Covid 19? Candy? Trick or treating? Costumes? Hand Sanitizer? All of these things come to mind when thinking about Halloween this year. With the coronavirus pandemic in effect, many students are trick-or-treating in a different way than they usually would.

“I have a soccer game on Halloween,” said seventh grader Sienna Barboni.  “[Also], my parents won’t allow me to go [trick or treating], so I will most likely just watch movies and buy my own candy at home,” she said.

Barboni is not the only student who is celebrating Halloween differently this year.  However, fellow seventh grader Ryan Smith is taking a different approach. “Of course I am going to celebrate Halloween, but there will be restrictions,” he said. “I will probably have to wear a mask. I’m thinking about being a robber or something like that because I will need to wear a mask anyway. My parents haven’t put any restrictions [on trick-or-treating] yet, but I do know the mask will be a priority.”

If going door to door is out of the question, some students have alternate plans. “If I don’t trick-or-treat, I will probably stay home or hang out with my friends and watch a Halloween movie as well as eat candy,” said eighth grader Bella Marx.

“[If I can’t celebrate Halloween], I would buy candy, or do a candy hunt in my yard, that would be fun,” said TBS third grader Grayson Smith.

Some neighborhoods are working hard to make Halloween safe this year. 

“The people in my neighborhood are going to set up candy in their driveways, so everyone can social distance,” said Braxton Peterson, a new sixth-grade student. “I’m not sure if my parents are going to let me go door to door, but Halloween is fun in my neighborhood, and it’s on a Saturday this year, so I hope we get to do it,” he said.

While some families are concerned about COVID-19, others are taking Halloween as an opportunity to hang out with friends and family. 

“I am going to celebrate Halloween by having a couple neighbors come over for a party,” said sixth grader Griffon Alterman. “After the party, I will probably go trick-or-treating for a little bit, but I don’t think I am going to sanitize my candy,” he said.

“For Halloween this year, I am going to go to one of my friends’ houses and we are all going to dress up,” said eighth grader Emily Simon. “I am going to be an orange because two of my friends are being [a] lemon and [a] lime, and we are going to all be citrus fruits. 

Simon, however, will be sanitizing her treats. “Since there is still coronavirus, I will spray my candy with the Lysol spray, wipe it down with Clorox wipes, and wear a mask,” she said. 

Grayson will also sanitize his candy, but he’s more concerned with it disappearing.

“I will wipe the wrapper down, but don’t want to let the candy sit because I don’t want my parents to steal my candy,” he said. 

  Even with all of the precautions because of COVID-19, students are not passing up the opportunity to celebrate Halloween and all the fun that goes with it, namely friends, family, costumes, and candy. Looks like Halloween is still on!