Families opt for at-home Halloween celebrations

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This article was published 26/10/2020 (1896 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many families are choosing to stay home this Halloween, but they’re not letting a pandemic scare away their Oct. 31 plans.

It’ll be Easter meets Halloween at the Scoble household, where Liana, a mother of twin girls, will be hiding candy around the house for her daughters to find. 

“Me and my husband decided that trick-or-treating wasn’t really the best option this year,” Scoble, who lives in West Kildonan, said. “Honestly, we just thought not a lot of people were going to be participating in it.

“We thought it would just be more memorable and fun to do something totally different this year, than the norm.”

A scavenger hunt seems to be the trend this year, since families are concerned about the potential health and safety risks associated with collecting candy from strangers, as well as the possibility of fewer people handing out treats.

“It’s just a bunch of unknown,” Tetyana Walker, a Meadows West resident, said.

Walker, her husband, and her three children plan to stay home and won’t be handing out candy either.

“I feel a lot safer staying inside with my kids … and we don’t have to worry about going out and sanitizing candy.”

Jim and Kim Lane, who live near Garden City, figure they have the sanitation factor of handing out candy solved. Using an old PVC pipe, basketball net stand, pylon, and Halloween decorations, Jim crafted a homemade candy shoot to carefully slide candy to trick-or-treaters, while physically distancing.

“The kids, I’m sure, have gone through enough with school and everything else. I just wanted to lighten their day or make it a little bit brighter,” Jim said.

Usually, the Lanes can expect 50 to 60 trick-or-treaters, but Jim said he isn’t sure what this year will bring.

For Winnipeggers, trick-or-treating often means accommodating costumes for cold weather, but families spending the night indoors this year won’t have to worry about that.

Kaylee Gauthier and her family plan to stay at home — after a day at the corn maze — to carve pumpkins, watch a movie, and enjoy treats.

“To still be able to have fun, might as well make it something family-oriented, still Halloween-themed, and be able to wear your costumes without, like, four layers underneath.”