I ADMIT THAT WHEN I LEARNED my young grandchildren were going trick-or-treating, I was concerned. The CDC labeled the door-to-door tradition to be high risk during this global pandemic. Yet, I knew my daughter and her husband would be careful, as I expected others in their suburban Minnesota neighborhood would be. And that’s exactly how Halloween played out.
As I stayed behind to replenish the individually bagged candy and stickers and the glo-sticks arranged on an unattended table on the front porch, the rest—Isabelle as Thomas the Tank Engine, Isaac as a dinosaur, Randy as a divided Minnesota, and the parents as themselves, warmly dressed Minnesotans—set out to gather treats.
I settled on the couch with the newspaper, occasionally hearing voices outside the front door. Then I’d wait a few minutes, until I knew the trick-or-treaters and their parents were gone, before stepping out to restock.
Eventually, the cold, fierce wind drew my family back to the house, where Isaac was more interested in his light-up candy bag than the candy. The kids each got one treat before we left and they transitioned toward bed.
Earlier, Randy and I sat with the kids and frosted and decorated homemade carrot cupcakes I baked the previous day. Isaac, at 22 months, was more interested in slicing the cupcakes with his child-sized knife. Izzy, 4, struggled with the thick frosting (note to self: next time make homemade cream cheese frosting), but managed the sprinkles quite well. When she later ate a cupcake overloaded with black sugar, her tongue turned black and black ringed her mouth. Coal residue from Thomas the Tank Engine, perhaps?
All in all, it was a fun Halloween. The kids were happy. The grandparents were happy to spend time with the grandchildren. And the parents, and the neighborhood, managed Halloween in a safe way, with all treats set outside and social distancing followed.
Randy noted one other difference. Trick-or-treating, without doorbell ringing and interaction, simply did not feel the same. He’s right. But this year, health and safety mattered more than tradition.
© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
We put out a treats table. I placed the treats in paper lunch bags. One parent called me the lunch lady – ha! Safety and social distancing was top of mind. Love their costumes 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing – made my day! Happy Day – Enjoy.
And you made my day by sharing that you were the “lunch lady.” Love that.
Lots of fun stories, so glad it all brought smiles for you. Lots of creativity by those determined to not slight the kids of one more experience this year. Didn’t hurt the weather cooperated!
Yes, it was nice to have a somewhat “normal” Halloween.
The spider web is awesome! 😉
Issac’s fascination with the blinking bag is great. You never know what children are going be intrigued by…and that is wonderful. Glad you had a fun and safe Halloween.
I want the spider web painting for my art collection. That’s how much I love it.
Yeah, the blinking bag really fascinated Isaac. He’s always intrigued by how things work.
Sounds like a very fun weekend. I’d like a light up bag too!
We were there just for a few hours on Halloween. But definitely fun. And, yes, you would like the bags.
How fun for you and Randy to share Halloween with the grands. We for the first time spent Halloween with our Twin Cities grandkids. It was finally a weekend so we could spend the night and the kids were a bit older and now really getting into the tradition.
I’m glad you had that time with Scar and Lew, too. This was our first Halloween with the grandkids.
I am sure everyone was as safe as could be and that all went well. It is tough to not have the traditions this year that we normally have but people are finding a way to cope for the most part. Our town cancelled their huge Halloween festival and folks were upset but it made sense right now. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be the really tough ones I am afraid as the restrictions need to be maintained. Love the pictures –nice to see the whole family enjoying the experience.
I know of some nearby communities where trick-or-treating went on as usual with kids ringing doorbells and people handing out candy, despite the pandemic. I expect the same happened in Faribault.