Are you a fan of Halloween? If so, you’ll want to check out these top tips for having a safe Halloween while enjoying the spooky season.
Having a safe Halloween has changed over the years. From fears of ‘poisoned’ sweets to killer clowns, there’s always something scary happening during this time. Ironic, isn’t it? But now more than ever we need to think about our safety and the safety of our young people.
COVID-19 brought about many changes to the way we interact and mingle with others. While the majority of Halloween celebrations are enjoyed outdoors, there are still house parties, haunted attractions, and costume nights. I, for one, can’t wait to get dressed up and sample some cocktails. But I’m also aware that celebrations need to be small and as safe as possible.
Costume competitions at your favourite nightclub or a massive family bash may not be possible, but there are many different ways we can enjoy the spooky season. What about a movie marathon with your favourite people, snacks and flicks? Or a scavenger hunt in the safety of your backyard? You can even dress up your pets and have your very own haunted photoshoot! Social distancing doesn’t have to mean isolation! So, get creative and brainstorm some other ways to enjoy the most haunted night of the year.
Whether you’re trick-or-treating or hitting the pub, here are a few ways to have a safe Halloween.
10 Ways to have a safe Halloween.
Wash your hands regularly.
It goes without saying that we should be washing our hands more regularly than ever before. If you’re out with the kids trick-or-treating, be sure to get yourself some bottles of hand sanitiser. It’s easier than ever before to find these on the shelves, and they even come with handy keychains so you can attach them to your keys. No one should be without sanitiser nowadays, and no doubt there will be some spooky scents to choose from.
You should be washing your hands every time you touch a point of contact, cough, sneeze, before eating or preparing food, after the toilet and after smoking. Additionally, it’s recommended that you wash your hands after touching your face for whatever reason.
If you’re going trick or treating, agree on a safe route ahead of time.
Make sure that you and your friends stick to the designated route and don’t steer from the plan. Especially if you’re out after dark. If you’re out for the night and plan to walk home, be sure you know the way. Better yet, get a taxi! It’s never a good idea to walk home alone or in a small group after dark, especially if you’ve consumed alcohol or substances.
Make sure friends, family and loved ones know where you’re going.
Put your phone on ‘find me‘ if you have it available, and tell your loved ones where you’re going. ‘Find My Friends’ is a free application for Android which allows friends and family members to see your whereabouts based on your phone’s location. Similarly, Apple uses ‘Find my Phone’ which acts in the same manner.
If you’re out at night, remember your reflective gear!
This is possibly one of the key components to a safe Halloween, yet is often easily overlooked. If you’re out after dark for whatever reason, it’s important to wear your reflective gear. Whether you’re out for a run or you’re playing a lead role in trick or treating, if vehicles can’t see you then they can’t avoid you.
Know your numbers!
And no, I don’t mean the calorie content. Make sure you have your emergency contact numbers handy should you need them in a stick. That includes your family, friends, and any local ICE numbers such as 999 or 911.
Prepare your pets.
Halloween includes many frights and scares. That goes double for our furbabies. Remember that just because you might enjoy fireworks and festivities, they most likely won’t. Keep them inside on the nights leading up to Halloween. And if you’re particularly friendly with your neighbours, politely ask them to tell you if they plan on letting off fireworks. That way you can make sure your pets are securely locked away, and any outdoor cats are safely inside.
We can’t always control what others plan to do with their spooky season. While fireworks may be frightening for some, we can’t always assume that for others. Therefore, it’s best to be prepared to deal with the fallout. It’s also worth looking into calming drugs for use with both cats and dogs that not only help with fireworks but general anxiety.
Finally, some dog trainers will suggest the use of CD’s or sounds to help build resistance to noise in dogs. These sessions would start off very quiet, then increase in noise over the coming days or weeks. This builds up the dogs tolerance when it comes to dealing with things such as fireworks, loud music etc.
Mask up.
This goes without saying. Whether it’s a Halloween mask, or the masks we’ve all come to know over the last year, make sure you’re wearing one. Remember, if your costume mask doesn’t cover your nose and mouth, then it’s not considered effective.
