By Anneliese Duong
On the night of this month’s blue moon, which falls on Oct. 31, most teenagers would be out celebrating Halloween. This year, however, socializing is limited due to COVID-19, and students have to find new ways to celebrate while creepin’ it real.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has set some guidelines for everyone to celebrate Halloween safely. The guidelines include wearing a mask, maintaining at least six feet as much as possible, washing hands and being careful with how food and drinks are handled.
Junior Brandon Truong is one of many teens taking precautions and following CDC guidelines when hanging out with friends during Halloween.
“Originally, I was planning to go trick-or-treating with my friends,” Truong said. “But knowing [it] will [not be recommended], I was just planning on going to a small Halloween party to watch horror movies.”
To do these activities safely, Truong intends to “have some distance and make sure we wash our hands.”
Sophomore Chloe Hoang also wants to play it safe this year. Hoang had planned on trick-or-treating around her neighborhood with three of her friends, but this year she plans to celebrate virtually.
“When I heard trick-or-treating and other events were going to be [more restricted], I was disappointed because the best part of the holiday is hanging out with friends and family, but now we can’t do that,” Hoang said. “The activities I’ll be doing [this Halloween are] dressing up for fun and watching movies over Zoom with friends.”
The pandemic has caused many teens to be unsure of what they want to do now that several events are either canceled or restricted. Check out these eight Halloween celebration ideas that are low-risk and fun to do.
- Plan a picnic with friends. Picnics have been a popular activity during quarantine because they’re outside, great for bonding and cheap. You can eat and paint pumpkins with your friends during your picnic.
- Watch scary movies. Halloween is meant for watching scary movies. Enjoy the night and be prepared to get spooked! Click here for a list of five-must watch Halloween movies.
- Read scary stories (in the dark). Search up “scary stories” online and read to your heart’s desires. You can also call your friends to read together.
- Sit outside while seeing the blue moon. A blue moon is supposed to occur on Halloween this year. It typically comes every 2.7 years, and it’s more extraordinary for it to be on the holiday. Look outside wherever you are on that day and enjoy the view.
- Bake some Halloween treats. You can make some ghost-shaped cookies, pumpkin pie or a Halloween themed cake with your family. Use your creativity to make cool treats. You can even have a contest to see who makes the tastiest or prettiest treats with your family.
- Search for drive-thru events. There are tons of drive-thru haunted houses and drive-in movie theaters. The Russell Fischer Xpress Car Wash located in Huntington Beach, for example, is hosting a haunted car wash called “Tunnel of Terror” from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24 and Oct. 29 to Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Bring out your creativity with some coloring. Grab a couple of colored pencils and print some Halloween themed coloring pages. Coloring can also reduce stress, so color as many pages as you want.
- Decorate your home. You can make decorations with some paper and colored pencils or markers. If you don’t have the time, decorations can be purchased at stores. Decorating your home can get your family in the spirit of Halloween in addition to having fun during the process.
Though Halloween is mainly virtual this year, there are still many ways to have fun with your friends and family. Stay safe, Barons!
