As fall and winter come around, Halloween is one of the first holidays to be celebrated under COVID-19 guidelines. Traditional methods of celebration have been largely upheaved and replaced with many alternatives.

Instead of trick-or-treating, freshman Siri Duddella plans to spend time with her friends on a smaller scale. 

“For this year, some of my other friends and I have plans to meet up at one of our houses to watch a movie with pizza and bring our own candy/chocolate to exchange with each other,” Duddella said.

Others are choosing to keep the Halloween spirit going in a different way: putting up decorations.

“I plan on having the decorations that I usually put up every year, such as my Grim Reaper inflatable, and some new decorations, such as a dragon animatronic and Minnie Mouse and Minion inflatables,” sophomore Audrey Czarnecki said.

Even before Halloween day, students have noticed differences in their surroundings. In Duddella’s community, the annual unofficial competitions have disappeared.

“Normally my community is really extra when it comes to Halloween and there’s always unofficial competitions to see who has the most decorations or who gives out the most/best food,” Duddella said. “However, without that, it kind of feels like the community aspect was removed to make it just another day to spend time with friends and family.”

Not all changes have been negative, though, as the space previously filled by trick-or-treating can be filled with more festive activities.

“We’ll have more time to do things like scary stories, pumpkin carving competitions, and more,” Duddella said.

Although there are major changes in the way people are celebrating Halloween, there are also many constants.

“The biggest change from previous years is having to wear masks and social distance, but other than that not much has really changed,” junior Pearson Frank said. “Halloween doesn’t feel that different; we’re still living our lives relatively normally but with extra precautions.”