You bought the candy and the costumes, all that’s left now is finding the right Halloween signs to keep everyone a bit safer!

The Best Printable Halloween Signs for Safer Trick-or-Treating

I dug deep in our playroom closet. The bin filled with prior years’ costumes is filled to the brim. Superheroes, construction workers, ninjas, the costumes of every imaginary and fictional person the kids have dreamt of becoming over the past 15 years are stuffed tightly into the bright red Rubber Maid container. 

The kids’ eyes sparkle as they recall yesteryear’s Halloween events, when they paraded through our neighborhood as Garfield, Rocket the Raccoon, and even as a man riding an inflatable dinosaur. 

This year, our kids are hitting the road trick-or-treating after taking a hiatus last year due to the COVID pandemic. The kids have renewed vigor and excitement for their upcoming night of collecting candy and treats from their neighborhood friends. 

Trick-or-treating is a relatively safe outdoor activity. However, there are ways to reduce the risk of germ exposure even more. As a self-proclaimed germaphobe, I am happy to share these amazing Halloween signs, to help you and your family have a safer trick-or-treating experience. 

Go ahead, download these free printable Halloween signs and display them next to your Halloween candy – along with a bottle of hand sanitizer. 

I reached out to my social media audience and asked for their tips and tricks to keep Halloween safe and germ-free this year (and for years to come). 

Here are some of the things people across the country are doing to keep kids and adults safe while celebrating Halloween. 

Safer Trick-or-Treating Tips: 

• • Avoid having kids stick their (dirty and grubby) hands into a big bowl of candy. 
    • Instead, leave candy spread out on a table or make individual treat bags. 
    • Display the printable Halloween signs in this post next to a bottle of hand sanitizer. 

• Don’t let kids crowd at your front door. 
  • Instead, set up your candy station in your driveway, or other wide and spacious areas.
  • Send candy to the trick-or-treaters using a candy chute – this might be the cutest idea to come from the COVID pandemic. 
• Go trick-or-treating early or late to avoid the worst crowds. 
  • Trick-or-treat with your core group of friends. 
  • Social distance when you meet with friends and neighbors you don’t normally spend time with. 
• Dress kids in costumes with masks, not just the costume’s decorative masks, but also a germ-protecting mask. 
  • Color-coordinate their safety mask with their costume if necessary. 
• Adults should wear masks too to protect the young unvaccinated kids. 
• Carry a small (or large) bottle of hand sanitizer and use it frequently. Heck, roll your child in the hand sanitizer if you wish. 
• Wash your hands thoroughly and remove your shoes and costume as soon as you get home. 
  • Taking a bath and putting on PJs will help reset the kids after their sugar-induced excitement. 
• Trick-or-treat relatively quickly and then go home to have more Halloween fun with your family. 

Super Fun Trick-or-Treat Alternatives: 

Last year, we kept our kids home from trick-or-treating, but I can honestly say that none of them felt like they missed out on anything spectacular. These are some of the things we did and they were a HUGE hit with all four boys: 

• Dress up in costumes! 
  • Yes… our kids still dressed up in costumes. However, they reused old costumes and made up characters by mixing and matching pieces, which made for some hilarious outfits. 
• Halloween candy hunt. 
  • Instead of going door to door for candy, I hid their Halloween candy, Easter egg-hunt-style. They each had a bucket to fill and if one of their brothers (obviously the youngest) didn’t have a full bucket, then the rest of the kids helped him find candy. In the end, everyone had a bucket full of their favorite candy.  
• Scary movie marathon. 
  • This list of classic Halloween movies is a great inspiration for a long night of movie-watching and candy-eating. 
• Spooky storytime. 
  • Our kids absolutely LOVE telling spooky stories, but consider yourself forewarned, set a time limit for each story! If your kids are anything like mine, they can go on and on… and on, much like when they tell you stories about their Minecraft worlds and Fortnite battles. 
  • All you need for a successful spooky storytime is a dark room and a flashlight. The storyteller gets to shine the flashlight in his own face to add to the spooky ambiance. 
• Make Halloween crafts. 
  • Crafts are always entertaining and appropriate. These Halloween-themed peg dolls are easy to make and so much fun to play with. Bonus: you have cute decorations for next year’s Halloween! 
• Set up a Halloween scavenger hunt. 
  • This one is for either indoor or outdoor hunts and it’s great for kids of all ages! 
• These Printable Halloween games and activities for all-day fun inside and Halloween paper crafts are a perfect trick-or-treat or Halloween party alternative. They will keep your little ones busy and happy.

I hope you find a good combination of activities to keep your kids safe and happy this Halloween. If you end up doing things differently from previous years, remember, you may just find that “the new way” makes more sense for your family – and that’s how new traditions are made! Enjoy the process and embrace the new experiences! 

Happy Halloween – save me some Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, please!