Halloween has always been an amazing evening filled with young kids running around, going door to door, asking for king-sized candy bars and treats. Sadly, due to Corona, this year is definitely going to be a different situation. With social distancing and masks as the new norm, walking around the streets with friends and family on this fun night seems almost out of the question. The amount of people roaming the streets in the first concern because the larger the group of people, the larger the risk of spreading the virus. With kids being the main consumer of the Halloween holiday, another concern is making sure the kids stay 6 feet away from others, and maintain those CDC guidelines.

Ella Greven, ‘21, spoke about what her family is doing in the spirit of the holiday. She states, “My dad built a tube to go down our porch railing to send down candy to the kids trick or treating so they don’t have to walk up our porch and we can stay socially distanced!” The kids she babysits for on her street are overjoyed to be able to get candy this year. 

Another phenomenon that is taking over the spooky season this year are zoom costume contests. These are the safest ways for kids to enjoy the tradition of dressing up, while remaining safe in the midst of this pandemic. Ireland Laverty, ‘22, “My family is going to have a little zoom halloween party with friends and other family to spread Halloween cheer. Since we can’t go out and display our costumes in person, we are sharing them with each other virtually.” This allows for families to avoid haunted houses and large groups of people as kids run from house to house collecting candy.

Another key component to ensure safety throughout this holiday is to assess the risk of the people that are involved in the celebrations. Sophie Gueret, ‘23, states, “My grandmother lives with us, so we are having a small family celebration with scary movies and popcorn to ensure the safety of all of our family members.” This holiday is very different, and it’s sad that we can’t do our normal traditions that we have done every year in the past, but this will definitely be one for the memories.