Get ready for a new way of doing Halloween
Posted on 10/22/2020
Many Northville residents decorate their homes for Halloween.The anticipation of Halloween is sweeping through the imaginations of children and adults – as kids just want to have fun and get a lot of candy while parents want to keep their kids safe and happy. Neighborhoods are putting their collective minds together to figure out what to do since the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has listed traditional trick-or-treating as a high-risk activity.

Check to see what your local neighborhood is doing. There’s a lot of discourse on Next Door and Facebook groups. If nothing official is planned, consider starting a group activity or event – using social distancing and other safety measures outlined by the CDC and State and County Health Departments.

To help figure out the best way to celebrate this iconic American holiday as daily cases of the coronavirus rise, the City has compiled some guidelines so you can develop a plan for your family or your neighborhood.

Designated hours in the City for trick or treating are 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., although neighborhoods must decide for themselves whether to hold this traditional activity or offer kids another alternative. The Fire Station will sound its siren at 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. as it does every Halloween.

While the City of Northville has no legal authority over the trick or treating aspect, City Council has decided that there will be no additional street closures (aside from the Social District), no costume judging at the Community Center, and no open house at the Fire Station. If trick or treating does occur in various neighborhoods, children should be told not to go to houses that don’t have a light on.

Here’s a short list of activities that can be done safely:

Low-risk
• Outdoor pumpkin carving.
• Scavenger hunts – with members of your household or a small group of friends, keeping six feet apart from people outside your household.
• Decorating the outside of your home.
• Hang individually bagged sets of candy on branches of trees and bushes or along a fence so trick or trickers can walk by, show off their costume and get a treat (make sure you light up the pathway)
• Tour the “Skeletons are Alive” exhibit in downtown Northville and pass out your own treats to your family at Town Square. You can eat the sweets there and tap into the free wifi to listen to spooky Halloween stories online.

Moderate-risk
• Conduct trick-or-treating with grab-and-go goodie bags set out on porches or a table in the driveway.
• Outdoor costume party – keeping social distance and wearing a mask.

High-risk
• traditional trick-or-treating
• trunk-or-treating
• indoor costume parties of more than 10 people not wearing masks
• haunted houses (especially if crowded and people are screaming)
• hay-rides with people outside your household.

Trick-or-treaters should stay home if feeling sick and avoid reaching into bags of candy. It’s safer to go with family than with groups of friends. Once home, children should wash their hands. Parents may want to use a disinfectant cloth to wipe candy wrappers and let them dry before opening.

The CDC warns not to wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.

If residents choose to give out candy, they should wear a mask and do so from across from a table. When preparing goodie bags, wash your hands before placing candy in the bag. If you have COVID-19 or may have been exposed to someone with the virus, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Remember, indoor spaces are riskier than outdoor spaces when it comes to COVID-19 transmission.

More holiday guidelines from the CDC can be viewed here. View the Wayne County guidelines here: Wayne County website (see holidays).