My husband and I have sadly decided that our kiddos, 5 and 8 years old, are not going to trick-or-treat this year. We are still just too flipped out about germs, contagion, and the uncertainty of taking goods from strangers’ hands. In its place: we are going to Oaks Park’s “Haunted House Drive-Thru.” Surprisingly, the kids didn’t even really push back when we told them we shouldn’t trick-or-treat. They seem to truly understand the severity of COVID-19 and the risk we take by being too close to others. Sad. Even though we have made alternate plans, I still had a terrible knot in my stomach about the kids missing trick-or-treating. This is when my wacky idea formed.

My wacky idea-

I started thinking about how funny (and maybe even fun) it would be to give the kids a “map” of all the different windows and doors in our house. We would then let them go around the border of the outside of our house “trick-or-treating.” I counted: we have 10 different windows and doors that we can pass candy through if we take out a few of our window screens. My idea is 1) my husband and I will have 10 different masks and 10 different types of candy 2) at each door or window, we will have the kids knock 3) one or both of us will answer the door with a different mask on each time 4) we will give them a different type of candy at each door/window. Then repeat. They can do this as many times as they want, or as long as we can stand it, ha-ha.

How we will pull off the wacky idea-

I know it would be crazy to spend a million dollars on 10 different masks/costumes so I am thinking Dollar Tree. Ten masks = $10. Here is a link to Dollar Tree’s Halloween masks: https://www.dollartree.com/bulk/Halloween-Mask

I am also thinking we will buy the bulk of the candy there, 10 packages/bags of candy for $10. I like the idea of having a “different person” answer each door so they can really feel like it’s trick-or-treating. I am going to put fake “addresses” under each window and door as well. I will really play it up too. One “person” will be overly nice. One “person” will be cranky or grumpy. One “person” will gush over how cute they are. One “person” will have some type of accent. And of course, I will make sure to be the party-pooper who is handing out toothbrushes and toothpaste, ha-ha. I want to have a variety of treat-givers to add some excitement.

Why I want to do this wacky idea-

I want these babies to have fun. I want them to get costumes. I want them to knock and feel the excitement of waiting for someone to answer and give them candy. I want them to race, and trip over each other to get to the next “door” like they do every year. I want them to compare candy at the end of the night. I want them to trade candy like they always do. Even though this wacky idea is not truly trick-or-treating, it may feel similar, and that is all I am hoping for. I very, very rarely keep things from my kids, but I am keeping this a secret until Halloween night. We are heading to Oaks Park for the haunted drive-thru at 8:00. I am going to bust out this surprise around 6:00. I am going to give them their maps and tell them to get their butts outside and go “trick-or-treat”. I think they will be genuinely excited. 

Best of luck to you all in planning Halloween in this unconventional year that is 2020! May you all get lots of candy, enjoy your loved ones, and stay safe in however you choose to spend this exciting holiday.