Twenty years ago, Halloween was a celebration that Australia only knew from American movies and television programs.

However, over the past two decades, as a society we have really began to embrace this historical and famous occasion.

It has become extremely commercialised, with large displays of ‘scary’ toys, costumes and other paraphernalia in variety stores and Halloween-themed foods in grocery stores.

Kids love the idea of trick-or-treating, knocking on doors around the neighbourhood and receiving lollies and in some cases gold coins from householders in their local areas.

Halloween parties are also quite popular and companies which hire out fancy dress costumes are getting bombarded this week as people of all ages prepare for the festivities.

For the first time in five years Halloween falls on a weekend, with this Saturday, October 31,  being the big night.

The good news of course in this COVID-19 year is that Halloween is even going ahead in New South Wales, at all.

A few months ago, the chances of Sydneysiders being able to celebrate All Hallows Eve were remote, given the lockdown conditions which were in place.

But gradually the restrictions have been eased, and NSW Health has given the green light for Halloween to go ahead, with certain restrictions to be mindful of.

The Health Department is recommending that Halloween celebrations should be held in the front yard, which will prevent householders having to greet the neighbourhood kids at the front door.

For trick-or-treating, it’s recommended that an adult supervise the children as they move around and ideally, groups should comprise only kids from the same household instead of larger groups of children traipsing around together without parental supervision.

"Keep it local and put effort into decorating the front yard,” a NSW Health spokesperson told ABC Television last week.

"Provide closed packaging for treats and instead of communal lolly bowls, consider other ways of distributing treats, like placing them along the front fence.

Householders should also ensure that hand sanitiser is available in the front yard and people from different households should maintain a distance of 1.5 metres at all times.

An important point to remember is that children should not share costume face masks.

Saturday will certainly be a busy day in the Sunshine State of Queensland, as not only is it Halloween, but a State Election will also be held.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will be hoping that her Government’s very strict border restrictions during COVID-19 will help to see her returned to power but obviously she must be wary not to step on a black cat in the next few days!

But while residents can celebrate Halloween with very few restrictions, Queensland Health, like its NSW counterpart, has encouraged revellers to err on the side of caution.

"We'd like to remind all the monsters, ghouls and ghosties out there to stay up to date with the health directions that are in place," a Queensland Health spokesperson commented.

"Remember to practice the basic 1.5 metres distancing and wash your hands, claws and tentacles!”

With Halloween only a matter of days away, we at Yes I Can Project Group have put together a last minute list of shopping and gift suggestions so you can celebrate Halloween in style….

1. SUMMER BATHROOM SPECIAL: As heard on Radio 2GB’s Ray Hadley Morning Show, you can renovate your bathroom in style and get $5,000 worth of extras and a lifetime structural warranty only with Yes I Can Project Group’s Summer Bathroom Special. Sign up now for an early 2021 start date with Sydney’s most innovative building company, where we use state of the art virtual reality software so you can see just how your bathroom will look before it’s built! We can transform your tired old bathroom into a luxurious space for as little as $18,000. And we can guarantee that at Yes I Can, there are no skeletons in our closets as we only use the best quality materials and experienced, fully licensed and insured tradesmen who will ensure an immaculate finished product.

2.  FAMILY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND IN THE ‘BIG SMOKE’: We definitely recommend that you don’t book in at Bates Motel, especially on Halloween as you never know when Norman might appear from nowhere, but there still are plenty of family packages available at major Sydney CBD hotels. Sadly, the Saturday night Darling Harbour Fireworks are still on hold due to COVID-19 but there are plenty of other ways to relax as many luxury rooms have their own witch’s cauldron……oops sorry, spa bath!!

3. YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN PARTY: Up to 20 people may now visit your home at any one time and this figure excludes members of your own household, so to celebrate this latest COVID-19 rules relaxation, why not throw a last minute Halloween Party. Sure, it’s short notice but Ron, the big boss at Min’s Party Hire at Prestons near Liverpool, will look after you so that you don’t miss a trick (or a treat!) and if you mention Yes I Can Project Group, he will give you an even better deal. Call Ron on 0423 304 847.

4. TIME TO DRESS UP: Snog The Frog at Surry Hills in the CBD is well known as Sydney’s best costumes and fancy dress shop, but they have really ramped things up for Halloween by transforming the shop into a giant spider’s web! They are open every day between now and Halloween including special hours on Thursday when they’re open til midnight (spooky,huh). But don’t take our word for it, check them out on the world wide “web” (sorry!)

5. LUNA PARK, AFTER DARK: It’s a huge week at Sydney’s most iconic amusement park with Halloween being celebrated all week long up to and including Sunday. In addition to the thrilling and scary rides, there will be demons, zombies and witches roaming the place randomly….as well as horror themed but yummy snacks of course!

6. SCREAM TIME: Scary movies will be bombarding theatre screens all over Sydney on Saturday but we recommend you head to St Ives Showground, where they will screen a double-bill with Scream starring Drew Barrymore and The Blair Witch Project. Hard to believe that both of these flicks are more than 20 year old but they still make our blood curdle!

7. YOUR HALLOWEEN MENU: The Food Network – “web”-site foodnet.com -takes some beating with some of its offerings for Halloween but one which you could say is a real “no brainer” is the Sushi Brain….yes, a yummy smoked salmon treat which looks just like a human brain! Just a few of their other spooky snacks include a sandwich-shaped coffin, olive spiders, vampire muffins and snack monsters!

8. SCARY ZOMBIE: As all home improvers know, Bunnings have thousands and thousands of items that you can put to good use, but they have gone all out this Halloween! For just $24.50 you can buy your own Scary Zombie, with flashing red eyes and a blood-curdling sound. But they are going like hotcakes so it might be good idea to check stock levels at your local store.

9. SINGING PUMPKIN: Did you hear the one about the broken Jack O’Lantern? They mended it with a pumpkin patch! And another great novelty item to add to your Halloween decorations is a Singing Pumpkin, available from Coles for just $20.00. Although when we say available, we mean they should be available for Halloween 2021, as they are temporarily out of stock.

10. BLACK CATS: Why not adopt a black cat from the Cat Protection Society in Enmore in Sydney’s Inner West? We know that black cats are meant to bring bad luck but if you think they’re an unlucky omen on Halloween, things could get even worse a couple of weeks from now…..Friday the Thirteenth!

A very Happy Halloween to all from Director Richard Dargham and the Team at Yes I Can Project Group, Sydney’s most innovative building company, where no job is too big or too small….and remember:

“At Yes I Can, if we can’t do it, no one can!”