Celebrating Halloween Safely

Many of our neighbors have been discussing if and how to safely celebrate Halloween this season.

For your reference, below is information for safely celebrating Halloween. We encourage you to take some time to read through these and adapt them how you see best for your family, so everyone can have a fun holiday and stay healthy!

The CDC offers these guidelines for those that do go trick-or-treating, and those that decide to offer candy to the trick-or-treaters. They include keeping trick-or-treaters at least 6 feet apart, wearing masks, and for those offering candy, keeping distance from the trick-or-treaters and offering candy in individual bags. The City of Austin’s guidelines are below.

Following the above guidelines, OWANA strongly discourages door-knocking for trick-or-treaters, and those handing out candy should stay outside, wear a mask, and find a way to offer the candy at a distance from the children. And of course, please do not go trick-or-treating or distribute candy if you are feeling sick and/or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control also offers these guidelines for making Halloween activities (from visiting a pumpkin patch to having a costume parade) more safe.

A few other articles and stories on how people are celebrating Halloween this year:
Parents Don’t Have to Cancel Halloween With These Creative Ideas (National Geographic, 10/5/20)

No Trick or Treat: Americans Get Creative to Celebrate Halloween Safely (National Public Radio, 9/24/20)

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our neighborhood safe and healthy. Happy Halloween and have fun!