Now you’ve all got me thinking of this candy chute idea. Does anyone know where I can find a single 6’ cardboard mailing tube? I’m only seeing them bulk.
^^^ wrapping paper tube or two taped together?
Or check your garage for any “tube” type piece leftover from a home project?
I’ve also seen that you can put a sign saying “put your bag/bucket here” so there is even less touching at the end of the tube. And don’t know if this would work because we have kids sometimes coming up our sidewalk but also running rampantly across the lawn…but using glow in the dark tape to mark spots 6 ft apart on the sidewalk as they come up. But I’ll be honest I think its up to parents to monitor spacing if they allow their kids out.
Try a local flooring company? When we had flooring put in, one part came in a 6-8’ long tube. I had ours cut to store other things, but I’d bet it would work really well for this, perhaps a bit heavier than really needed, …
I am grateful that our state and town have not overreached their power to unauthorize Halloween. If you feel comfortable turn on your light and hand out candy. If you don’t, that’s cool then keep your porch light off.
Same goes for parents. If you feel comfortable take your kids out. if you don’t, then create some other Halloween experience for your family.
It’s crazy this is even being discussed as something that a governmental entity should decide.
My house is already decorated, my light will be on, I will hand out candy with a mask on. No chute, no chucking candy. If my kids were still young enough to trick or treat we would be out with bells on.
YMMV
Our tiny neighborhood has no trick or treat kids anymore. So this year, the grown ups are going to be trick or treating. Costumes and all. I have to figure out what to leave out for the folks. That’s what we are doing…leaving things out. I might leave champagne and small cups…and Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer to use for the people and to wipe the bottle.
I have individually wrapped assorted cheeses too.
I thought you were leaving the Lysol wipes as the treat. I was going to suggest a roll of TP for a treat!!! 
VERY 2020. 
The picture of adults ToT in costumes without kids during a pandemic???
My D (grad student) just called to tell me about a house she passed on her walk near her school. There was a chute from the second floor and a sign that said if a light was on to push the button for candy. She walked past and then couldn’t resist, so pushed it. She said she saw someone scramble past the window, hold up a candy bar held with tongs and then drop it in the chute.
She had just come from a irritating zoom meeting and she was delighted. It made her day, although she wondered what person thought about the fact she was not a child. Definitely fell in the category of a good deed on an otherwise lousy day. We could all use a little fun in our lives now.
@Mabelsmom our neighborhood usually has a costume party. Clearly that can’t happen this year. Thus the trick or treat idea. We are talking 14 couples…and we are not all going to be at the same house at the same time. Everything outdoors and in single serve containers, or with sufficient wipes/sanitizer to deal with wiping off a pitcher handle, for example.
We figured this would be fun…just this once.
We haven’t gotten a ton of trick or treaters the last few years. We tend to get some groups of kids in the first hour after it gets dark and then none after that. Last year we had so much candy left over, I tend to overbuy candy because in our old neighborhood we used to get a ton of kids and one year I didn’t buy enough and we ran out in half an hour! I may either just put a bowl out on our porch or just turn off the lights and not do anything!
My sister and her husband don’t need to worry, they live in a gated 55 and over community, and they’ve never had 1 trick or treater. I think one reason we don’t get a ton of kids is because there is a big neighborhood nearby that goes all out for Halloween and gives out great candy, so I think everyone goes there. I have no idea what that neighborhood will be doing this year. Our neighborhood is mostly empty nesters and parents of high school kids who are too old for trick or treating. There are some families with younger kids and they go around, but last year the little boy who lived next door to us went trick or treating in his cousin’s neighborhood and we didn’t see the family with twins who lives right behind us…have no idea what it will be like this year!
In the town where my stepfather lives, they have a residential street that closes down for Halloween and all the houses go all out. They have food trucks, vendors, people even turn their whole houses into haunted houses and it’s a big event. I was visiting my parents around Halloween and they were setting up porta potties three days before. They even have trick or treating for adults where you can get wine at certain houses. Our family friend who lives on that street buys pounds of candy to hand out and she and her husband hand out wine and spiked hot cider to the adults!
My stepdad doesn’t get any trick or treaters. There aren’t a ton of kids in the neighborhood and all the houses are on at least an acre of property and are very spread out. There also aren’t sidewalks and people can go quite fast on his street. When he and my mom first bought that house, the street was a dead end and there were more families living there, but now all the kids have grown up and moved away. Though in the last few years more families with kids have moved in, they usually go the nearby gated neighborhood which opens the gates on Halloween for kids in the area…
In our old neighborhood there were some girls who lived down the street from us, that my D used to hang out with from time to time, who would always go to a “dress up and candy party” at their church. Halloween was never mentioned. They also used to ask D if she wanted to come along, saying you got way more candy, D wasn’t interested. They always made it clear that their girls would not be on the streets trick or treating…their house did get TP’d. That said, if that’s what they believe and want to do, they are free to do that.
I remember when I was kid there was a dentist who gave out toothbrushes.
Our city just banned ToT (and spraying people with shaving foam). Oh, well… all the more for me!
Back in the good old days when it was OK to scare the pants off little kids, my dad’s house was the one to flock to or avoid. He went all out. He had an old coffin with air holes along the back side (don’t ask) that he would lay in dressed as Frankenstein with “Sounds of the Haunted House” playing on outdoor speakers and lightening-like lights flashing the front of the house. There was a spooky sign taped to the coffin that said, “Lift If You Dare!” Any kid brave enough to lift that lid would see Frank with a flashlight beneath his chin sit up and roar. If the kid was still standing there a second later, Frank would drop a big candy bar in the bag. Parents thought this was hilarious and often came back (crying kids in tow) to watch the next batch wet their pants. Good times.
@ChoatieMom That sounds hilarious! I have some great pics. of my kids fleeing haunted houses in terror - but every year, they went back for more!
@ChoatieMom hahaha! That’s hilarious! My S would totally do that. H had a friend whose dad had a used car lot and they had an old hearse they’d put out around Halloween.
S always loved haunted houses. D hated them when she was little
Usually I buy bite sized candy and let kids pick 2 or 3. I think this year I’m just going to get more significant items (full sized bars or fruit snacks, or salty snacks like Goldfish or Cheese Its) and then just distribute (not sure how I’ll do that yet) one per TOT’er.
Quality vs. Quantity.
Several ,of my young “friends” requested non-chocolate candy, E.g. Skittles. I ordered thru Amazon, along with a box of Swedish red fish. I’ll either be a witch again, or a Victorian lady. Either way, I’ll be wearing gloves and will pass out candy with tongs. No choices. When one candy gone, then I’ll shift to the next.
I was going through my bin of Halloween stuff and found 50 treat bags. We don’t get a ton of kids, and I expect we will get less this year, so I’m going to put a couple of pieces of candy in the treat bags and set them out on a table in my front yard. I’ll sit on my porch so I can see the costumes and make sure no one is greedy.
My neighborhood has decided that the younger kids will have some sort of parade, socially distanced with parents supervising/escorting, and masked. The people organizing that are putting together little pumpkins filled with candy that each kid will be able to take at the end of the parade. This apparently is taking place in the afternoon.
Those of us who want to give out candy to older kids too old for parading are doing something similar to me in the early evening.
A previous poster on the site, aibarr, has two young children now. She has already distributed candy into treat bags and will set them aside for two weeks. She’s including a note in each bag to let the parents of the ToT’ers know about the safety precautions she took. She’s now devising a way to deliver the bag to the kids, perhaps down a chute.