Testing the COVID Socially Distanced Halloween Candy Dispensing System!

We will be roping off our front stairs/patio this year for Halloween, but we still wanted to welcome trick-or-treaters to our haunt with candy. We came up with a way to allow trick-or-treaters to get their candy safely this year! Behold the COVID Socially Distanced Halloween Candy Dispensing System! This is the first test run.

The jaw of the skull is key for getting the candy to land into the bowl. Without it, the candy simply flies out onto the pathway. I don't want kids hunting all over for their treats in the dark! I will be adding a small LED light inside the roof of the skull's mouth to allow for better visibility inside the bowl at night. An unexpected bonus of this design is how the skull's mouth becomes animated when the candy drops out of the pipe.

So the system is pretty simple and quite inexpensive: it's a length of 3" PVC pipe, anchored with zip ties to the railings. The large skull was found at Target. I cut out the bottom back of the skull so it fit better onto the pipe. Once it was in the right spot, I secured it in place with hot glue, EVA foam, and a little gaffer's tape. The bowl is suspended below the pipe through a few small holes in the pipe with black filament. The pipe is covered with creepy cloth, secured in various areas with hot glue. The bowl will be lowered on Halloween night to accommodate smaller trick-or-treaters.

I may end up using this setup even after we don't have to do the whole social distancing thing anymore. It's super fun!