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This year there are some unique safety concerns when it comes to Trick or Treating thanks to the virus. In addition to all of your normal precautions like wearing a light and reflective gear there are a few things you can do to help keep yourself and your family safe and still have a fantastic Halloween.
Incorporate a Mask Into Costumes
Help your children pick costumes that can naturally have a mask as a part of it like being a doctor or a ninja. Alternatively, there are masks out there that are designed with Halloween in mind that have a replacement mouth and fit right in with a costume like a shark’s mouth and even Mickey Mouse. Encouraging your kids to wear a mask will be easier to do if the mask is incorporated into the costume naturally.
Use a Cloth Container for Candy
Those plastic pumpkin pails have become a bit of a staple for Trick or Treating, but this year go with something a little different, like a cloth bag. The virus has been shown to live longer on plastic than on other materials. This might be the year to go with the old classic pillowcase or look for another alternative for carrying candy.
Have Candy to Trade Your Kids
If you really want to go the extra step have some candy at home that you can trade your kids. Explain to them that this is a temporary trade and that you want to keep the candy somewhere safe for 3 days but that they can have this other candy while they wait. Then put the candy somewhere that they can’t find it and in 3 days when they remind you about it (and they will) you can give it back secure in the knowledge that it is virus-free.
Have Tongs to Grab Candy
A lot of houses like to let kids take candy from a bowl themselves, but the reality is that isn’t very sanitary and there is a chance for the virus to be passed that way. So, for those houses that are offering the bowl make sure your kids have tongs or something else that will make it easy for them to grab candy from the bowl without having to touch anything else. Take a pair pair of plain tongs and decor them to match your Halloween theme!
Keep 6 Foot Distance
Social distancing is still the name of the game and that holds true for Halloween too. Remember that 6 feet is about the length of space between two adults holding their arms out fingertip to fingertip. This distance will be impossible to maintain when your kids are taking candy, but the rest of the time, while they walk through yards and on sidewalks this should be somewhat easy to do. Though it will be important to avoid crowds and avoid those massive groups that seem to naturally form in popular neighborhoods.
BYOHS
Aka, bring your own hand sanitizer. In an ideal world, you and your kids won’t need the hand sanitizer at all but even if you take all the previously mentioned precautions there is still the chance that you or your kids could end up touching something that someone had previously coughed or sneezed on. This might be the doorbell or the gate to a house. You just don’t know. So it is better to be safe than sorry.
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