Halloween can be a delightful celebration for children, and the coronavirus pandemic will do little to hinder that, according to some Aiken moms.

As parents begin to shop for costumes and plan trick-or-treat routes, accessories like face masks will be optional for some, while others plan to incorporate them into their costumes.

Some parents, however, plan to have their own Halloween bash at home. 

Parents like Shelby Snider, a mom of two from the Bethlehem Historic District area in Augusta, Georgia, is sticking to traditional trick-or-treating but is adding an extra accessory to her children’s costumes.

Snider, who uses Aiken as her go-to spot for most holiday events, plans to not only have hand sanitizer “strapped to her hip” during trick-or-treating, but also plans to order Halloween-themed masks to match her children’s costumes.

Her daughters, 5-year-old Stephanie and 6-year-old Taylor, are still young enough that Snider can dictate their costumes without much fuss.

“The candy [is] what they care about,” Snider said. “I can sneak in little protective touches and they take it as part of the fun… they’ve been pretty good sports about the whole [mask-wearing] thing overall.”

Snider said she took her oldest to several Aiken community events last Halloween, including the city’s Trunk or Treat event which has been replaced this year by the drive-thru Boo Bash. Snider said she comes to Aiken because she finds it “smaller and safer” than the Augusta area.

Snider is counting on other smaller events and friends she’s made in the Aiken area to satisfy her children’s’ sweet tooths’, and wants to make the holiday as eventful as possible.

“I don’t want their earliest memories to be of just masks and of folks being sick,” Snider said. “I want them to remember light… and having fun. I was worried they’d be afraid of wearing masks but they accepted them once we added cartoons on them. I’m going to do that… Halloween just helps [wearing-masks] feel normal, crazy enough.”

The decision to hit the streets this Halloween presents challenges for parents when it comes to wearing masks.

While the city of Aiken mandates masks to be worn in local restaurants and businesses, masks are not required outside as social distancing is achievable. 

Krystle Burnette, a mom of three from Aiken, is following this advice and is choosing to make protective face masks optional for her family during trick-or-treating. 

After months of her children continuing their education through hybrid learning, wearing masks and socially distancing, a bit of pre-pandemic normalcy is needed, Burnette said.

“The way we see it is our kids have already had so much shake up their world this year, we need to give them something to look forward to,” she said. “Most costumes have masks, but [the kids] will be outside if they don’t [wear them.] At some point, we have to emerge from our bubbles.”

Meanwhile, many parents are keeping their porch lights off this year and saving the candy bowl for their children only.

Sydney Walters, an Aiken mom of a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, plans to stick to home this Halloween for health reasons.

The holiday for her family will consist of a small Halloween get-together with another family to keep the kids entertained.

Walters additionally serves as president of Moms League of Aiken, a community group of over 35 Aiken moms that hosts playdates and offer tips to other moms in Aiken. She said there is a “split down the middle” of the group when it came to trick-or-treating during the pandemic.

“A lot of families are saying [they’re] not going to take this experience away from [they’re] children, and we have other families who are in our shoes and who are going to do something at home,” Walters said.

“I don’t think there is a way to do it safely,” she said. “I can wear a mask, my kids can wear a mask, but if everyone else doesn’t wear one it doesn’t really matter.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies traditional trick-or-treating and even trunk-or-treating “where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lot” as “high-risk activities” that can risk spreading the virus.

The agency suggests alternative activities instead, and staying home if recently exposed to someone with COVID-19 or if symptoms arise. 

While she respects the decision of other parents when it comes to trick-or-treating and other outings, Walters still encourages parents to remember the health of their children and take caution. 

“That’s motherhood in general, you’re always going to have to make decisions that others are not going to agree with, but I hope we all remember that we’re trying to do our best and we’re trying to make happy, healthy children during at time that is very difficult for parents,” she said.