With most health officials across Ontario discouraging trick-or-treating amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Burlington mom is suggesting a safer alternative – visit Halloween-themed houses and yards.
Amber Rohal, the owner of parent resource website Active Parents, says a few photos of a friend’s front yard full of inflatables has turned into it’s own community on social media.
“So we sort of put together a couple of social media posts that said, ‘if this is what you’re looking for, it’s a free thing to do. It’s outdoors, social distance, very safe,'” Rohal told Global News.
“And we just started to have kind of an influx, so we put together a map and put it out there.”
Rohal says since starting an Instagram campaign she’s added close to 100 homes to the map which spans across Hamilton, Burlington, and Oakville.
“You don’t need a schedule or a timeframe,” Rohal said, ” You can go during the after school hours. You can go at night after dinner. And it’s all over the place. So you can drive as far as you want or you can walk a couple streets over.”
Some highlights on her recent trips include a skeleton graveyard on Tecumseh Drive in Burlington and a zombie graveyard at Redhaven Court in Stoney Creek.
Rohal says if you decide to embark on a tour of the homes, bring some non-perishable food with you in case the home is requesting donations for the local food bank.
There’s also some etiquette you should follow out of respect for fellow viewers and homeowners, including keeping your distance from others, letting kids go first in a line, and not standing in front of the homes for too long.
“Also, never approach doors. We don’t walk on anyone’s property, and definitely don’t touch the displays because you don’t know how heavy they are if they were going to come down,” Rohal said.
“People have put in a ton of time and effort and you want to respect that and appreciate that.”