Spooky season is here, and it shows with all the decorations, scary movies, and parties. As we all know, Halloween is a time of scares and candy. Regardless of the pandemic, people are still going crazy for their treats. Last year, U.S. consumers spent $8.8 billion on Halloween candy, with an average of $86.27 per person, and the estimate for this year is $8 billion. Trick or  treating has also taken a hit. In 2018 an estimated 118.8 million people were taking part in the Halloween tradition. This year is estimated to go down by 41%. That means that only 84.3 million people will be celebrating Halloween in the U.S., this is a huge decrease in numbers. The COVID crisis also means no fun house parties with your friends, and because of social distancing, there will be no going up to the houses to ask for candy. People will have to come up with new and creative ways to fix these problems. So I ask you, will you be trick or treating during this crisis?

Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, people are still finding ways to keep traditions alive and have fun. With trick-or-treating, kids and their families are all going to wear masks and social-distance themselves; there definitely aren’t going to be any large groups. Also, instead of leaving a light on to signal that you are participating in the tradition, some homes are putting purple pumpkins on display to welcome the safe, socially distanced, small groups. Some families have even installed a zipline system to safely distribute candy! To do this, they attach a bucket of candy to a rope, and then hook it to a “zipline” that goes from their house to the sidewalk. Once the kids have joyfully received their candy, the bucket is pulled in on the rope. Now isn’t that something?

Unfortunately, some of the Halloween festivities have been put on hold because of the COVID-19 crisis. Naturally, there aren’t going to be any large parties. This is good, because it keeps people safe, even though we all are going to miss spending time with our friends on Halloween. Personally, my friends and I are planning to make the most of the situation. We are planning to have a small get together with no more than ten people. We will have hand sanitizer at the ready and will be prepared for anything that comes our way. Obviously, we have made sure that none of us have been infected. We are going to have the most fun that we possibly can in this crazy world we live in!