Needham Offers Halloween, Safe Trick-or-Treating Tips

NEEDHAM, MA — Halloween isn't canceled in Needham, but it will look different. While some communities in the Commonwealth cancel trick-or-treating due to the coronavirus, Needham is offering tips on how families can safely trick-or-treat.

Town officials and Needham Public Health officials created the tips while following the Centers for Disease Control guidance.

Trick-or-Treating: Passing Treats Out at Home

If you’re passing treats out at home: Consider one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard).

Trick-or-Treating with the Kids:

• If you’re taking children Trick-or Treating, limit your Trick-or-Treat group to immediate family members.
• Consider bringing a goodie bag from home with hand sanitizer and a few pieces of candy for your children, so they aren’t touching many pieces from many households.

Masks – MaskUp (But Not the Plastic Superhero Kind)

• Ditch the costume mask this year and instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask or making your own mask using a breathable cloth face covering that covers the mouth and nose.
• Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe.

Other Celebration Ideas

There are several low-risk activities for families to enjoy this Halloween:

• Carve pumpkins as a family and display outside your home or carve pumpkins outside with a few friends socially distanced.
• Go on a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.
• Host a virtual Halloween costume contest.
• Hold a Halloween movie night with people you live with.
• Have a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house.

Needham officials said no matter the activity, people should practice social distancing, wear face covers when around others, and wash hands and use hand sanitizer.