If you’re in the market for some themed masks, check out this small business.
Consider having a small gathering at home.
While I love a good Halloween party, in the interest of having a safe Halloween I’m likely to be attending smaller gatherings this year. Why not decorate the house and invite three to five friends or family members? It doesn’t even have to be at Halloween, and you can have multiple!
*Provided everyone is safe and COVID-free, that is.
Make sure you have a designated driver.
This one goes without saying for having a safe Halloween, or any night out! If you’re planning on having a drink or two, make sure you have a designated driver on hand. No one wants to end the night in the A&E department, or worse!
Consider using individually wrapped treats/providing alternatives.
Finally, and possibly most overlooked, is options in regards to Halloween snacks. Not everyone can tolerate sugar and it’s important that everyone feel included during the festivities. Consider the use of alternative snacks such as low sugar, diabetic friendly and even something for vegans. Individually wrapped sweets are also a good call, especially as we get used to the ‘new normal.’
What other suggestions do you have for a safe Halloween?
Anything can happen during holidays and it’s good to prepare and be cautious to avoid future problems. Those are some great tips to keep in mind and thanks for the share.
I live in Hungary where we don’t officially celebrate Halloween. However, Halloween items have started to appear in shops, we can buy costumes, candy and decor, but there’s no trick-or-treating. I do think that in a few years’ time it will be a thing and I totally agree with everything you write about in this post.
I love the colours of your blog.
Great tips that everyone should follow. I think masking up is very important and we are often forgetting to do that. Additionally, one should also be sensitive to people who may not be celebrating and make sure that there are not disturbed.
Safety is our top priority. These are all really great and very helpful tips! Thanks for sharing this with us
I just read the news about Halloween in Korea this morning and decided that I have no Halloween this year.
Anyways, do you know that Europe has best places for Halloween?
Thanks for sharing these important tips for Halloween. It is important to focus on having safety in mind to make sure that everyone enjoys Halloween. Little pets do get scared and they need a lot of support
Love that you included pets here! So important to take care of them too!
Great tips, love the idea of telling your friends or family member. Because they can make sure everything is good if you go to a haunted house.
Good ideas, definitely important to have a safe Halloween! I’m going to two relatively small Halloween parties which I’m looking forward to 🙂 x
Safety is a priority. It’s all good to have fun but I think wearing masks is still a good way to stay safe during the celebrations!
Those are great suggestions! We are planning to stay in and hand out Candy instead.
So important to have a safe Halloween! And these are such great tips to have one. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is such a valuable post and it’s important for everyone to stay safe during Halloween, no matter what you’re doing! I like how you mentioned about wearing reflective gear when out and about trick or treating x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Love all of these tips! We usually go to spots where we can’t wash our hands normally so I bring hand wipes or sanitizer.
This is great. I’m hoping someone takes the time to follow these tips and has an even greater Halloween because of it. Thanks for sharing!
All of these are excellent suggestions. I am glad I came across this – going to tweet it to my niece who I know will want to read it to keep her little ones safe!
These are all amazing suggestions, Nyxie! It’s just my husband and I so we usually just do a night in on Halloween with treats and a movie night! It’s so important to keep safe and clean for Halloween this year despite the world moving again. Thanks for sharing x
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
These are all great suggestions on how to stay safe during Halloween.
I usually spend Halloween at home with my daughter & we’ll carve a pumpkin, have spooky treats & watch a movie & that’s probably what we’ll do this year.
these are great tips for a safe Halloween – we are not celebrating again this year, but it’s good to see that there are plenty of measures that could be put in place for a safe one x
However you choose to celebrate Halloween this year and if plans involve people from outside the household. families should be mindful of wearing face coverings, maintaining physical distance, and practicing good hand hygiene like washing hands a few times each hour.
Staying clean by cleaning hands is a good idea. Mask going to be a trouble with the makeup and costume.
Halloween is such a fun event but it’s still important to take safety measures. I think having a small gathering at home is the best for now
It is important to remember safety especially as trick or treating requires to be out in the dark in Autumn. I use to love trick or treating when I was younger! Thank you for sharing.
