Trick or Treating 2020: Instructions to build your own DIY social distanced candy distributor!

We have a full-blown Halloween obsession in our house. Okay, maybe just me and the little people I’m raising to love it as much as I do! We do a family Halloween costume every year, and here’s why we go all out with extra couple and family Halloween costumes! But when we heard trick-or-treating may be canceled this year, our household was pretty devastated.

We live in a destination trick-or-treating neighborhood, and it’s not uncommon to pass out over 1,000 pieces of candy in one night! Because of this, we knew no matter we’d likely still see several trick-or-treaters, and we wanted to provide some safe Halloween fun in 2020!

Trick or Treating 2020

My husband Jacob is an engineer and a truly innovative guy. When the CDC released guidelines to avoid trick-or-treating at the front porch, but that driveway pickups from 6 feet + were okay, he got right to work inventing a device to make this happen. As much as we love the leave something at the driveway, there’s just too many kids who come to our neighborhood.

He took one trip to Home Depot and came home very excited with a plan! Much to our delight, his plan works perfectly! He saved Halloween!

We’ll attach candy from the top of our driveway (about 10 feet away) with rotating candy kids can grab from the touch-free trick-or-treating clothesline.

We’ll keep some disinfected spray handy and wear gloves, and do our best to keep it touch-free. But one thing is for sure, we’ll keep it distant while still helping it feel fun and traditional for kids!

For anyone looking for a safe way to make trick or treating 2020 happen, here’s how to build your own DIY social distanced trick or treating 2020 candy device.

Yield: Social Distanced Candy Clothesline Device

Social Distanced Trick or Treating Clothesline

Treat or Treat from 6 Feet! My engineer husband is here to save Halloween 2020 with a social distance trick or treat idea you can make quickly and easily!

Prep Time 1 hour

Active Time 2 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 2 minutes

Difficulty Intermediate

Materials

(4) 1/4" Flat Washer
(2) 1/4" X 1" Hex Screw
(2) 1/4" X 2" Hex Screw
(2) 4" Clothesline Pulley
(2) 2-1/2" Clothesline Pulley
(2) 60# Concrete Mix
(2) 5 Gallon Bucket
(1) 50- Pack Clothes Pins
(1) 100 foot of 3/16" Braided Clothesline Rope
(1) 2X4 Stud
(20) Screws/nails/bolts/or something else to reinforce the studs in the concrete
(Optional) Spray Paint

Tools

Power Drill
Scissors

Instructions

Mix the concrete according to package directions and place in 5-gallon buckets (1 bag per bucket).
Note: We used plastic trash bags so concrete could potentially slide out of the mold in an attempt to reuse the buckets. It worked for us!
Reinforce posts with screw or nails. Leave about 2" of the depth of the concrete and nail/screw on all sides of the plank area that will be submerged.
Place posts in concrete to set (you may have to stabilize it while the concrete dries
Wait 24 hours
If you used a plastic trash bag, you may attempt to remove fully dried concrete from the buckets.
Determine the best placement for pulleys on posts for mounting and mark holes
Pre-drill holes for pulley mounts
Optional: Spray paint/paint a pumpkin face or decorate however desired.
Attach pulleys with hex screws
Drill holes in clothespins about 1/8"-1/4" from the end of clothespins
Thread clothespins onto the rope
Cut the rope to the desired length (remember to double the distance for the return)
Tie rope together and place on the pulley system
Hang candy pieces by clipping into clothespins. See notes for candy recommendations.
Trick AND Treat safely!

Notes

We'll be using candy that's fully sealed, but also in a package that's easy to pull down without having to touch the clothespin.
Also, we found: m&ms, Skittles, Airheads, Gummy pouches, and candy of similar shapes, sizes, and weights in sealed packages work best.

It's also a great idea to keep some disinfectant spray on hand and sanitize often.