Minnesotans get creative for Halloween during pandemic

Minnesota families are getting creative with trick-or-treating and other Halloween festivities this year in an effort to comply with social distancing recommendations.

Connor Slowinski, a 16-year-old from Woodbury, created a candy slide to deliver goodies to trick-or-treaters while still keeping a safe distance.

"This is lowering the risk by not having that direct contact with the kids," Slowinski said. "It adds a little bit of excitement because you get to see the candy slide down the slide and then try to catch it as it falls in there."

The Slowinski family also set up social distancing cones in their driveway to keep groups of trick-or-treaters separated from each another.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS found other families are choosing to put candy in individual baggies for kids to pick up on the front steps or outdoor tables. Some are also using arm extenders to drop the candy in kids’ bags.

Additionally, some neighborhoods are hosting alternative Halloween activities.

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The Humphries family in Woodbury created a Halloween scavenger hunt for local children.

"We got about 50 neighbors to volunteer to post a picture on their front door, so the kids walk around and look for those pictures and then write the number of the house that has that picture on a bingo card we created," Cari Humphries said.

Humphries has prize bags and candy bars ready for kids who complete their cards.

"Halloween is about being outside, dressing up and doing something different," Humphries said. "And I think it’s important kids still have those opportunities."

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS also visited a candy car parade at Edgcumbe Recreation Center, hosted by St. Paul Parks and Recreation Friday evening. Coordinators of the event said it is similar to a trunk or treat event except people were required to stay in their cars this year. The drive-thru event featured several candy stations. Both staff members and visitors were required to wear masks.

The Minnesota Department of Health said there are no statewide restrictions on Halloween celebrations.

"There’s no black and white, there’s no ‘thou shalt not do this or that,’ it’s really, here’s what we’re asking you to think about in order to keep your family safe and keep others safe this Halloween. It’s about doing those things that keep your risks as absolutely low as possible," said MDH spokesperson Doug Schultz.

MDH has broken Halloween festivities down into categories, based on the level of risk involved.

Low-risk activities include watching a scary movie at home, carving pumpkins outside with friends and holding an outdoor Halloween scavenger hunt.

Medium-risk activities include no-contact trick-or-treating, outdoor costume parties and haunted forests.

High-risk activities would be traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, indoor parties and trunk-or-treating in large groups.

"The idea is to limit the amount of contact that occurs from one person to another and one household to another," Schultz said. "And at least if people can get outside, that will help."

Click here to see the state guidelines on Halloween celebrations.