Halloween 2020 Toolkit
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Halloween 2020 Toolkit #HalloweenIsHappening Halloween 2020 Toolkit Halloween Is Happening! Here is some good news for your stores, your communities and your shoppers: In a year unlike one that any of us can remember, people across America have said they will find ways to celebrate Halloween that are creative, fun and, most importantly, safe! Whether this year means more time at home, or just more time celebrating the season throughout the months of September and October, the resources enclosed here have you and your shoppers covered with inspiration for a creative and safe Halloween. The National Confectioners Association (NCA), the Washington, D.C.- based trade association that represents the confectionery industry, stands ready to help you and your shoppers make Halloween 2020 a memorable, safe and fun one for consumers everywhere. In fact, recent polling shows that 80% of people believe that they will find creative and safe ways to celebrate the Halloween season this year. This is up from just 63% two months earlier in July. In addition, 74% of young parents say that celebrating Halloween in 2020 is more important than ever. That’s good news for us, and for you. NCA has worked with leaders in the public health community, seeking their advice and counsel on how to best support beloved Halloween traditions for both children and adults. We are excited to present to you here information that you can adapt as needed to work best in your stores and various communities. Be assured that this approach is based in consumer research and is widely supported within the nutrition professional community. It represents solid thinking on ways of promoting and celebrating the Halloween season safely and creatively this year. Enclosed, please find: • Halloween 2020 Safe Store Events – Inspiration for promoting and celebrating the Halloween season in your stores • Q&A: How to Talk to Shoppers About Candy This Halloween – Q&A on how to answer questions from shoppers • Twenty Tweets for Halloween 2020 – Halloween fun facts, designed in short form for Twitter • Sample Blog Post or Website Content – A post you can adapt for your social media accounts or website • Ten Tricks for Treating at Halloween – Ideas and safety reminders for shoppers • How To Treat Right At Halloween – Perfect for social media and blog posts • What To Do with Extra Halloween Candy? – Shopper handout with recipes and other ideas • Halloween History and Fun Facts – Background information to share with your shoppers • A Halloween Candy Quiz – Offer this quiz to your shoppers, in-store or through social media • NCA / Halloween Central Resource Information – Where to go for additional information on candy at Halloween, and throughout the year We encourage you to make use of these materials during the 2020 Halloween season, which is well underway. We also hope that you will share these items as appropriate with your corporate leadership, and with the merchandising teams and other retail team leaders at your stores. Your public relations and communications colleagues, as well as corporate dietitians, may also find this information helpful. On behalf of all of us in the confectionery industry, we wish you a creative, fun, safe and happy Halloween. DON'T FORGET: More resources are available at CandyUSA.com/H20! #HalloweenIsHappening Halloween 2020 Toolkit Halloween 2020 Safe Store Events Halloween 2020 may look a little different in some places this year, but it can still be a fun and memorable occasion in your community. Consider the role that your stores can play in helping families, particularly those with young children, celebrate their favorite Halloween traditions in a safe manner. For the latest information on safety guidelines regarding COVID-19, refer to public health authorities in each community or region that you represent. Updates and changes in guidelines frequently come as new local data emerges. Make plans and publicize them accordingly, but know that the ability to be flexible will be key. With schools, libraries and recreation centers in many parts of the country closed, families may be looking for safe gathering spots to celebrate Halloween. Consider what role your store may play in this as a service to affected communities. Is there outdoor space in your parking lot or immediately outside of the store that could be roped off for a short socially-distanced Halloween gathering? Depending on local recommendations, indoor space may be considered if there is room enough for social distancing. This is a great year for a social media outreach to encourage virtual celebrations of Halloween. Use your store’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts to hold a costume contest. Or, have kids take and submit pictures of their favorite Halloween candy that their parents will be buying at your store. Surprise your shoppers during Halloween week with small, individually wrapped pieces of candy. Drop them into plastic shopping bags, include them as a bonus with curbside grocery pickup orders or have shoppers select them at checkout registers to minimize contact. Host a week-long Halloween Candy Quiz contest for in-store shoppers, online through social media or both. See how much your shoppers know about their favorite Halloween treats! Use the suggested questions included in this kit or contact local candy manufacturers near you to supply materials. Your shoppers may be interested in new and creative ways to use and have fun with Halloween candy. Check out ideas included in this kit, as well as recipe sites like AllRecipes.com, Delish.com and TasteOfHome.com for dessert recipes that feature candy as an ingredient. Pinterest has numerous craft ideas using all kinds of candy that are fun for kids of all ages. And AlwaysATreat.com/HalloweenCentral is also a great resource for inspiration and creativity. #HalloweenIsHappening Halloween 2020 Toolkit Q&A: How to Talk to Shoppers About Candy This Halloween (page 1) With the Halloween season upon us, there is no doubt that people have questions about what to expect. There will be regional differences across the country in terms of how people choose to celebrate the Halloween season during the month of October, but one thing is for sure – Halloween Is Happening. Whether this year’s festivities mean more time at home or just more time celebrating the season throughout the month of October, here are some guidelines for talking to your shoppers about candy, promoting balance and safely celebrating Halloween this year. Is it safe for kids to go trick-or-treating this year? The answer depends on where you live and the guidance given by your local public health authorities. In some communities, the answer to this will be no. In other places, it may be safer, but with precautions in place. If kids are trick-or-treating, here are some points for parents to keep in mind: • Try not to sample treats before you get home. According to the CDC, it’s always important to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before eating, but the use of disinfectants on food packaging is not recommended by the CDC. Importantly, handling food or consuming food does not spread COVID-19. SOURCE: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/food-and-COVID-19.html • Respect that, even if safe for kids, many older neighbors may be apprehensive of the close contact. Stay socially distanced from them by keeping kids six feet away and giving a wave from the yard. • If kids are trick-or-treating, make masks part of their costumes. Mouths and noses should always be covered. We’ve all read or seen in the news that wearing a mask can help to slow the spread of the virus. Parents should follow the advice and guidance from the CDC and their local officials to make sure that they and their families are safe. This year, Halloween will look a little different for many people, but we’re all in this together and we can still make it a safe and fun season. • Outdoors is always the safest, whether that means participating in a trunk-or-treat, celebrating at a local store or parking lot or trick-or-treating from house to house rather than indoors. Halloween is so fun – but this year, we are not going to allow our kids to go trick-or-treating. Do you have ideas for how to celebrate Halloween at home? There are plenty of ways to celebrate the Halloween season, even if you’re celebrating at home. Pick up your supplies here at our store so that you can be ready to host a Zoom costume party, set up trick-or-treating in your home or backyard, make some of your favorite Halloween baked goods or curl up with your favorite treats and watch a scary movie. And you can find more inspiration atAlwaysATreat.com/HalloweenCentral . #HalloweenIsHappening Halloween 2020 Toolkit Q&A: How to Talk to Shoppers About Candy This Halloween (page 2) My kids love Halloween and candy, and they usually come home with enough to last for months! What can we do with candy we won’t eat, so that we’re not wasteful? Lots of things – Halloween candy is the gift that keeps giving! Collecting a bag of treats is the name of the game on Halloween, but it is a good idea to strategize ahead of time on what to do with the excess. Here are some ideas: • Decide ahead of time how many pieces of candy your kids can keep for their own enjoyment. Most wrapped candies will stay fresh for six to nine months, which may be longer than you want to keep Halloween candy around. So base this decision on the age of your kids (the younger the children, the fewer the pieces) and your own parenting philosophy about enjoying the candy treats that will be a part of the upcoming holiday season.