HANDLING HALLOWEEN
by Karna Small Bodman
Now that Halloween will be “celebrated” this coming weekend in the midst of Covid precautions – how do we keep our children, and everyone else, safe?
In searching for ideas, I first checked if the CDC might have put out any guidelines. And, sure enough our Center for Disease Control did exactly that. Okay, those are nice, general suggestions. But how about some details about what we might call more creative answers?
I luckily came across a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal titled 2020 is Already Scary – Halloween Likely Won’t Be, which outlines ways a few people are being just that – creative. First is a description of how a fellow figured out how he could safely hand out candy to Trick-or-Treaters along with beverages to their accompanying parents.
He rigged up a zip line at his home in Garden City, Michigan. The 30-foot steel cable runs from his porch to a post by the sidewalk. There are two pulleys – a wooden basket attached behind a $15 “delivery ghost” holds beverages. The candy is loaded into the creature’s hands. He shoves it out, the kids and parents retrieve their goodies, then he pulls it back with a fishing reel. A video showing the whole set-up has received over 25 million views. Check out this video on YouTube.
If you’d rather not go to the trouble of ziplining your front yard, many parents are using their back yard to organize candy hunts for their children. Or . . .a family in Cincinnati figured out how to deliver candy through a chute by the front door while remaining at least six feet behind it. They wrapped orange duct tape and a string of lights around the tube, which they first painted black, and installed it on a railing by the front steps. The father plans to wear a mask, stand back and instruct the Trick-or-Treaters to hold their bags below the tube so the candy can drop in.
However, if you truly want to keep your little ones safe and still give them an adventure on Saturday night, you can always arrange a cozy family get-together where you could read timely stories to them. One new picture book that’s getting rave reviews is
It’s Halloween, Little Monster
. This is a bestseller by Helen Ketteman who has written 27 books for children that have received awards such as “Pick of the List Books” by the American Booksellers Association.
An idea for you readers who don’t have youngsters in your household but still would like to “get into the spirit” of Halloween, you might check out a book of scary short stories: Autumn Nights: 13 Spooky Fall Reads .
This is a clever anthology by eight female and two male authors who also have their own separate lists of clever novels. . . from hayrides to corn mazes, witches to demons, scary bonfires with doses of humor to twists on classic tales. This collection brings them all together.
Finally, there is a Facebook readers group that is offering a Halloween Give-Away on October 28. Anyone can sign up here.
Question: How are YOU going to celebrate Halloween his year? We would enjoy reading your comments. And thanks for joining us here on Rogue Women Writers.
Now that Halloween will be “celebrated” this coming weekend in the midst of Covid precautions – how do we keep our children, and everyone else, safe?
In searching for ideas, I first checked if the CDC might have put out any guidelines. And, sure enough our Center for Disease Control did exactly that. Okay, those are nice, general suggestions. But how about some details about what we might call more creative answers?
I luckily came across a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal titled 2020 is Already Scary – Halloween Likely Won’t Be, which outlines ways a few people are being just that – creative. First is a description of how a fellow figured out how he could safely hand out candy to Trick-or-Treaters along with beverages to their accompanying parents.
He rigged up a zip line at his home in Garden City, Michigan. The 30-foot steel cable runs from his porch to a post by the sidewalk. There are two pulleys – a wooden basket attached behind a $15 “delivery ghost” holds beverages. The candy is loaded into the creature’s hands. He shoves it out, the kids and parents retrieve their goodies, then he pulls it back with a fishing reel. A video showing the whole set-up has received over 25 million views. Check out this video on YouTube.
If you’d rather not go to the trouble of ziplining your front yard, many parents are using their back yard to organize candy hunts for their children. Or . . .a family in Cincinnati figured out how to deliver candy through a chute by the front door while remaining at least six feet behind it. They wrapped orange duct tape and a string of lights around the tube, which they first painted black, and installed it on a railing by the front steps. The father plans to wear a mask, stand back and instruct the Trick-or-Treaters to hold their bags below the tube so the candy can drop in.
However, if you truly want to keep your little ones safe and still give them an adventure on Saturday night, you can always arrange a cozy family get-together where you could read timely stories to them. One new picture book that’s getting rave reviews is
It’s Halloween, Little Monster
. This is a bestseller by Helen Ketteman who has written 27 books for children that have received awards such as “Pick of the List Books” by the American Booksellers Association.An idea for you readers who don’t have youngsters in your household but still would like to “get into the spirit” of Halloween, you might check out a book of scary short stories: Autumn Nights: 13 Spooky Fall Reads .
This is a clever anthology by eight female and two male authors who also have their own separate lists of clever novels. . . from hayrides to corn mazes, witches to demons, scary bonfires with doses of humor to twists on classic tales. This collection brings them all together.
Finally, there is a Facebook readers group that is offering a Halloween Give-Away on October 28. Anyone can sign up here.
Question: How are YOU going to celebrate Halloween his year? We would enjoy reading your comments. And thanks for joining us here on Rogue Women Writers.
No comments have been added yet.
