#Easy DIY Halloween ideas for a socially distanced trick-or-treating

After seven-and-a-half months of lockdown during COVID-19, it’s no wonder families are looking forward to the prospect of Halloween.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he wouldn’t formally ban trick-or-treating this year, but added that he wouldn’t necessarily encourage parents to take kids door to door either.

So how do you enjoy the spooky holiday and, at the same time, ensure your celebrations don’t land you in quarantine-o-ween?

The New York Post consulted two parenting experts on ways to have fun with DIY Halloween decorations while following safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We should look on it as an opportunity to be more creative with our children,” said Lindsey Peers, owner of Manhattan’s the Craft Studio. “It’s a nice idea to focus on family togetherness.”

Chimed in Westchester lifestyle blogger Maria Colaco, of TheNewYorkMom.com: “You don’t need to completely cancel everything — as long as you are vigilant and sensible.”

Here are their top tips for a crafty, socially distanced Halloween.

If you live in the city

Peers, of the Upper East Side, insists her ideas are “easy and doable,” devised with busy parents in mind.

She involved her kids, Elle, 6, Vivienne, 4, and 11-month-old Luke in all the activities so they could have fun and let off steam.

“They had a blast,” said the 36-year-old entrepreneur. “The scavenger hunt was a particular hit with the girls because they couldn’t contain their excitement checking off the items on their list.”

Candy wall for apartment corridor

Take an old white sheet or tablecloth and, using poster paint (from $5, as part of the Halloween Art Supplies Bundle at the Craft Studio), make a series of two handprints about 6 inches apart to resemble bats. Decorate them with googly eyes (from 99 cents at Michaels.com). Carefully, using scissors, make holes in the center of each bat and attach lollipops or small bags of candy by poking through pipe cleaners and twisting them. Fix the decorated sheet to the wall with Command picture-hanging strips ($9.99 at Amazon.com). “My neighbors said the bat wall-hanging was chic and the kids enjoyed stripping it of candy,” said Peers.

Spider candy dispenser

Fashion the spider’s head and body from two black garbage bags stuffed with old clothes or spare packaging materials. Use clear packing tape to make them more rounded. Tear takeout pizza boxes into eight long strips and color them black with poster paint for the legs. Attach with tape. Stick on eyes made from Sharpie on thick white paper. Add glitter, stickers, googly eyes, pompoms or whatever you fancy. Next, using glue dots ($4.99 at Michaels.com), stick candy at intervals on legs. “As with the candy wall, you need to restock the treats now and again,” said Peers, explaining how families in her building will take turns to safely visit in “pods.”

Scavenger hunt

“Age” a piece of white paper using teabags to look like an old treasure map. Write a list of 10 things to spot on a walking circle of your neighborhood, such as a red door, a family of jack-o’-lanterns or a witch’s broom. Separately decorate two canvas bags with the words “Trick” and “Treat” using white school glue (95 cents at Amazon.com), googly eyes and glitter. Put candy in the one marked “Treat” and little things like gross-tasting Harry Potter jelly beans (from $2.49 at JellyBelly.com) or a slime-puking pumpkin toy ($8.98 at Amazon.com) in the “Trick” bag. “Once you’re outside, the first person in your pod or family to point out something on the list gets a treat,” explained Peers. “The others get a trick.”

If you live in the suburbs

Colaco, 41, a marketing executive and content creator, is spearheading efforts in her small corner of Katonah, NY, to mark a special holiday.

“We are staying local,” said the mom of 15-year-old Lily, Thomas, 7, and 2-year-old Charlie. “I put together a list of things we could manage as a neighborhood.”

Folks will be wearing costumes as usual, but are being told to socially distance and stay in family units.

Added Colaco: “We came up with some creative methods to make sure the kids can still enjoy Halloween as part of their childhood.”

A twist on ‘Trunk or Treat’

Instead of the small-town tradition of decorating the inside of your car trunk and having children reach into it for candy, Colaco recommends setting up a table near your mailbox laden with pre-wrapped goodie bags prepared by clean, sanitized hands. They can contain candies and cheap Halloween treats like spiders and witches’ fingers (from $5 at Amazon.com). Colaco decorated her table with a colorful Day of the Dead theme, including painting a cool 3-D papier-mâché skull ($16.00 at Amazon.com) with the help of Lily.

Boo and booze boxes

For the kids’ version, fill a container ($9.99 at Amazon.com) with goodies such as candy, little coloring books and eyeball erasers ($8.49 at Amazon.com). For adults, place a bottle of wine or liquor (with the label covered with a skull and crossbones printed from the Internet) in a basket. If you’re feeling artistic, attach a hand-written extract from an Edgar Allen Poe poem on parchment paper. “Drop them off on a friend’s doorstep, ring the bell and then run away,” said Colaco. “Kids love the mystery of it all.” The idea is for the gifted family to pass on the favor by creating a box for someone else. “It just travels,” added the mom.

Candy bars on stakes

Attach full-size candy bars (we’re in a pandemic, so why not splurge?) to marshmallow-roasting skewers ($6.92 at Amazon.com) with duct tape. Stick them into the ground 6 feet apart. “We’ve created a little haunted graveyard out front with lights and a fog machine,” said Colaco. “It’s a scary mini maze with treats which should appeal to the teens and tweens.”