Halloween in the Time of COVID
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As the holidays are fast approaching, it is important that we still keep the seasonal spirit while practicing safe social distancing. It does not mean that we stop celebrating! With a little adjustment, we can still enjoy the same annual festivities. Halloween is right around the corner, and we are challenged to find fun alternatives to the ever-popular Trick-or-Treating tradition.
One option that will keep the same energy alive is to Trick-or-Treat indoors! This is an event that will be enjoyed by all kids, especially the little ones. Adults can wait behind each door in the house and children can knock and “trick-or-treat!” If you have an older child who no longer wants to trick-or-treat, they can help you pass out the goodies.
Another alternative is a spin on Easter egg hunting that I like to call “Hunt for Treats.” Adults can put candy or little toys in baggies and hide them, as you would Easter eggs. Once all the treats are hidden, the children are set free to find them. This might be something the older ones may enjoy more than the Indoor Trick-or-Treat. You can even have separate “Hunt for Treats” events that are age appropriate. Make sure you make the treats more difficult to find the older they get! You can even get creative and set up your own indoor haunted house that the older kids have to go through to find their treats.
Of course, what is Halloween without decorations?! You can involve your rascals in making decorations for the house. This is your chance to really “make it your own.” You can still decorate pumpkins, set out your spider webs, and even get creative making new decor through art projects. You can make use of empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls and have the kids create their own little monsters. They can use markers, paint, crayons, or any other medium of choice to bring their monsters to life; if you have googly-eyes, you can also add them to make the monsters more animated. Another easy project is tracing your little ones’ hands and making Halloween spiders. By gluing the palms overlapping so the thumbs make the spider head, the four fingers on each side will serve as legs. They can also decorate the spiders to add a festive flair!
You can also let the little ones participate in making Halloween themed treats on Halloween day. The kids can help make simple desserts like rice crispy treats or brownies. You can also make Halloween shaped treats using cookie cutters, like ghosts or pumpkins. You can even get orange colored melting chocolate to dip the treats in to really make them festive. With different colored gel icings, the little rascals can decorate their own rice crispy or brownie creatures. We may not be able to have a full sized celebration of the holidays like we used to, but that does not mean it has to be observed to a lesser extent. Like every holiday, family is still at the center of it all, and that is what gives meaning to each celebration. We have to get creative and have fun with it!
Written by Michelle Urriquia, mother of two rascals ages 3 and 6
