In the interest of saving Halloween, here are several ideas for contactless trick or treating!

11 Contactless Halloween Trick or Treat Ideas

11 Contactless Halloween Trick or Treat Ideas

Halloween is a mere two weeks away. Let’s get real, 2020 has been hard enough on the kids. Cancelling Halloween would be the biggest disappointment for our little ones. With that in mind, I’ve been scouring the web and my brain for some excellent contactless Halloween Trick or Treat Ideas. Here they are in no particular order.

Ship Your Candy:

This Ohio Dad Saves Halloween with a Shipping Tube and Spray Paint!

 

Spooky Candy Chute:

Wicked Makers breaks out the spooky decor and a plumbing pipe for this Skeletal Candy Chute.

 

A Twist on a Scavenger Hunt: The Candy Graveyard

With a few props and pre-packaged candy, you too can create this fun Halloween Candy Graveyard.

Halloween candy Graveyard

 

Table Halloween…Definitely Not!

Many of our neighbors are planning on leaving pre-packed treat bags on a table by their door. Craft Box Girls, upcycled this sofa table with a little spray paint to create a Halloween Decorated Treat Table.

DIY Halloween Trick or Treat Table

 

Easy Driveway Trick or Treat Table

If DIY isn’t your thing, you can take the easy path and gather a few supplies to create this driveway trick or treat table in no time.

Easy trick or treat driveway table

 

The Giving Tree

If you have a tree in your yard with low branches, you can attach treat bags to the branches. Or cut a branch and add a few treat bags like The Craft Train did.

DIY Treat Tree

 

Hang Up Halloween

Let’s not hang up the idea of trick or treating altogether. Take a note from Little Sooti’s birthday favor idea and hang those treat bags out for the children to grab and go. You can attach them to the door, or on a clothesline between your porch posts. Get creative!

hanging treat bags on a line

 

Door Decor

Hershey comes to the rescue with this fun DIY Door Decor idea for a contactless treat dispenser.

Contactless Door Treat Dispenser

 

Scavenger Hunt

If you don’t feel comfortable letting your kids trick or treat this year, I’ve got an idea for you! A Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt from Hey, Let’s Make Stuff. Or you can adapt this idea to your front yard for trick or treaters. Simply give one clue to each kid to find their treats.

TRick or treat scavenger hunt

 

Is There Junk in Your Trunk

Trunk or Treat parties have been around for decades, but this year you can park it in your own driveway and open the trunk to your trick or treaters.

Trunk or treat for contactless trick or treating

 

Buckets of Fun:

If you have a two-story window over the front door, you could create a simple bucket and pulley system to deliver treats to the children. Keep the rope in your hands to keep it contactless for the kids. You might also consider wiping the bucket between trick-or-treaters. Don’t have a pulley? No problem, you can simply run a clothesline from the window to a stationary post (light post or fence post) and then loop the bucket handle over the line. Send it down to the trick or treaters (just be sure to attach a second line to the bucket handle so you can pull it back up).

Bucket on a Pulley for contactless trick or treating

How about you? Do you have any idea for a safer contactless Halloween? I’d love to hear them. In the meantime, pin this image and share this post with your friends so the kids can enjoy Halloween even during a pandemic.

11 Contactless Halloween Trick or Treat Ideas

Halloween is lurking around the corner like a stray black cat. Luckily I’m here with the perfect project for Halloween that will use up some of your scrap wood pieces. Let’s make a DIY Spider Stool!

spider stool title

DIY Spider Stool

I have a spooky little spider project today being that Halloween is on the horizon.  I’m Jaime from JaimeCostiglio.com and I’m here to show you how to build this cute little spider stool.

spider stool 1

We all know Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, when along came a spider —but, this time we’ll turn that nursery rhyme on its head. Let’s sit on that spider instead! This little stool is perfect for adding some themed decor to your kid’s playroom or a great spot to rest the treats near the front door on Halloween.  This spider stool is fairly simple to make and although most spiders have eight legs this one only has six. Shhh, don’t tell anyone. If you truly have an aversion to spiders,  you can always paint the body red with black spots and it would make a cute little ladybug stool.

spider stool with kid

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions:

spider stool dimensions

spider stool body

Step 1: Sketch the spider body shape on the 2×12. You can draw a large oval for the body and trace a drink glass or can for the head. The full length of the body and head equals 16″. The width is 11 ¼”.

