Stay Safe This Halloween

By Maggie Fischler

Halloween has always been a fun time of tricks and treats for children. But as we become young adults, our Halloween nights begin to be celebrated differently. Suddenly, everyone is throwing a party, and whether mentioned directly in the invitation or not, it is implied that there will be alcohol there. But why do we need alcohol to have fun?

Television and movies compel us to believe that Halloween for teens (and college students and adults, too) is a day or weekend full of partying, and it is, but not all teen parties involve drinking and smoking.

You could have a bonfire with fun music and games and Halloween-themed food, perhaps a Blacklight party with glow-in-the-dark-themed costumes and decorations. You could even just have a Halloween movie night with scary films and ghostly stories.

With this year’s Halloween falling on a Friday night, safety and law enforcement officials are reminding everyone to be especially careful. And remember it is illegal for anyone under 21 to drink alcohol products -- even possessing alcohol is illegal for minors. Police look for such things on Halloween since crashes can occur with even low blood levels of consumption.

If you’re not the party type, there are plenty of things to do for Halloween in Fairfax County. If you live near DC, Halloween on the Mall would be a fun thing to go to. You could go to a theme park, where fright nights and haunts are at the height of their season, or to the zoo, where there are Halloween tricks and treats.

If you look hard enough, you’ll find many stores and companies have something planned for Halloween that you could attend if you want to go out locally. Some people prefer to stay in for Halloween, which is completely possible to do without alcohol. You could invite a few friends over and pass out candy to cute little kids and even dress up to greet the trick-or-treaters.

If parents need ideas for how to make Halloween safe, healthy and drug-free for their teens, check out these tips from the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County (UPC). The UPC Youth Council has distributed clever posters to our local high schools to encourage our fellow students to have a fun and alcohol-free Halloween (“Stay Away from the Boooooooze” above and “Don’t End Up a SICK Pumpkin” on this page).

But remember that drinking and driving on Halloween is a big concern on our roadways as Halloween has become known as an “alco-holiday.” According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Halloween is a statistically dangerous night for drunk driving. In 2012, almost half (48%) of all crash fatalities that night involved a drunk driver.

There are infinite ways you could spend your Halloween this year without alcohol and still have an amazing time. Happy Halloween!

Maggie Fischler is a junior at Langley High School and a member of the Youth Council of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County.

The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is a nonprofit organization with more than 60 community partners working together to keep youth and young adults safe and drug- free. Visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org and www.facebook.com/unifiedpreventioncoalition. Follow the group on Twitter at www.twitter.com/keepyouthsafe.