Do We Give Up Fall Fun to Stay Safe?

Whether you admit it or not once the weather turns cool, we all start dreaming of pumpkin spice everything and apple pie. Autumn is all about soaking the last days of nice weather, watching the leaves change, football (maybe), hayrides and apple picking. As we all know 2020 hasn’t been the year, we all planned and a lot of our seasonal traditions have had to change or have gotten upended all together.

​The other day I was staring at my front door and steps trying to decide how many pumpkins I needed to decorate. I thought to myself it would be a lot more fun and creative, if I could go pick pumpkins or apples on one of the local farms. 

When we are choosing which activities to enjoy this Fall, we need to find a way to enjoy the activities but minimize our risk of Covid-19. Experts believe that are a few activities that can be done with a small amount of risk if you follow the guidelines. This is assuming the place you choose is following them as well.

How to choose? What should you consider?

Every expert, report and CDC guideline I have reviewed are all unanimous in saying that outdoor activities are always better than indoor activities.

 I started to research to see if this was even possible this fall. Below are the latest guidelines I found, along with some other helpful hints:

• Before you go consider, who will be at the event, farm or destination you are planning to visit. If the event you are considering has a large amount of people it isn’t a good idea. You know the saying, “safety in numbers” does not apply this year. Stick to small groups of your immediate family or friends who you know and trust are following Covid-19 safety guidelines.
• When in doubt, ask. If you aren’t sure what the event’s safety procedures are call and ask them. Every event and business should have been able to give you an answer. If they can’t give you answers or evade your questions, pick another destination. (Social distancing, masks, hand sanitizing stations.)
• Know your community statistics from pediatric cases to adult. Is your community green, yellow or red. Your local news station usually has a map listed on their website. Make sure your community isn’t experiencing a high rate of Covid-19.  If the event will be attended by a lot of people you don’t know, consider the risk before attending.
• Look for pumpkin patches, apple orchards and hayrides that let you schedule a time to visit as to limit the number of people on the farm.
• When picking apples make sure you sanitize your hands before you start picking and after you finish. Wash them thoroughly before eating or baking with them. We should be washing all or fruits and vegetables not just the ones we pick ourselves.
• Trick or treating is a big part of Fall activities but as of a few days ago the CDC is recommending no traditional trick-or-treating happen this year, ringing doorbells and handing out candy is considered a high-risk activity. Even with masks.
• The CDC recommends skipping any indoor haunted houses because of excessive screaming from patrons and actors. Also, part of Fall fun is hayrides at orchards the CDC recommends you avoid them unless you can schedule a time just for your family.

We can all have fun this Fall but we need to weigh our risk and stay vigilante. Hopefully, we all get to enjoy a little Fall.