Thread: Tot Guard

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So from the beginning one of the problems we have faced is keeping the tots and parents out of reach of the props and electrical cords, we had kids kicking on our coffin one year waiting for someone to jump out. Now I try to stay in character, and I don't talk in costume so it was hard to control them. We have a fenced in display, it's a cemetery, so they walk through the cemetery, now we could just pallet fence the walkway too, but then you wouldn't see the display as well.

So after some brainstorming, I came up with this idea using the pvc candle technique, it will be altered slightly so they can be hooked onto the post, but it will light the walkway, and keep them out of the display, now I need to get some foam skulls to do it with.

Great idea! We had something similar to this in our driveway, but we used those lighted skull yard stakes. They worked great, but looked kinda cheesy IMHO. I think your design looks better!

Thanks a lot Dr. Dark, well in my head everything looks great, so we'll see what happens with the execution.

I have been thinking of something very similar and I like the idea of the candles too. Doing a pvc fence always sounds cool but the amount of space it would take up seems excesive. I was thinking of a skull on a post/spike with a chain or maybe two going to the next post would be cool. I hope you end up doing this so I can steal your ideas. If you are doing candles would you do tealights or flicker bulbs. I would like flicker bulbs but then I would have to run electrical cord somehow.

If you got to my website under props, I kind of talked more of how I would run power to them, course this is all in theory.

I use a pallet fence on the outside, which has cost me nothing, and then will be running this on the inside, so more of the display can be seen.

Good Luck. Keep us posted on this. We had the same problem so we had to brake out the yellow crime scene tape. People don't have respect anymore. It's a sad thing. Anyway, this seem's like a great idea.

Last year I had much the same idea and it worked very well - I used yellow caution tape on a couple of small posts and then tied to a tree on one side and the neighbor's fence on the other - which effectively blocked off my small yard - forced everyone to keep to the sidewalk, then up my driveway and along the walk to my front porch. Much safer, no running or tripping on electricals or displays! As a bonus, everyone also seemed to take their time and enjoy all my props along the way. So I'm already planning to expand on this idea for next year, with more props to enjoy!

Once they reached my sidewalk, I first had lighted arches for the tots to walk through, which were connected to lighted pathmarkers I made with mini tiki torches. I'd gotten them on clearance end of summer, and someone else's forum idea for a full size torch with a flaming skull gave me the inspiration. I split plastic skulls from the dollar store up the back, connected all the torches with C-7 lights in orange and red (some of them were flicker bulbs) and then shoved the skulls over a couple of lights at the top of the tiki torch so they glowed, then into the ground they went - easy peasy!!
They weren't real far off the ground, probably just 12 to 18 inches, but everyone seemed to respect the concept that you shouldn't cross them! I only saw one little boy jump over them the entire night, and his mom called him right back.

Sorry I don't have a snapshot, and I posted this video once before on another thread, but if you speed through my youtube you can get a bit of a look at them at around 2:00 minutes in. //http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh-uW5GhTB0

I just have orange rope light laid out on the ground to identify the path...it works quite well.

This is what I am constructing as a TOT guard:

It's basically a simple post and chain fence with flashing skulls on each post. I'm going to run it approx 120 feet with the posts approx 4 feet apart. The posts are 3/8" x 48" solid fiberglass electric fence posts from Tractor Supply Co. and have a pointed end to be pounded into the ground, ($1.09 each x 30 - $5 off coupon), 120ish feet of plastic chain (20 feet at $3.99 each x 6 at Ollie's) and 3 sets of Gemmy flashing skull string lights (on clearance at Big Lots for $2.25 ea). Total for 120 feet is about $70 after I bought enough wire to wire the skulls.

I didn't like how the wire came out of the top of the skull, so when I drilled the hole in the bottom of the skull, I re-ran the wire out through the screw hole at the base of the skull, The string lights only ran about 10 feet, so I cut all of the skulls off the wire (keeping enough wire for the LED lights inside the skull to be rewired) and added about 4 feet of new wire between each skull. The chain, with a little help from a heat gun to soften it up, fits nicely down each post and the 3/8" hole I drilled in the bottom of each skull fits snuggly on the pole too. I will use the original chipboard and wire it to a wall wart, and set off the sensor with a strobe light. It should break down for storage pretty well, just pop the skulls and chain off when I'm done. I'll probably paint the chain and posts gray. I'd like to paint them black, but I want to make sure the TOTs see the posts and chain.

Very nice - those should look great when done! You have far more patience and skill than me, and you're giving me workshop envy!!