• Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters
• Give out treats outside, where possible
• Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take
• Wash hands before handling treats
• Wear a mask
• Use tongs to hand out candy
• Turn your porch light OFF if you are NOT participating. Parents should make sure their children avoid homes that have their lights out
• Reduce your trick-or-treating group size
• Make sure all members of your group have a flashlight with fresh batteries, a strobe light, reflectors, glow sticks, or some other light source that makes them visible to vehicles. The Windermere PD will be handing out glow sticks to children during the parade Halloween morning
• Walk on sidewalks where possible. Where there are no sidewalks, walk along the side of the road facing oncoming traffic (so you see them and they see you!). Complete one side of the street, then cross over and walk up/trick or treat at the homes on the OTHER side of the road rather than crossing back and forth across the street
• Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live with  you

WEAR A MASK

• Make your cloth mask part of your costume
• A costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask
• Do not wear a costume mask over a cloth mask; it can make breathing difficult
• Masks should not be worn by children under the age of 2, or by those who has health conditions that makes breathing difficult

WASH YOUR HANDS

• Bring hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol with you, and use it after touching objects or other people
• Parents should supervise young children using hand sanitizer
• Once home, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds BEFORE you eat any of your candy

Other Halloween Activities

Some people in our community will choose to forego Halloween this year in an abundance of caution, or to protect vulnerable loved ones. We respect their decision to do so, and ask our neighbors to please be mindful of those who have chosen to not participate.

But just because you’re not handing out candy or going door to door doesn’t mean you still can’t have fun! Here are some ideas to get in the spooky spirit this year.

• Family Halloween crafts such as pumpkin carving
• Take a walk to admire your neighborhood’s decorations from a distance
• Watch Halloween classics such as “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” Make it virtual so long-distance loved ones can join in!
• Hide treats in and around your house for your kids to find
• Visit a pumpkin patch, corn maze, or orchard. Many of these attractions have taken appropriate precaution

For a list of Trunk or Treat Events In/Near Windermere, FL , please click HERE.

For more about Halloween, excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, below:

Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of “All Hallows’ evening”),^[5] also known as Allhalloween,^[6] All Hallows’ Eve,^[7] or All Saints’ Eve,^[8] is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide,^[9] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the departed.^[10][11]

One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have pagan roots;^{[12][13][14][15]} some go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow’s Day, along with its eve, by the early Church.^[16] Other academics believe Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallow’s Day.^{[17][18][19][20]} Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland, in the 19th century, Irish and Scottish migrants brought many Halloween customs to North America,^[21][22] and then through American influence, Halloween spread to many other countries by the 21st century.^[23][24]

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films.^[25] For some people, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows’ Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular,^[26][27][28] although for others it is a secular celebration.^[29][30][31] Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows’ Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.^{[32][33][34][35]}