This Reader Created a Fun Way to Hand Out Halloween Treats Without Contact

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box covered with purple tissue paper, Halloween stickers and filled with festive goodie bags

Have a fun and safe Halloween!👻

Like almost everything in our lives, due to the Coronavirus, our normal traditions and ways of doing things have changed quite a bit.

We are all doing our best to roll with it and if you’re like me and trying to soak up every bit of advice on how to still celebrate and join in on fun events like Trick or Treating while staying healthy, then you’ll surely appreciate this readers tip.

Check out Hip2Save reader, Drew’s, awesome idea on how to enjoy a safe and candy-filled Halloween!

empty Zespri box

This year, Halloween is going to be different due to COVID-19, and that kept me thinking about how I can hand out treats with no contact and kids can grab goodies safely.


box covered with purple tissue paper and Halloween stickers

First, I made individual goodie bags, so kids can grab an individual bag without digging their hands into a bucket full of candies. I needed a big flat tray so all the goodie bags are easily accessible. I simply wrapped a cardboard tray that I got while shopping at Costco. The purple tissues have been repurposed from Tarte cosmetics (My eyeshadows came wrapped in these tissues when I took advantage of a deal posted on Hip2Save a few months ago). My kiddo was more than excited to decorate the wrapped cardboard with stickers. The treat bags and all non-candy goodies in them are from my 90% off Target haul last year.

Best of all, it cost me nothing to make the tray and I will simply dump it in the recycle bin after Halloween without having to sanitize it. I will leave the goodies on my porch!


box covered with purple tissue paper, Halloween stickers and filled with festive goodie bags

Thank you, Drew, for sharing this idea with us! This is a fantastic way to still participate in Trick or Treating and I must say, I am very impressed with the repurposing of your Tarte Cosmetics tissue and hanging on to your treat bags from last year’s Target sale! This treat box looks so festive and fancy and I also love that your kiddo was able to join in on the fun too! Awesome!

Looking for more fun Halloween DIY? Head here!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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About the writer:

Jessica holds a Business Degree and 10 years of writing experience from various deal sites including Hip2Save. Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn


Join The Discussion

Comments 44

  1. Gordyl

    Doing something similar but for my daughters school. They asked for non edible individual “treats” so we got some bubbles, pencils, stampers, etc and put it into small bags for easy grab and go.

  2. Emily NYC

    Saw a post on a mommy group doing a Halloween egg hunt. Using blacklite eggs and flashlights to be more Halloween like!!

    • acarol

      So fun! I was going to use our Easter eggs, but it just felt weird. 🤣🤣🤣 maybe I’ll paint some black.

      • Lo

        I saw a lady used mini glow sticks in Easter eggs. Didn’t look weird

    • K

      Yeah we haven’t had anybody decorating for Halloween in our area so I was going to do a Halloween scavenger hunt for goodies similar to Easter this year. Honestly it’s probably safer to do this in general but I will miss real trick or treating this year

  3. Suzanne H

    Our neighborhood is doing something similar. We are setting up tables at the end of our driveways, wearing masks and putting out goodie bags (far enough apart for people to grab without touching anything else). We have left it open for people to determine their comfort level regarding walking, biking or driving through the neighborhood. Also, everyone committed to buying their candy early, putting it in quarantine, sanitizing the outer bag and filling the treat sacks after thorough hand washing and while wearing a mask. I’m grateful that our community agreed to do this for the kiddos!

    • Elizabeth C.

      That’s really great about how people came together to agree about buying early and quarantine candy bought. This method of precaution is very March 2020 as it pertains to decontaminating groceries that most people are no longer doing. Great to see you all are taking that extra step to ensure you’re as safe as possible. Great job!

    • willowcat

      That’s one of the best things I’ve ever heard. Seriously. Happy Halloween to you and your neighbors!

    • Jennifer Lopez

      This is exactly what our neighborhood is doing too. We are all decorating o it tables up and putting them at the end of our driveways. The tables will allow us to sit far enough back from the kids and refill the table as needed. We also have a neighborhood costume parade for the kids earlier in the day. The kids will be spaced out and neighbors will cheer from their driveways. They will get a goodie bag at the end.

      • Susi

        Fantastic selfless idea !! Your neighborhood kids are gonna think your the 💣

  4. Diane

    Anybody know where you can get inexpensive Halloween treat bags? (I didn’t stock up last year.)

    • Kathleen

      I usually get mine from Dollar Tree

    • Danne

      Walmart has 20 for $2

    • Bookworm

      Amazon has a lot of cute Halloween treat bags for cheap. I bought 144 opaque bags with Halloween designs for under $15, but they had plenty of cheaper options, too.

    • TML

      I found 50ct bags for $1 at CVS

  5. Sara

    Very cute, but our neighborhood usually sees hundreds of trick or treaters each year, so I can see spending the time or money on this for that volume. I’m thinking the volume may be lower, but not much in my area based on social media posts, so maybe I’ll just put candy spaced out on a folding table at the end of my driveway and be prepared to refill using gloves throughout the night.

    Does anyone have any other ideas for high volume neighborhoods?

