I have fond memories of trick or treating with my two brothers at an early age. We received all kinds of homemade treats back in the day before people were afraid to eat a homemade treat. Popcorn balls, homemade fudge and cookies, cupcakes, sticks of sassafras or peppermint. If it was a cold Halloween night some folks even served hot apple cider or hot chocolate! We didn’t get much store-bought candy. Visiting each home was more of a visit to friends and neighbors and lasted 5-10 or even 20 minutes to enjoy each visit. Nowadays everything must be in a protective wrapper and Moms and Dads are reviewing the candy haul in their kids’ bags to make sure everything looks OK before allowing anyone to eat anything.
Still, many folks are planning on Trick or Treating, even with all this Virus scare.
So, sounds good …. but let’s take a few precautions.
If you are the one handing out the treats at your door, consider using some tongs or wear a glove to pass out the goodies so that you are not touching the candy you hand out. Wear a mask at the door (maybe even a scary one)!
If you are the parent, it is almost impossible to keep the kids from eating a bite or two before they get home, but the virus can’t exist on a surface for more than 72 hours (so the experts say). Consider just keeping the bag of goodies out of reach for a few days before letting little Johnny or Jill partake of the sugary morsels.
Also, avoid outings with large groups of kids or parents. Keep group size small, to just 3-4 kids with parents. It would also be advisable to bring along a bottle of hand sanitizer and spray the kids’ hands often, as who knows what they might touch.
One last thing. Don’t overdo the mask thing, especially if your kid is going to wear a Halloween mask. Remember your kid has to breathe, so if you are making them wear an N95 mask make sure the Halloween mask isn’t overdoing it!