Are you planning on celebrating Halloween this Saturday night? The good news is, NSW Health supports individuals participating in COVID-safe Halloween celebrations, providing levels of community transmission remain low and participants follow current rules when gathering together.
However, knowing what you can and can’t do under the current rules is sometimes difficult. See below for NSW Health’s current guidelines for Halloween plus some ideas on things to do in the Hills this Saturday night.
Trick-or-treating?
NSW Health has not said no to trick-or-treating this Halloween but asks that you to do so in a COVID-safe way. Here are its guidelines:
- Carry hand sanitiser with you and use it often.
- Stay in small groups under 20 people.
- Keep 1.5 metres away from other households.
- Use a disposable bag for trick-or-treating and throw it out afterwards.
- Stay local, avoid crowded ‘treat streets’.
- Only accept treats that are individually wrapped.
- Don’t share your treats with others from different households.
Handing out treats?
The key thing to remember is that you aren’t allowed more than 20 visitors to your household at any time. As soon as trick-or-treators are on your property they count as a visitor. If there are more than 20 visitors at a home, every person will be held individually responsible for a breach of the public health order.
If you are handing out sweets make sure they are individually wrapped, stay 1.5 metres from people visiting your home and obviously don’t participate if you are unwell or self-isolating at home. NSW Health has some creative ideas if you’d like to hand out treats.
- Hang individually wrapped treats on your fence or gate, or put them on a tray outside your house.
- Organise a treasure hunt outside to avoid people coming to your house.
- Get creative and build a ‘lolly chute’ so you can stay 1.5 metres apart from trick-or-treaters.
What’s on the Hills
- Bella Vista Hotel – Halloween Weekend Takeover – Friday 30 October and Saturday 31 October. From 8pm. Find out more here.
- Bella Vista Hotel – Halloween Weekend Brunch – Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. From 10am. Find out more here.
- Castle Hill RSL – There is something for all ages this Halloween Saturday night at Castle Hill RSL. There will be a Halloween Kids menu which includes Mummy Dogs, Ghost Pizzas and Eyeball Spaghetti. Kids will also get lollies on arrival and they have a prize for the best dressed kids. And it’s not just the kids that can have all the fun. Adults can treat themselves to Jekyll & Hyde and Witches Brew cocktails and enjoy a Halloween popcorn mixture with cocktail purchases! Don’t forget to dress in your spooky best, because they’ve got prizes for best dressed members, so if you’ve got it, haunt it. Saturday 31 October from 5.30pm.
- Spooky Halloween Hunt at Winston Hills Mall – Collect your activity sheet from the Information Desk between 10am to 4pm and go on a journey finding hidden letters that spell out a secret phrase!
Once you have found all the letters and figured out the secret phrase, take your completed activity sheet to their Information Desk to receive a spooky Halloween gift and sweet treat surprise! It will be held every day from now until 31 October.
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Crowne Plaza Hawkesbury Valley is hosting its Spooktacular Halloween High Tea on Saturday. Raising much needed funds for Kids with Cancer in Australia, this year’s Halloween High Tea is the perfect event to enjoy with your little monsters. Various time slots. Find out more here.$5 from each ticket supports the Kids with cancer Foundation Australia.
- Rouse Hill Town Centre is holding craft workshops that are all sold out but you can participate in Trick or Treating on Saturday 31 October. You just need to register here.
- Stanhope Gardens and Cherrybrook Village have augmented reality trick or treating going on. Head to their Facebook pages for more details.
Boo someone
Castle Towers has come up with this great idea that involves minimum contact and maximum fun. What in the world is Boo-ing? Also known as Ghosting or being Boo’d, to “boo” someone means to leave an anonymous Halloween surprise at their door in the days leading up to Halloween or on the day itself.
Find out more here.
A final message from NSW Health:
Help us stop the spread of COVID-19 this Halloween and always remember to:
- keep 1.5 metres apart
- practise good hand hygiene
- stay home and get tested immediately if you’re unwell
- wear a face mask if you’re unable to physically distance.
For more information visit the NSW Health website.
