Heading to a Halloween party? Consider these etiquette tips in today’s COVID world
My husband and I have been invited to an adult Halloween party in our neighborhood. I have a couple of etiquette questions please:
Q. Are we required to take a hostess gift? If so, do you have any recommendations?
A. Yes, I would recommend you take a hostess gift. A partially-blooming mum plant would be a great gift and one which your hostess could quickly place on her front porch or on her patio. If it is partially blooming, she would be able to enjoy it longer — perhaps even up to Thanksgiving. If you are a baker, you might want to make a pumpkin bread or an apple-spice bread. Add a note to it suggesting your hostess could have the next day for breakfast. She will then know you are not expecting her to serve it at her party.
Q. Should I ask if we should bring a food dish of some kind or our own wine/alcohol?
A. Yes, even though the hostess usually makes that request of each guest when extending the invitation, please call her and ask her.
Q. She said there would be a costume contest and some games, but no elaboration on the games. What if one of the games is the traditional “apple bobbing”? Or sometimes it is passing a grapefruit from one person to the next, like from neck to neck? Can we just say we don’t want to participate?
A. I would hope with the current COVID-19 situation still existing, your hostess would not include any of these games in her party’s activities. Nonetheless, if she does, merely politely decline.
Q. What if we take our own hand sanitizer?
A. If you would feel more comfortable, I suggest you take some of the small sanitizer packets rather than a bottle dispenser of any type. Keep the packets discreetly inside a pocket on your costume, or an accessible pocket on the clothing you might be wearing underneath your costume or perhaps inside a purse, a bag, a plastic pumpkin or some other Halloween item connected to your costume. You can always frequently excuse yourself to the bathroom; use the packet there and/or wash your hands at that time.
Q. Should we add gloves to our costumes even if it isn’t exactly a match to our costume and just leave them on to eat?
A. Yes, adding gloves to your costumes even if they are not exactly a match is a great idea and you could also get by with keeping them on while you eat. Or, remove the gloves while you eat and then put them back on as soon as you are finished. I think I would prefer the later option.
Q. We have both had our two vaccinations and a booster, but I am wondering if her other guests have had theirs. Is it proper to ask her? I have no idea how many people have been invited, nor who they are, except for some of our other neighbors and I think some of them have the same concerns as ours? Dare I ask her what kind of COVID precautions they are taking?
A. Under the current circumstances, your concerns are well taken and you are definitely warranted in asking your hostess these questions. Make it a positive question such as: Oh, I am sure everyone you have invited to your party has had their vaccinations, haven’t they? And you are taking all kinds of precautions so that no one gets sick.