Photo: AlexMaster (Shutterstock)
Even though I live in the Pacific Northwest, between the pandemic and having fairly young kids, we haven’t experienced a super wet trick-or-treating night yet. This year, however, rain is in the forecast. Whether you’re also expecting rain or it sneaks up on you unexpectedly, here’s how to prepare if you want to brave the weather (or find something else fun to do entirely).
How to dress to go trick-or-treating in the rain
If it’s raining, this is obviously the year to get all your costume pictures inside your home. You and your kids may be perfectly happy getting the required photos, then donning a raincoat and heading out to make the best of things. They can tell folks what they’re dressed up as rather than showing them this year. If that bums them out too much, though, you might want to invest in a clear poncho that can show off what’s underneath while still protecting them from getting totally drenched. (There are also Halloween “costume ponchos,” but that’s only going to work if your kid is willing to pivot from their original first choice.)
Your best bet, though, is probably going to be layering. If you know you live somewhere it’s likely to rain, choose a roomy enough costume that allows warm pants and a rain coat to fit underneath. The costume will get soaked during trick-or-treating, of course, but your child should stay warm and dry underneath. Hike it Baby also offers rain and winter layering tips for adults and made a video with L.L.Bean on how to layer kids for rainy winter hikes, which can help you prepare for your Halloween “hike.”
Keep in mind that the plastic pumpkins many kids carry along to collect their candy will also collect...water. So you might want to bring along something else to transfer the candy into (and dump that water) periodically as you go. Illumination is especially important in the rain, so drop a glow stick or two in their bucket or tie one around their neck so they can be more easily spotted by you and by motorists.
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Find an indoor option
If it’s torrential or unsafe, it’s possible you’ll simply have to move the party indoors. If so, your community will likely have some indoor options available already. Nursing homes and retirement communities often put on trick-or-treating events. The residents love seeing the kids in costumes, the kids get a lot of candy (and attention) in a short amount of walking, and it’s a good opportunity to talk about aging, empathy, and disabilities, if you’re up for it.
Churches and community centers often have festivals or other “walk through” events. Many of these don’t require membership and are secular and welcoming. You can usually inquire about this and get a good sense by calling ahead or asking around. If you still have a functioning mall these days, some may have trick-or-treating happening, too.
If you need to stay home, there are creative solutions from our pandemic days, like scavenger hunts for a treasure chest of candy at the end, or filling plastic easter eggs with candy and doing an indoor hunt. Plus, if you don’t have trick-or-treating, all the candy you bought goes to your kids, and you can have a movie night with the best treats already on hand.
