From The Confessional: People Have Big Feelings About Trick Or Treating

Well, we’re going on eight months into this nightmare and, as calendars tend to work, another holiday is upon us. First quarantined Mother’s Day came and went, then all the summer holidays, and now fall is here. That means Halloween, Thanksgiving, and winter holidays are just around the corner, but… we’re still in the middle of a pandemic.

So it’s time to brace for more disappointment. More canceled traditions. More “virtual” or “Zoom” get-togethers as we stay hunkered down, waiting this out.

Halloween, for many of us, will be just that. Some families are still attempting a small scale trick-or-treat — maybe to a few trustworthy neighbors who can toss candy from a safe distance. Others have canceled it all together and plan on snuggling up in front of a scary movie and relying on candy delivery from Amazon.

Whatever your family decides to do, for all the holidays coming up, just keep reminding yourself that the health and safety of those beautiful people you love so much is the most important part. Generations before us have endured pandemics, have made sacrifices, and have emerged stronger than before, knowing they can handle life’s challenges. We can too.

In the end, even if your kids don’t end up dressing like a scary clown or P.J. Masks or an LOL doll for Halloween, they’ll be okay. Kids are tough. Toss them an extra candy bar, let them stay up late in a blanket fort watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, and your pandemic Halloween of 2020 will still be a joyous night to remember.

I mean, we all need a break from wearing masks anyway, right?

Lots of families are stamping Halloween of 2020 with a big old NOPE. Breathing in strangers’ air as they drop candy into your kids’ buckets? Going into crowds of boogery kids? Ringing a doorbell 50 other kids have touched? PASS.

And bonus, lots of us already hate this annoying holiday, so having it canceled is a win!

Because the truth is, whether you’re overjoyed that you don’t have to deal with annoying itchy costumes and spending money you don’t have on unnecessary sugar, or you’re devastated because this dark and spooky day is your favorite holiday of the year, it’s time we accept that like everything else this year, Halloween won’t be the same.

Not everyone is on board with the cancellation of Halloween, however. Many costume/candy/ghost-lovers are still out, in full force.

When it comes to Halloween, you can play by the rules. Or don’t. This year’s a bit of a free-for-all—for better or worse. Whatever you do on October 31, however, please mask up, social distance, and wash your hands.

Halloween is a good reminder that we aren’t done yet with COVID-19, and it’s going to be around for the rest of this year’s holidays too. This is the year to make new traditions (or put your regular ones on pause) and make lemons out of lemonade. Or, on that dark last day of October, make hot chocolate out of chocolate bars and stay home.

Because 2020 really has been one big trick, hasn’t it? But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have treats (delivered) and steal candy from our kids after they’re asleep. That perk of parenthood is one thing COVID can’t take from us.