Thread: Passing out candy?

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Originally Posted by nightrideproductions

Who knows..theyre usually trick or treating (a little too old, right?) and stop over for a minute, but dont stay long.

WHAT?!? You're never too old to go trick or treating....as long as your not one of those jerks with no costume that are out for free candy and the chance to pick on little kids. Heck, my mom went last year with my 2 year old, and not just as a chaperone....they had matching costumes!

Adding my vote to finding friends to help you out. You never know -- there might be someone who is dying to do this, but they don't get ToTers where they live. Skip doing up bags, if it takes up too much time, and have your assistant give a small handful or x# of pieces. Or, ask your folks if there is a way you can make it easier for them.

I was going to say there is a limit for how old is too old (I will not give out candy to adults), but 16 isn't too old if you're in costume. Having said that, you need your friends to help you, so you could always hint that they're too old. ;-)

we have all my family help...my hubby and i take our kids tot'ing all 4 of us dressed up!and my parents pass out the treats..also dressed up. we passed out a choice of pencils,candy or a cheap rubber bugs. just one item...pencils were the fave item last year. my big urk is the change last year of daylight savings time....in my town tot starts at 5pm...ends at 8pm....wooooo scary daylight fun lol. we had ppl come back around to see all our haunting yard stuff after dark. since halloween falls on a friday this year we really want to step it up and have a blast.....my kids are getting older and dont want to walk miles...they want to help pass candy and scare ppl....hahaha in broad daylight!

To keep from having to bag, and to have a little fun yourself, you could cover a table and hide underneath to scare the TOTs, especially the greedy ones

lol that was a good idea morticia

We are not in the Prop category, but has anyone ever made an 'effective' Candy Dispenser?

I have tried a few, but they tend to break down or you have to make them so rugged for TOTs who wanna crank it too far, pull the handle too fast, etc, etc.

But I am with the OP, I would much rather be walking around, visiting with sidewalkers (that is what we call the parents and other visitors who just stand back and watch the display), and also be free to trigger ad-hoc props. Besides, if you had a decent design for the internal candy dispensor, you could then put a different facade on each year to whatever theme you may have.

You could also have a 'stop' on a remote where you could lock the machine down if you see a TOT double/triple dipping. You can then either walk over and address the situation or just let the little bugger move on and then release the lock for the next person in line...who knows.

One main issue with using actual dispensors (like the typical gumball machines you see at store doorways), is that the candy has to (should) be symetrical and probably unwrapped. Otherwise they get all stuck in there somewhere...

Anyway, maybe somebody has some better ideas or a design....


And certainly in case you try something on your own - building any motorized or hand driven 'machine' where TOTs will put their fingers - has a horde of responsibility and liability to make a safe and foolproof contraption....we have all seen people, TOTs, parents - do some really wierd or unexpected things....

A candy dispenser? Never thought of that. How about a large dog with a sign next to him/her that says "Pat me. I dare you". Place mutt next to treats. Viola! LOL!

At least half the fun is getting dressed up myself and scaring the bejebbers out of the tykes, before producing the candy bowl and dispensing my largesse! *evil, horrid mother cackle*

This is from 2005. After that, picturing the candy bowl kinda got boring.



(And it was rather funny my wife thought it would actually stay all nice and arranged like that...)

But, we do a supervised honor system. I'm always near the thing. And, we get a very steady stream of folks, so rarely is someone there alone. Out of curiousity, I keep a clicker to count how many TOT's come vs how many candy taken. I can't remember the precise numbers right now, But, 430 TOT's over 600 with adults. 460ish pieces of candy taken. So, yes, some took more, but what the heck.


So, it CAN work.