CHANDLER, Ariz. — While the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't gone away, Halloween 2021 is shaping up to be much more normal than last year, as outdoor trick-or-treating has returned to most municipalities in Central Pennsylvania and across the nation.
A recent survey conducted by Influence Central found that 68% of parents are planning traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating for their little ghosts and goblins this year.
"These parents feel comfortable spending times outside, despite the Delta variant, and kid’s costumes can easily include masks," a spokesperson for Influence Central said in a press release discussing the findings. "This means anticipated high sales of both candy and costumes that have already been stockpiled on retailer’s shelves and in e-commerce abundance."
However, 39% of parents will curtail their children’s Halloween plans this year because of the Delta surge of COVID, Influence Central said.
Only 3% plan to sit out Halloween entirely because of COVID-19.
According to the survey, of all parents surveyed whose children will participate in Halloween:
- 34% of parents plan to celebrate with a small gathering with a couple of friends to dress-up and exchange candy
- 27% anticipate in-classroom celebrations.
- 17% plan to celebrate with only family at home.
- Only 6% will celebrate at someone else’s home.
- Only 3% plan a costume party via Zoom or other online call forum.
When it comes to kids’ costumes:
- 55% of parents plan to shop for them online
- 42% will also check out costumes in-store
- 32% plan to make homemade costumes
- 12% will rely on hand-me-down costumes
Advice for those handing out treats:
- Give treats outside rather than having kids coming into your home
- Set up a station on your porch for contactless trick-or-treats- you can still wave hello and “ooh and awe” over the costumes
- Offer up individual treat versus children grabbing into a communal pot of candy
Advice for parents with kids going trick-or-treating:
- Don’t just rely on costume mask: Make your child’s protective mask a part of their costume
- Tell your kids to think about a 6-foot rule as to how far to stay away from others as they go
- Pack hand-sanitizer to use along the route
