By David T. Valentin
To some people’s surprise, trick-or-treating this year was a go provided that everyone involved stuck to a few guidelines. And that’s how people came up with the creative invention of the candy chute—a fun and decorated way of giving out candy while keeping to social distancing guidelines. And let’s just say, people did not disappoint. The designs ranged from a simple pipe set up on a porch railing, decorated with lights, to entire contraptions decorated as monsters to shoot out some candy. Here are six of the favorites that I found.
First up is this simple little chute. What I like about this one is that it has everything right about the Halloween spirit, orange lights and orange wrapping. But what’s most impressive about this one, I think, is the fact it extends from the second floor of an apartment building in Brooklyn. Just the thought and dedication of getting candy down from the second floor of their apartment building is worthy of some major kudos.
Another impressive candy chute being shot out from the second floor of an apartment building, coincidentally also set up in Brooklyn. This one is about the same as the last one—some lights wrapped around a pipe and decorated with some orange paint. The only difference is this one has a little grave and is giving off some major The Nightmare Before Christmas vibes to me. So this goes second on my list.
Here is an adorable porch candy chute, set up on the porch railings of a family’s home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This chute is another simple one, but a bit different than the other two. This candy chute gives off major arts and crafts vibes, implying that it could have been put together by a whole family. Perhaps this was a family night fun project? The reflexive material is also notably cool, as it doesn’t require any plugging in like the other two. It’ll also give some shine off (maybe) the streetlights. You also have to appreciate the snake has a name and some hand sanitizer for any trick-or-treaters.
Here we have a Little Shops of Horrors inspired candy chute. Though I have yet to see Little Shop of Horrors (yes! I’ll get on it), I could still appreciate how the chute blends into not only the Venus Fly Trap decorations, but the impressive vine work worked around the upper balcony and the shrubbery down below. It’s also a change from the orange theme of Halloween.
Next up we have this wicked Monster sculpture made up of balloons and other smaller, silly monsters. The candy chute is cleverly placed in the center monster’s mouth. It’s spooky a spooky enough monster for the kid’s, but also silly enough for them to get a giggle and a smile out of it.
Then we have the TikTok famous, @brandon.hardy.art Beetlejuice inspired sandworm. Just the puppetry, the amount of work, detail, and dedication that went into the thought and execution of this chute easily makes the top of my list. I also have yet to see anything else more intricate and fun. I think it’s also important to note this man is a puppeteering genius. If you have the time DEFINITELY check out some of the other amazing pieces of art he’s created for Halloween, which include an impressive slew of puppets based off the characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas.