Parents planning to trick-or-treat with their kids this year have plenty of fears to tackle with COVID-19. But many people are rising to the challenge and coming up with creative ways to give out candies from a safe social distance. Their preferred method? Candy chutes.
“It’s going to take nothing short of the GD apocalypse to make me cancel Halloween, but I don’t want to touch any grub hands either,” said the wife of Instagrammer spaghettitoesdad. She built a “sandworm” that looks like it is from her favorite Tim Burton movie Beetlejuice.
“Meet my new candy-delivery-system straight outta Beetlejuice!! (The Sandworm!!) A secret compartment in his neck allows candy to slide down, drop out the mouth and into your bucket or bag– a trick AND a treat!!!”
With many public healthy agencies are encouraging families to stay close to home and go out in small groups to avoid catching the coronavirus, finding ways for kids to still get out and enjoy Halloween is at the front of everyone’s minds. In addition to candy chutes, other ways authorities say can be used to hand out candy include, using tongs or leaving a tray of individually wrapped candy for kids to pick from. Some families are setting up scavenger hunts in their yards by hiding the goodies for their kids to find. But we like the creativity and the 6 foot distance the candy chutes offer.
Many people are using PVC pipe, which they then spray paint and decorate.
A candy chute so you can give candy out on Halloween while social distancing!
by u/RealSteveIrwin in mildlyinteresting
Andrew Beattie of Ohio used cardboard pipes and posted his creation on Facebook back in September and his post quickly went viral.
He decorated the chute with lights and instructions for trick or treaters. Here’s how it looks at night.
https://www.facebook.com/andrew.beattie2/posts/10158060468185141
Beattie heard from thousands of people, and he addressed their concerns by specifying that, “This will be a completely “touch-free” experience for trick or treaters. There will be a sign at the bottom of the tube showing them where to hold their bags and buckets so the candy can drop right in. I, personally, will be wearing a mask and changing gloves frequently, and the candy will be from a factory-sealed bag that I’ll open outside by the candy chute.”
A woman in DC caught sight of a chute in her neighborhood and tweeted about it.
Love my hood! More candy chutes for a safe, socially distance Halloween! @washingtondc @washingtonpost @washingtonian @PoPville pic.twitter.com/Ik69HNacz6
— dccitygirl (@dccitygirl_) September 29, 2020
Turns out that the kids behind making this chute want to sell them and donate half of the proceeds to a local charity that provides Thanksgiving meals to the needy.
A plumber in Canada is offering to install free Halloween candy chutes in his neighborhood.
Many relieved parents have taken him up on his offer. Mother Virginia Meeks told GlobalTV News, “Children need something. They’ve been stressed out all year. They’ve had all the cancellations of school at the beginning and so this is really about them.”
DYI Candy Chute for a Spooktacular Halloween!
by in halloween
Beattie echoes that sentiment. He wrote on Facebook, “I want our young’ins to be able to have some sense of normalcy and maybe a little bit of exercise in all this madness, and I’ve put a LOT of thought into how to do so safely… If this candy chute makes things easier or safer, AND gives those with mobility challenges more of a chance to participate, then what’s the harm? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, ya’ know.”
If you are looking to make one, here’s a handy “how-to” video on building a candy chute:
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