    • Lo

      Maybe put candy in disposable cups and spread them on the lawn or driveway.
      Some work but at least you don’t have to tie off bags.

  6. Lori Kelchner

    Glue dot individually wrapped candies to tree trunk trick or treater can pull the candy they want.

  7. Csandst1

    Kids will take more than one bag if you don’t sit out and monitor the treats.

    • Liz

      The 13-15 year olds will dump the entire basket!

      • Shoppingfan

        In my Texas town, all age kids will do it, sadly. Even before the pandemic they would do it if you left candy on the porch.

    • E

      You could totally set it up on the end of the driveway and sit in the driveway and wave hi. That would be friendlier than just leaving candy outside and no one would dump it all.

  8. Kathleen

    We’re doing goodie bags too, but with toys instead, for Teal Pumpkin! Lots of kids can’t enjoy the random candy people give out

    • Smellyann

      Yayyy, glad to see this!!

  9. Couponanimal

    For those not comfortable or unable to do traditional trick or treating, look into community events or make your own fun! Our church is doing a drive thru trunk or treat. We are going to do a scavenger hunt for goodies, a pinata, and movie night with Halloween themed food at home for our daughter.

  10. Debbie

    My husband built one of the tunnel/tube things, (seen on Social media posts), so he could still hand out his yearly full sized candy bars, but still social distance. The end of the tube is in a skeleton of a shark’s head, so they have to almost reach into the mouth to get it. We always decorate quite a bit for Halloween. We have caskets, skeletons, grim reapers, dragons, tombstones, etc. in our yard. We’re hoping we still get a lot of trick or treaters. Plus we have 2 amazing little grandkids we want to still have fun with.

  11. Heather

    My neighborhood is doing a parade where the residents throw candy to the children on the sidewalk. I will probably set a tray of goodies for non-neighborhood trick or treaters.

    • E

      That’s what ours is doing too!

  12. Brit

    I love this! Thank you for sharing!

  13. Laura

    I guess I’m the only one handing it out from a big bowl.

  14. Samanthology

    I’ve been thinking about contacting a few close family members and friends and asking if they’ll be around and if they would be comfortable if id we swung by to ring their bell and trick or treat at their doors with masks. we could map out a driving route and do a big loop and then get home and watch some Halloween movies. That way our toddlers can still have the experience and our family and friends know that we’ve been carefully social distancing and we know that they have as well. And it could be special because family that normally doesn’t see the kids on Halloween would get to see them in their costumes. I really like the scavenger hunt around the yard idea too, but it takes some of the fun out of it without getting to ring the doorbells and say trick-or-treat

    • beth-3

      That sounds awesome. We don’t have any family in the area, unfortunately. We plan on Trick or treating but we havent decided if we’ll let our kids go with friends (they are a little older). I’m thinking not 🙁

    • Mothball

      Love the candy chutes! There are seriously amazing ones out there! People are doing the coolest things with PVC pipes from like second floor windows, etc. It’s awesome! I love the creativity and the kids will appreciate the cool factor and the “closer to normalcy” of it!

  15. Sheila

    I’m doing a Halloween trick or treating trail. We have trails on our property and I will make different stations/area (maybe 8-10) decorated with a bowl full of goodie bags or full size bars/candy for the neighborhood kids. Almost everyone around here has a Side by side or 4 wheeler so they can bring their kids through at their convenience and we will be social distanced. Because at the end of the day it’s all about the candy.

    • JenniferS

      How great that will be. The kids will have a blast 🙂

  16. Sheri

    Our family loves Halloween. We decided on Frankenstein decorations and have mad scientist homemade costumes incuding latex free gloves, face masks, lab coats and best of all “test tube tongs” to hand out candy and Goodie bags. Goodie bags already safely made for the teal pumpkin and Costco full bars quarantining nicely.

  17. Megano

    I’m making treat bags and then using a grabber tool to drop them in the Kid’s bags. I figured we could decorate it a little bit. It already looks like a robot claw. This way we’re still a distance from trick or treaters. I’ll block our entryway with a table and use one of our motion sensors to alert us inside. This way they also don’t have to touch the doorbell.

  18. riss

    I saw on Nextdoor what others are planning. PVC pipe more than 6 ft long. With a support bars underneath, and in an angle, higher on the homeowner’s end, and wide enough for candy to pass through. A little costly, but I think it’s a great, fun idea.

  19. Sneg

    You’re gonna need a much bigger table and a few more cardboard boxes and of course, much more time to set it all up, if there are hundreds of kids showing up in your driveway.

  20. Amber Downes

    We are going to do a Halloween themed pinata in our back yard

  21. Janelle

    We are going to continue with our traditional candy bags we give out every year. No changes, if they don’t come, more candy for us. Kuddos to all that are making the change to make others feel safe.

  22. Evie

    What would the risk be if the trick or treater is marked, you are also and handing candy outdoors? I would like to hear how many get sick from this.

  23. Jacy

    Please consider the WASTE issue if using plastic baggies. Our kids want a fun night, but consider the larger impact on the 🌍.

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