Last week, Sunshine Coast Halloween fans got the news they’d been waiting for with Queensland Health giving trick or treating the green light across the state.
With Halloween becoming more popular in Australia, it’s welcome news for lovers of the October 31 celebration. But how can you safely celebrate in a pandemic?
In Australia’s first Halloween magazine, Hallozween, we outline some of the many ways you can stay safe — and have fun — this Halloween including:
– Creating a socially distanced trick or treat treasure hunt in your front yard, even if it is just for kids in your neighbourhood;
– Have plenty of sanitiser on hand and make it fun with handmade labels such as ‘Boo to the Germs’, or ‘Vampire Rid’;
– If you usually get a lot of visitors, use skeleton hand garden stakes to mark out 1.5m waiting spots at the entrance to your display;
– Make sure everyone in your trick or treating party is safe, and accounted for, at all times. In all the fun and excitement it’s easy to get distracted and the next minute, “where’s Timmy?!”;
– Take younger kids during the afternoon, and always carry a torch and phone at night;
– While we love it spooky and creepy, not everyone does, so make sure your costume isn’t too scary if you’re going to a party with preschoolers.
Some Halloween fans who welcome trick or treaters have gone to great lengths to keep everyone safe this year by building candy slides that dispense treats at distance, so post in your local Facebook community groups to seek them out. If you hand out lollies, wash your hands well before preparing treats and regularly on the day. All treats should be individually wrapped.
Not trick or treating? Here’s how you can still get into the spirit of Halloween:
– Get the kids to help you decorate your home and yard with spider webs, fake tombstones in the yard or creepy skeletons, and try to make it drive or ride-by friendly;
– Host a virtual MASKerade party or costume parade via Zoom or play pin the nose on the witch;
– Play Halloween games such as spooky ten-pin with ‘ghost pins’ made from cardboard rolls and a pumpkin ‘ball’;
– Decorate a ‘Halloween’ tree with spiders webs, tinsel and homemade trinkets;
– Paint or carve some jack o’lanterns;
– Make some creepy cool Halloween party food and cocktails.
And if you don’t love Halloween, just remember that kids have already missed out on so much this year. So if they want to get dressed up or go trick or treating, let them and don’t be a Halloween grinch.
Hallozween is available from hallozween.com.au/hallozween-magazine
