in a lot of places.

And if you’re asymptomatic?

I plan to set out small bags buttons/lollies etc. I would be wary of leaving chocolate out unattended because it is toxic to so many animals, including dogs, cats, foxes and squirrels.

You literally can't see any problem with it? If you have covid and are asymptomatic then you could spread it to everyone who picks one up. And do you really think kids who see sweets on a wall will be able to wait til the one before them has passed through before taking theirs (unless your wall is long enough you can spread them all 2m+ apart).

Children love it. It's a shame to miss it. But I think they will be disappointed for a couple of minutes and then get over it, especially if their parents make an effort and have a little party or something at home instead

I wont leave out sweets, when I used to hold the bowl out kids would take massive handfuls so I stopped and just placed one sweet in each kid's bucket. I imagine if left the first few kids will clear the lot

It's unfair this year to assume that decorations mean people are willing to accept trick or treaters knocking, most are probably just taking part in pumpkin trails.

If you have covid and are asymptomatic then you could spread it to everyone who picks one up.

The chance of catching corona from a bag of sweets, given the small numbers of people who have the virus at any time, must be incalculably small.

We'll have sweets here for anyone who wants them.

I'd say we're about the same level of threat as the Mars bar sitting on the shelf right now in your local Tesco.

@MandosHatHair

I wont leave out sweets, when I used to hold the bowl out kids would take massive handfuls so I stopped and just placed one sweet in each kid's bucket. I imagine if left the first few kids will clear the lot

It's unfair this year to assume that decorations mean people are willing to accept trick or treaters knocking, most are probably just taking part in pumpkin trails.

Snap, greedy kids tried to grab more than their fair share with me, so I ended up doling out.

I won't be doing anything this year therefore

We won't be doing trick or treating this year. DC are a bit disappointed but I have promised a film night with an enormous bowl of sweets between them, to make up for it.

We're doing the pumpkin trail too. When we see one, child gets a sweet from the parent. I think children just like going to see the decorations. They still get sweets.
We're tier 2 but possibly tier 3 before Halloween.

Yes, I'm going to stick lollies in the top of a pumpkin and put it on the garden wall. I think if parents are taking their kids out on Halloween they're obviously comfortable with the (absolutely miniscule) risk of their child catching covid from the sweet wrapper!

Also - even if I was asymptomatic... I'll sanitise my hands, open the bag of lollies and stick them in the pumpkin. I'm not planning to lick them first.

Halloween is massive where I am and my kids love it. I usually have a big Halloween party and my dd says she liked Halloween more than Christmas. Truck if treating in whatever firm this year though - just not worth it. We won’t be giving sweets out and it will just be me in the kids at home. I am planning quite an elaborate Halloween treasure hunt though with Halloween based challenges, still doing decorations indoors, and then we will watch some Halloween movies before bed.

Sorry about the typos. Or should I say ‘typus’ 😤

I always put sweets in a tub at the end of my driveway so the dog doesn’t bark at people knocking and there is always a few visitors to the bowl over the course of the evening (can hear them chit chatting) so I don’t think many take more than their fair share. It always seems to work.

Not the answer to the Covid question I know, but hopefully some reassurance it could work.

(FWIW, I don’t think there’s ant significant Covid risk if people are washing their hands as they should.)

@Yoffel ah do you do the “truck if treating” tradition where you live then

How do I know what tier I'm in ?. assume it's ok .. will leave sweets out .. hope kids won't take more than one.. will put up a sign take 1 .. hope to leave DH out whilst I take DS out.

Tbh it's a fucking stupid idea. Lots of little hands touch endless pots of sweets that they will eat with those same hands. It's a pandemic use your imagination and do it a different way for one year. The kids will probably remember it more than all the other samey years.

I really wanted to do this, but then I realised it's a stupid idea in the middle of a pandemic. It's easy to get carried away wanting normality, but this isn't a normal time and we all need to help each other by supporting social distancing in every tier.

Yea the risk of one person passing covid on from leaving sweets out is tiny. Where I am approximately 1% of the population is diagnosed with covid every week. I dont know how many people are asymptomatic but if a few hundred people are doing halloween then it's likely there are a few people who have covid and are asymptomatic. At an individual level the risks are low but when everyone thinks like that in a high ish risk area then some people WILL spread it at halloween.

And no I'm not an hysterical shopping-sanitiser. I just think some things are not worth the risk and sharing items between multiple households is not necessary or worth the risk in my opinion, when there are completely safe alternatives like the pumpkin trail etc this year