(WAND)- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends skipping trick-or-treating this year and instead is suggesting alternative ways to celebrate Halloween.Â
Due to the current pandemic and recent spike in COVID-19 cases the CDC advises that you avoid high-risk activities, such as trick-or-treating and gatherings of large crowds.Â
Below is a full list of activities the CDC suggests to avoid and other safe alternatives for enjoying the holiday.
AVOID THESE HIGH-RISK ACTIVITIES
- Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
- Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
- Attending crowded indoor costume parties
- Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
- Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
- Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgment and increase risky behaviors
- Traveling to a fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with a community spread of COVID-19
CELEBRATE WITH THESE LOWER-RISK ACTIVITIES
- Carve or decorate pumpkins with members of your household
- Carve or decorate pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
- Decorate your living space
- Do a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house, admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
- Have a virtual Halloween costume contest
- Have a Halloween movie night with people with whom you live
- Have a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house
