I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but 2020 has proven itself to be anything but normal. As we enter the holiday season and, for many of us, head into the colder months, traditional celebrations may look a bit different this year. With that being said, how did you Halloween last weekend?

My husband and I don’t get a ton of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, but each year we get enough to make it worth grabbing a few bags of candy, checking out the costumes and catching up with neighbors as traditional trick-or-treating takes place. We wanted to make sure that, if kids did trick-or-treat this year, we didn’t disappoint, but we also aimed to keep it as safe as possible.

We opted to put together small, individual treat bags. I feel I was pretty generous with seven pieces per bag, including a combination of chocolate treats, gummy candies and fruit snacks. We placed the individual treat bags in a bowl and on a tray we positioned well over six feet away on our walkway, and then we set up chairs and a small table by our front door to still say hello to our neighbors and “trick-or-treat” to the kids. We also carved a pumpkin and set it up next to the candy tray for a finishing touch.

We sat outside for two hours, bundled up as it was chilly here on the East Coast, with spiked apple ciders and a fall candle scenting the air. It was different than normal, but it ended up being a perfect, cozy night. We gave out 30 bags of candy. When we decided we were too cold to sit outside any longer, we moved the tray closer to the front door, but left the candy outside until 10 p.m. for any of the older kids still roaming the neighborhood.

We finished the night with a scary movie and settled in to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

— Kim Krol, editor in chief