Mahomet Trick or Treat Guidelines

Trick-or-treating hours in the Village of Mahomet will be from 6-8 p.m. on
Saturday, October 31.

The use of face coverings, hand sanitizer, and social distancing (at least 6 feet) from others will be required at all times, when outdoors while participating or chaperoning.

Trick-or-treating will be challenging amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this year and may look different from previous Halloweens. However, for those who ARE welcoming trick-or-treaters to their home, leave your porch lights on to indicate you are participating.

If you do not have a porch light, place a clearly marked sign welcoming trick-or treaters or indicating you are not participating. For trick-or-treaters, if you do not see a home with a porch light on or a sign posted, we ask that you respect the wishes of those homeowners by bypassing those residences.

If you and your family do decide to trick-or-treat this Halloween, here are a few guidelines to follow that will help protect our community and accommodate a safe:

For the Trick-or-Treaters
An infected child going door-to-door can pass along COVID-19. If you have
COVID-19, developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19, are under
quarantine, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are in a higher risk category, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities.

1. Wear a mask – Incorporate a mask or face covering into your costume. Please remember that rubber or plastic masks do not offer any protection from the virus, so have a protective cloth mask layered into a costume’s decorative mask.
2. Practice good hand hygiene – If you choose to go house to house for trick-or treating, be prepared to practice good hand hygiene at every location. Bring along hand sanitizer to use before you move from one location to another.
3. Maintain social distances – While it is fun to go trick-or-treating with friends, due to the COVID-19 risk, keep the group limited to family members who are within your protected “bubble”. Gathering in groups with people from outside your household increases the risks. When you are walking around with your child, you do not want to go into a big group of people or into crowded areas. Please remember that keeping social distance (at least 6 feet) from others is very important to limiting the spread of the virus.
4. Avoid “Face to Face” exposure – Interactions at any given doorway or front porch should be very brief and as limited as possible, which will help reduce the risk of exposure. Stress to your trick-or-treater the importance of keeping their mask on and not trading or sharing masks with others.
5. Establish ground rules – Explain to your trick-or-treater the importance of following a few basic ground rules for trick-or-treating this year. Your trick-or-treater should not be digging around a candy bowl and touching multiple pieces. Explain to them they should point to the piece they would like to have. While it’s hard to ask kids not to run around the streets and sidewalks during this event, you should ask them to stay as far away from people as they can outside of your household and explain the importance of social distancing even when outside.
6. Don’t share props, toys, costumes, or candy containers – Keep swords,
   wands, masks, and other props from being passed around. Do not let trick-or-treaters exchange costumes and ask each of your trick or treaters to hold onto their own candy containers and not swap or consume candy until you have had a chance to inspect it.
7. Porchlight must be on – If a homeowner is participating, they will keep their porch light on. If they do not have a porch light, they will have a clearly marked sign welcoming trick-or-treaters or indicating they are not participating. This is long-standing basic Halloween etiquette. If no light is on, do not go to that home.
   A yard light, common in many subdivisions, that usually comes on automatically at dusk is not considered a porch light and should not be an indication that it is ok to go to their door. Discuss this with your child.
   For those Giving out Candy
   An infected person handing out candy to children coming to their door could also pass along COVID-19. If you have COVID-19, developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19, are under quarantine, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are in a higher risk category, you should not give out candy to trickor-treaters.
8. Wear a mask – Incorporate a mask or face covering into your own costume if you are wearing one. Please remember that rubber or plastic masks do not offer any protection from the virus, so have a protective cloth mask layered into a costumes decorative mask.
9. Practice good hand hygiene – If you choose to give treats this Halloween be prepared to practice good hand hygiene. A suggestion would be to limit the treat giving to a single person to limit contact with others. Very frequent hand sanitizing or washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds is advised.
10. Maintain social distances – While passing out treats consider alternative ways to do so. This could be by using tongs, a candy slide, or other inventive ways to limit the contact with trick-or-treaters.
11. Sit outside behind a table or booth – If you are not a high-risk person, sit
    outside behind a decorated table or booth to keep social distance (at least 6 feet) to distribute treats. This will help protect not only yourself, but other individuals in your household, and the trick-or-treaters at the same time.
12. Put hand sanitizer out – While trick-or-treaters should keep a portable bottle of hand sanitizer with them, you should also consider putting out a pump bottle for those who are need of it, including yourself.
13. Hand out goodies instead of letting children grab them – To minimize
    contamination and to keep trick-or-treaters moving, hand out the treats yourself so you are the only person with their hand in the dish. Please do not leave bowls of candy outside for multiple people to touch.
14. Leave the porch light on – If you are handing out candy, keep your porch light on. If you do not have a porch light, use a clearly marked sign indicating you are participating. A yard light found in many subdivisions that usually comes on automatically at dusk IS NOT a porch light and should not be an indication that it is ok to go to your door.
    For those Not Giving out Candy
15. Keep your porch light off – If you choose NOT to participate and hand out
    candy, please keep your porch lights off to signify that you are not welcoming trick-or-treaters. If you do not have a porch light, consider a clearly marked sign on your door indicating “No Trick-or-Treating” or that you are not participating.
    Alternatives to Traditional Trick-or-Treating
    • Doing 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.
    • Having a virtual Halloween costume contest.
    • Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household
    members in or around your home rather than going house to house
    • Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household or with neighbors and friends at a safe distance and displaying them.
    • Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer
    before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing.