Last year, pint-sized spooks, witches, ghouls and monsters walked the streets on October 31 – all in search of sweet treats on offer at Halloween friendly households. 

This year though, things are set to look a little different, as coronavirus restrictions dictate new social distancing and hygiene regulations. 

So just what can you do on All Hallow’s Eve, as advised by the NSW Government?

Providing levels of community transmission remain low and outdoor gathering numbers stay within the 30 person limit, NSW Health said people can participate in a number of ways.

Keep it outdoors

“Keep Halloween celebrations outdoors and make it a front-yard rather than a front-door event and have hand sanitiser at the front gate,” a NSW Health spokesperson said.

“Get creative in decorating the front yard, rather than focusing on well-known 'treat streets'.

"Provide closed packaging for treats and instead of communal lolly bowls, consider other ways of distributing treats, like strewn along the front fence.”

Supervise

For trick-or-treat outings, a supervising adult is advised to join children from the same household, instead of having groups of children moving about together.

Maintaining a 1.5-metre distance between people from different households is recommended and children "should not share costume face masks".

If you are self-isolating, don’t answer the door to trick-or-treaters, and don’t go out if you feel unwell.

If you wish to avoid people knocking on your door, put up a sign that says “We are home but due to COVID-19, we are distancing. Please take one, Happy Halloween.”

Individual sweets

If you are out trick or treating, only take treats that are individually wrapped, use a disposable bag to collect your treats, and dispose of it appropriately afterwards and don’t share your treats with others from different households.

The trick is in the treat

Halloween also brings with it advice from dentists, who have advice on ways to be smarter about how people wolf down sugary treats.

Australian Dental Association (ADA) President Dr Carmelo Bonanno said people should eat sweets in single sittings rather than repeatedly returning to the pantry throughout the day to grab more.

“Grazing on sweet treats is one of the worst habits for teeth,” Dr Bonanno said.

Sugar and teeth

“This is because every assault of sugar that goes into your mouth feeds bacteria which create acid that dissolve the tooth enamel, exposing the mouth to decay. Doing this repeatedly throughout the day, over a few days or in the week after Halloween, is cumulative.

“Smart alternatives to sweet treats are a great option for young mouths, like little games, toys or sports gear.

Dr Bonanno said the ADA’s has lots of tooth tips to slash your decay risk this Halloween: 

* eat your sweet treats at mealtime: the saliva produced to help digest larger quantities of food can also cleanse and buffer mouth pH from acids caused by food and drink;

* chocolate wins over candy: dark chocolate has much lower sugar quantities than other chocolates and lollies;

* rinse your mouth with water: after eating anything sugary to rinse foods and drinks from the mouth;

* consume your Halloween party soft drink with a straw: that way the liquid goes straight to the back of the throat, bypassing teeth;

* when shopping for treats: go for treats that aren’t sticky and don’t sit in clumps in back molar teeth - sticky sweets are more difficult to remove and linger longer, increasing tooth decay risk, and

* brush teeth twice a day and floss daily: whatever the date!