Shanthi Appelö is a registered dietitian and health and wellness spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan based in Detroit. Passionate about the science of nutrition and behavior, Shanthi has experience working in clinical nutrition, public health and teaching in the university setting. She earned her Master of Science in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Tennessee and has a research background in maternal and child health nutrition and public health, as well as a Certificate of Training in Obesity Interventions from the Commission on Dietetic Registration. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, exploring the outdoors, working on art and spending time with family.
Making Halloween Special, Spooky – and Safe!
4 min read

- Decorate: Carve and decorate pumpkins, let your child decorate indoor living spaces or outdoor yards for the holiday.
- Host a virtual costume or carving contest: Pick a theme, assign judges and let the creativity fly.
- Hunt for candy: Instead of going door-to-door, stage a spooky candy hunt around the home.
- Plan a Halloween movie night: Stay in for the evening with favorite Halloween classics.
- Set up a scavenger hunt: Draft a list of Halloween items for children to look for on a walk through the neighborhood with prizes.
- Grab-and-go trick-or-treating: Instead of handing out candy to each child as they come to the door, place individually wrapped goodie bags at the end of the driveway or edge of a yard to allow for social distancing. Make sure a bottle of hand sanitizer makes it to the table.
- Outdoor costume party: Dress up and stay six feet apart at a small outdoor party or wear a protective mask if at a larger outdoor party.
- Outdoor Halloween movie night: Arrange a small, socially distant outdoor gathering by spacing people at least six feet apart; more space is advised if people will be screaming.
- Outdoor haunted forests and cornfields: Outdoor haunted activities are safely possible when traffic flow is one-way, face coverings are worn and social distancing is enforced.
- Pumpkin patches: Pick the great pumpkin from an outdoor patch; be sure to stay safely distanced from other groups and use hand sanitizer before and after touching pumpkins.
- Avoid decorative contact lenses
- Ensure any weapon accessories to costumes like swords, knives or guns are obviously fake in appearance and made of soft or flexible materials
- Make sure costumes fit well to avoid tripping hazards, and that masks are easy to see through
- Test all makeup before applying to avoid allergic reactions
- Use reflective tape, battery-operated lights or glow sticks to make costumes visible outdoors in the dark
- Animal crackers
- Baked chips
- Dried fruit
- Fruit snacks, ideally made from 100 percent fruit juice
- Mini toothbrushes and mini toothpastes
- Nuts
- Pretzels
- Small toys such as bouncy balls
- Trinkets such as fun erasers, bookmarks and stickers
- Trail mix