Candy Slide for Halloween

Halloween 2020 is almost here! If you are looking for a fun way to still hand out treats but give yourself some physical distance from the Trick or Treaters check out this Candy Slide idea!

I first saw this idea from YouTube creator Wicked Makers. https://youtu.be/il6eAKfSSoE

Second Week I made a castle! Balloon Skull from Buster Balloon. Dracula and Frankenstein from Darren Mortiboy. Wall torches inspired by Lea Beck’s Q Corner Convention class!

Here is my version that I used on two separate occasions for a treat station at Boo at the Zoo!

The 4” PVC tube is from Home Depot. It comes in 10ft sections so I cut it down to 6’. There are so many ways that you could mount this- I wanted to use things I already had that could travel easily. I ended up using a folding step-stool and my small folding table. I had enough stability using extra balloons as big rubber bands to tie the tube to both the table and step-stool. The big thing to keep in mind is your angle. The tube has to be at an angle that the candy will actually travel down and not get stuck.

The step-stool was actually great for me because I could use it as a shelf to keep my bag of candy and on the lower levels I had a small bluetooth speaker playing spooky tunes and I could keep my sanitizer and wipes close by.

Being a balloon artist I of course used that to decorate my slide set up! Have fun and be creative with it. The first week I made a pumpkin face (based on Buster Balloon’s pumpkin mask) to go over the opening of the pipe. My recommendation is to make the ‘mouth’ of your design short enough for little kids- big kids can bend down a little bit but you want it to be fun for the littles! Also I liked having the pipe stick out a little bit. My banter was something along the lines of “Are you trick or treating? Hold your bag/bucket up to the pumpkin mouth and he will spit out some candy!”

I was a little worried that I didn’t ‘hide’ or decorate the back of the tube enough but it actually served as a visual cue that this is what is happening. All the grown ups get it and think it is cool. The cutest bit is the little kids that have no idea where the candy came from. Even though they can technically see all the mechanics it is still a little bit of magic! And it is soooo freaking adorable to see a little kids face trying to peer up inside the tube to figure it out!

Both days that I had a treat station I made a balloon design that also included a little bit of a wall which acts as an easy barrier to people and they can see clearly where they need to go for the candy. You can also use gloves to distribute the candy and I used tongs as an extra bit of not-touching the candy and it was just fun. Also remember to wear a mask and use any other best practices to keep you and the little ghouls and goblins safe!

Do you have plans for Halloween? What creative ways are you celebrating this year?