It's the month for Halloween and everyone's number one thought is "Is Halloween happening in 2020?!"
Whether you need to know to plan for a costume or you just want an excuse to eat the candy you already bought, there are still ways to do trick or treating socially distanced. My mom and I were discussing it and I joked about a socially distanced candy tube. They could put candy in from the top of the porch, where it could slide down the chute into the waiting bags of trick or treaters below. The length of the tube would ensure that a six foot distance is maintained. She goes nuts with Halloween every year and immediately started to devise a candy delivery tube to use in the time of COVID. A few days later, here it is.
This is her over the top but totally functional creation. She used a prop from last year that's just a cut open and painted hollow pumpkin trick or treating bucket, and attached a 6" wide PVC pipe and a 45 degree joint. It's zip tied to the bannister. Everything else decorative is optional — which means the monster head, the leaf garland, and the lights wrapped around it. I think the lights should be necessary for effect and so trick or treaters can see what's going on, though. There's a ton of room to be creative if you too, want to pass out Halloween candy but safely because y'know, COVID.
To make your own, you'll need at a minimum, a 6" wide PVC pipe that is at least 6 foot long, but you'll need to measure your bannister to see what will work. Stand at the top of your porch stairs with a tape measure, and have someone at the other end help you determine the best length. It needs to come out around arm height for an average child, which is usually about where bannisters traditionally end anyway.
This is where you'll need to decide if you want to add a joint of not. It's not necessary, but it makes the candy delivery tube more ergonomically functional for the candy hander-outers.
But no really, check it out in action. We didn't have any little kids on hand to use as props to hold up their pillow cases to collect the candy, but you can see in the video how easily it slides down and into their candy bags!
Candy Tube Materials Needed:
- 6" wide PVC pipe, 6 foot (or longer if needed)
- 6" wide PVC pipe 45 degree elbow
- Zip ties
- Paint and other decorative elements (see below for more ideas)
- Hollow plastic pumpkin to make the monster face above
- Utility knife for cutting
- Glue
- 1 strand of decorative lights (battery operated if you're not near an outlet)
Not into the weird plant monster effect? There are tons of options, including ones where you don't have a monster head at the end of the tube. The candy can come directly from the end into the waiting bags of trick or treaters!
Other Decorative Ideas:
- Glue spiders all around the tube, and one big giant hairy one at the end
- Or put giant spider legs on it, paint the tube black and have glowing red lights for eyes at the end
- Have the mouth of the pumpkin be where the candy comes out
- Use flashing multicolored lights around the tube
- Have a skeleton hugging onto or holding the tube
- Paint it in a fun striped pattern
- Cover in cobwebs on the exterior of the pipe
- Whatever you do though... no clowns!
And this isn't socially distanced trick or treating related, but these eyeball flowers are my favorite of the Halloween props that my mom makes:
Looking for Halloween food ideas? Try black as night cocoa cookies, or eyeball matcha shortbread cookies.