I've been thinking a lot about Halloween lately. I've got a six year old and a four year old and they're right in the Halloween wheelhouse. In this time of COVID-19, there's talk of cancelling Halloween, and I'm hoping that doesn't happen.
When you break down the parts of Halloween night, it essentially looks like this:
- Kids dress up
- Kids go door-to-door in their neighbourhood trick-or-treating
- Neighbours give kids treats
With one slight modification to the typical ritual, we can preserve this fun custom for the kids. That modification would be to the practice of trick-or-treating. Nobody wants to open their door to people during a pandemic, so we eliminate that part and replace it with a way to distribute the candy from a safe distance. So October 31, 2020 would look like this:
- Kids dress up (with the masks they've been wearing in school)
- Kids go door-to-door in their neighbourhood
- Neighbours leave a bowl of treats for kids to self-serve, or utilize a creative treat distribution system like a chute
I am not a doctor, but seven months into this "new normal" it's become clear that outdoor activities like this will not transmit COVID-19. There's no reason to cancel Halloween for the kids because this modified Halloween is very safe. Kids want to dress up and go out for treats and all of that can still happen.
We just need to modify one detail, mask up and physically distance as we have now for several months. Let's save Halloween 2020 for the kids.
p.s. I'd be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to remind you that Pumpkins After Dark, an awesome drive-thru event in Milton, is selling out fast. So reserve your time slot now at pumpkinsafterdark.com and use the promo code 'miked' to save 10%.