Lauren – http://www.bournemouthgirl.com
Great tips! Yes, I agree on a safe route ahead of time. It helps plan the route so you won’t be infected.
These are indeed great reminders and tips. We will not be going out but still,. we will be celebrating with the family only at home.
Do you think that people will trick-or-treat this year? I tend to think not and that it will be more about the smaller gatherings with people that you were very familiar with.
I had a neighbor slide candy down a 6′ PVC pipe. I thought that was ingenious.
These are great tips! As much as we are excited for Halloween, it is equally important to try and be safe.
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
These are all great ideas for keeping safe during Halloween. Always a good idea to wash hands, or bring a little thing of hand sanitizer with you. So many hands will be touching doors, door bells, etc., outside of candy wrappers as they rummage around to find one they like.
My boys just got their Halloween costumes in and we can’t wait! Our school district has the following day off so we don’t have to worry about bedtime. Right now, my boys are too young that we go with them while they walk around. I give them glow bracelets or necklaces instead of reflective tape but it still helps us see them in the dark. Our area hasn’t changed anything in regards to Halloween since COVID started so the kids still have a great time and don’t know any different.
I like the idea of a small gathering at home, that way you can lots of fun activities and know that everyone is safe and catered for. Thanks for these tips!
Hi Nyxie,
Excellent safety tips, thank you.
Perhaps I don’t get our enough but … I’ve not seen hand sanitisers on key chains. I’ll look out for them now though, what a great idea.
And I’m glad that you mentioned pets. As sociable as many pets are, they don’t like things which are an assault on their senses. Their hearing, in particular, is much more sensitive than ours and so fireworks-induced stress can be a real problem.
So many great tips to stay safe on Halloween! I’m glad to see that we do most of these already!
Amazing tips, these tips are really important to follow to stay safe!
These are great tips. We’re not massively into Halloween, but it’s definitely getting bigger and bigger, so these are really important.
Really good tips here, we didn’t go out last year due to the situation and I must admit I am unsure about this year but I guess if we are all sensible it should be ok
Great advice – we all want to stay safe.
This is great advice in a time when we still have to be conscious of covid.
What an informative post. After last year I’m sure many will be keen to have a great Halloween. I have to prepare my dogs for anything that may come with fireworks!
What an informative post. After last year I’m sure many will be keen to have a great Halloween. I have to prepare my dogs for anything that may come with fireworks!
Yes, great post! When I was a little girl, there was talk about disturbing thing with animals. Keep those pets inside!
I work in healthcare, and take care of two covid patients. Washing your hands is so important. Hand sanitizer if you are out and about!
I’ve had my booster shot, but just in case I’m going to wear an N-95 so I do not spread it.
Fab tips! I love the idea of having separately wrapped sweets, that’s more important than ever since the pandemic. Making sure loved ones know where we are is so crucial too! Thank you so much for sharing some great advice x
Great tips for a safer Halloween love it! ????????
I love Halloween, and while we usually spend it at a house party, I’m hesitant this year. I live in the UK, so most Covid restrictions are gone, but I’m still cautious.
A small outdoor party might be the ticket this year for Halloween. I’m still staying clear of nightclubs. A scavenger hunt sounds like fun as well!
I have a little collection of hand sanitiser bottles and have one on me at all times. Not sure how I managed without one before the pandemic! Thank you for the ‘find my friends’ suggestions, I didn’t know about that, but it will come in handy.
I have some Halloween themed masks to stay safe and festive this year, plus they’ll keep me warm when I’m out and about.
These are all such useful tips! Thank you for sharing these safety precautions. ????????
Thank you! Lots of great advice, especially the reflective gear. I often think people forget this because of the costume element! It’s all so dark.
these are great reminders! i don’t know if it’s because i’m getting older, but i enjoy more low key halloweens now. i used to go out all the time & dress up. but ever since covid happened, i prefer watching movies at home or having a small group over for a bonfire and smores.
really nice practical article thanks for the tips 🙂
These are really useful and I can see how making sure everything and everyone is safe at this time is so important so having these tips will help make organizing that so much easier. Thanks for sharing!