spider stool layout

Step 2: Use a jigsaw to cut out the spider body.  Go very slow through the 1 ½” thick material and flip over to refine your cut if necessary.

spider stool cutout

Step 3: Cut 6 legs with 5-degree bevel at both ends, parallel measuring 17″ from end to end.

spider stool legs angles

Layout the legs on the underside of the body inset 1/2″ from the edge.

spider stool legs

Apply wood glue to the top of each leg and attach legs using 2 ½” pocket hole screws.

spider stool unfinished

Step 4: Sand the stool, then finish with black spray paint.

spider stool top

For an extra spooky factor paint 1″ circular dowel pieces bright red and glue onto the head portion.

spider stool collage

Hope you enjoyed this fun spider stool project! If you have more scrap wood, why not make some more spider friends or insect friends for your DIY Spider Stool!

Jaime signature

Jaimes_headshot

Hi, I’m Jaime and I write JaimeCostiglio.com, a DIY project focused blog with an emphasis on building, painting and sewing.  All my life I’ve been painting, drawing, crafting and making things.  I grew up in Minnesota and then majored in Studio Arts at a liberal arts college on the East Coast.  While there, I worked in the costume shop for the theater department, met my now husband of 18 years and then went on to work for an interior design firm in New York City.  We have 3 young children and now that they are all school age I have shifted my focus to do what I love – build, paint and sew.  The real turning point came when we renovated our kitchen in the summer of 2010.  One project led to another and I started blogging about all my projects one by one which has ultimately led to a small business.

My goal with each project is to work smart, efficient and economical.  I love a good challenge whether it be designing a build to fit the space (entry locker unit), solving a logistical solution (portable lego tray), constructing a craft using unconventional supplies (plastic tablecloth rosette garland) or just a simple makeover with paint (front door makeover).  And I firmly believe you can do it too which is why write a majority of my posts as tutorials in an effort to share my experience with readers.

You can connect with me on Facebook, TwitterPinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Read all of Jaime’s Pretty Handy Tutorials.

Pin for later!

If you liked this tutorial, you’ll probably also love these cute little DIY toddler stools:

Cute DIY Animal Toddler Stools | Pretty Handy Girl

Canvas Halloween Door Decor TodaysCreativeLife.com

Today I have a special guest rockstar for you! Kim is here to show you how to whip up the quickest Canvas Halloween Door Decor.

Kim is the creative goddess behind Today’s Creative Life. She truly has an eye for the awesome. I mean have you seen her bathroom makeover for $110?

She effortlessly pairs colors and textures together in the blink of an eye. Get ready to learn how to make holiday decor as quick as a guitar riff.
Rockstar DIY Series

Welcome Kim, our next Rockstar to take the stage!

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Hello Pretty Handy Girl readers! I’m thrilled to be hanging out at Brittany’s place today sharing a quick and original way to decorate for Halloween with this DIY Halloween Canvas Door Decor.

DIY Halloween Canvas Door Decor

Canvas Halloween Door Decor TodaysCreativeLife.com

If you follow Today’s Creative Life (formally Today’s Creative Blog), then you know I’m not talented like Brittany in the ways of building, but I sure do love me some quick and easy ways to bring more creativity to my home!

I share DIY Decor, DIY Projects and Recipes for families. You’ll find easy to follow tutorials for bringing creativity to your home and a lot more for holidays!

I’m always looking for something a little out of the ordinary for decorating my door for Halloween. Sure, I could just slap a wreath on the door and call it good, but that would be way to sensible.

Last year, I created a fun Halloween wreath from a ceiling medallion.

Fall Halloween Porch TodaysCreativeBlog.net

I love the way it turned out and may use it for my Halloween mantel this year.

This year, my ideas kept coming back to using fabric or canvas somehow. My first idea was to use Iron On Transfers with the fabric from a drop cloth and then, I remembered I had some printable cotton canvas that was printer ready.

Halloween Door Decor

Materials:

  • Printable Graphic (I used The Graphics Fairy)
  • Printable Cotton Canvas
  • Ribbon
  • Stick
  • Paper hole punch
  • Paper Trimmer

Instructions:

1. I found and downloaded the image I wanted from The Graphics Fairy, as I do for all my iron on transfer projects. She has just about any image you’d ever want for any time of year. Such a great resource.

