Holiday Celebrations in the time of COVID-19
The CDC has published guidelines for the upcoming holiday celebrations that many hold dear – Halloween, Día de los Muertos, and Thanksgiving. The guidance is largely based on their ongoing advice: wear 3-ply masks at all times, keep 6-ft physical distance, and do not gather indoors with those outside your immediate family or quarantine pod. Outdoor gatherings should still maintain 6ft of physical distance – and more space is required if there is screaming, chanting, or singing.
The Glen does not celebrate Halloween in school – children do not dress up or have classroom parties – but many families do celebrate at home. With traditional Trick or Treating, indoor gatherings, hayrides, and haunted houses considered to be high risk – what are families supposed to do? We have gathered some Halloween specific suggestions from good sources:
– The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with medical experts on how they are celebrating with their families – a couple of highlights include
– wearing a 3-ply cloth mask in addition to your Halloween masks and a
– hybrid trick-or-treating plan to accept (and distribute) candy only through touchless/contactless points (a candy bowl set out instead of directly from a person),
– Kidsburgh published 17 ways to celebrate Halloween in Pittsburgh – but remember to stick to the physical distancing rules!
– Make the Holiday into a family affair and practice your STEAM skills (be sure to post images on social media and tag The Glen!):
– Creating your own mechanical or simple machine candy distribution system – Google it for lots of ideas!
– Take your family’s decorating efforts up a notch – work together to create your home into a spooky place to view!
– Invest in your pumpkins – with adult supervision, introduce drills to the carving process, paints, or design pumpkin people!
– Instead of Trick or Treat, create a Candy (or another treat), Scavenger Hunt. Pinterest and Etsy are your friends here – but we also liked this one.