Trick-or-Treating May Still Happen with
New Ideas for Safe Ways to Get Candy
By Zach Roozendaal, Contributer
Concerned that your friends and family might come down with COVID-19 from trick-or-treating this year? Well no worries, because there are some incredibly ingenious ideas to help you not get Coronavirus yet still allow kids to get the candy they want to get.
First of all, it’s no secret that with the rising case numbers in the province that many people are planning on boycotting giving out candy due to the risk of infection that it presents, which is understandable, but where there’s a will, you can be almost 100% certain that there is in fact a way, and these ideas may just be the way to getting somewhat of a happy Halloween.
First and foremost, getting the kids to get the candy without the health risk is a big issue. You’d almost inevitably be coming into contact with kids by handing out candy. Or could you? Some houses in past years that weren’t able to get to the door to greet kids would instead leave a bowl of candy on the doorstep, allowing for the kids to get a candy. Of course, there’s the issue of kids getting germs on the bowl, and greedy kids trying to empty the bowl into their own bags and baskets. The way around these issues is to be by the door to see each group or individual child, and then after they go, spray the bowl with disinfectant and the candies in it. Don’t worry about kids ingesting the disinfectant, as it’ll dry and be harmless by the time they get back home, and the candy is also covered by wrappers that will prevent any of the disinfectant from getting on the candies themselves, as long as you’re not giving out things that come in cardboard or paper packages like say Smarties.
By sitting at the door, you can also observe and make sure kids don’t take more than they should, and be there to confront them if they do, as I will be, but while dressed as Michael Myers, because it is Halloween after all.
If you have a window by your front door then you can open it and give out candy by taking a cardboard tube and opening the window each time kids come. Simply place a candy in the tube and slide it down to the kids, and therefore you’re putting distance between both you and the kids. If you wan to make sure you can sanitize the tube, then either cover the end with plastic wrap that can easily be sprayed with disinfectant or use rainspout attachments, or a piece of PVC pipe, just whatever you can to keep that distance between you. Make sure that you sanitize after each kid comes, and leave a sign requesting only one child come up to the front of your home at any given time, and that one parent can join as well, but that way you prevent multiple groups from coming into contact with each other.
You can also try something similar to my first idea, and for kids that do come in groups, simply toss a bag on the doorstep with a few candy bars for them to share amongst themselves. Or the other thing you can do is go to the store and instead take small bags of candies and mail them to friends or family who have small children, so it’s like trick-or-treating but without the risk of infection.
There are lots more ways, but those are just a few, and I hope that maybe it’s given some of you ideas to both combat COVID-19 and still let kids in your neighbourhood have a fun and safe Halloween. I’ll leave you all with my final thought now, as always.
Where there’s a will, there’s almost certainly a way. Creativity is the key to solving almost any problem.
With that being said, hopefully Halloween is saved, or at least somewhat. Anyways, remember to wash and sanitize your hands often, social distance and wear a mask when necessary, and stay at home if you don’t feel well.
Until next time, I’m Zach Roozendaal, signing off. Happy Halloween, stay safe out there, and goodbye for now.