2. I used PicMonkey to create the text and frame, but any photo editing tool would work. Of course you could just print the image only and keep it really simple.

3. I printed it on printable cotton canvas. This particular paper ended up having a self adhesive backing, so I just left the protective paper backing in place.

4. Using a paper trimmer, I trimmed the bottom.

5. I punched a hole in each upper corner with a paper hole punch.

6. I tied a coordinating ribbon to a stick from the yard (actually I broke it off my lilac bush) and called it good!

diy door decor for halloween

After I got it hung up and looked at it for a day or so, I think I may try to age it a bit for an older distressed look. You can do that easily by brushing on brewed tea and lying it out to dry.

diy halloween door decor

I like the way it looks. It’s original and can be used anywhere in the house. The possibilities are plenty!
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Here’s more creative Halloween ideas from Today’s Creative Life.

Halloween Table Centerpiece | TodaysCreativeBlog.net

DIY Halloween Table Decor

Halloween Spirit DIY Halloween Decorations | See more on TodaysCreativeLife.com

DIY Halloween Terrarium

 

Silhouette Cameo Halloween Decor | Easy DIY Home Decor projects on TodaysCreativeLife.com Simple Halloween Decor

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Are you running off to make your own Halloween decor now? Me too! I hope you are enjoying the Rockstar DIY series and are ready for more talent next week.

Rockstar DIY Series

My kids like to raid our recycling bin. They make the most imaginative things out of milk jugs, strawberry pints and toilet paper rolls. In fact, my five year old has been making his own Halloween costume from paper bags and tape. So, when #CollectiveBias sent out a challenge to make trick or treat bags with Elmer’s Craft Bond Glue Spots and Elmer’s Foam Board, I knew right where to head for supplies: Walmart AND the recycling bin! I hereby invite you to join me (and my escort) as we gather the supplies for this project.

Materials:


Instructions:

Start by removing the handles from the paper grocery bag and then cuff the top of the bag by rolling it under two times.

Pick out two sheets of newspaper (I used the obituaries. Truly Halloweeny don’t you think?!) and bring the paper bag and newspapers outside and spray them with spray adhesive.

It is important to wrap the paper bag with the newspapers as soon as possible for a maximum bond.

Wrap the bag neatly like a present with the newspaper. Use clear packing tape to tack any loose edges down. Also add a strip of packing tape to the inside of the bag cuff for extra support for the handle (should your child bring home pounds of candy!)

Take out your sharpie pen and draw lines in a spiderweb pattern on the bag.

Set the bag aside and collect the orange foam board, x-acto knife (with a fresh blade), pencil and the letter print out.

Set the letter on top of the foam board. I usually line the edge of the letter up with the edge of the foam board for less material waste.

Press firmly with the pencil as you trace around the letter. When you remove the print out you should see an indented outline.

Using the x-acto knife, cut out your letter shape. Use a metal ruler to cut straight lines. If your knife starts to tug and pull at the foam board, put a new blade in.

Clean up any ragged edges with the x-acto knife.

Use a few Elmer’s Craft Bond glue spots to affix the Elmer’s foam board letter to the bag.

To create a little spider, glue two pom-poms together with another glue spot. If you have black twisty-ties you are good to go aren’t you special, you don’t have to color them. (I only had white ties so I colored them with the black sharpie.) Wrap four twisty-ties around the middle to create the spider’s eight legs.

Use another glue spot to glue the spider to the bag.

Print out a bat silhouette downloadable template and layer it on top of black poster board. Cut out a few bat silhouettes.

Use a glue spot on the center of each bat to glue them to the bag. Fold the bats wings up for more dimensional interest.

Add stickers (or pre-punched paint chip stars using Elmer’s Glue-All multi-purpose glue) to the bag.

I incourage you to decorate your bag anyway you like. Bust out your craft supplies for inspiration.

If spiders and bats aren’t your thing. How about spooks and spirits?

To add the handles, follow the directions on your grommet kit. 1. Punch a hole in the bag at the top of the bag using a hole punch. 2. Insert a long grommet through the hole. Lay a short grommet on top. 3. Hammer the grommets together using the metal rod tool that came with the grommet kit.

Cut off the sleeves from a t-shirt. Cut two 2.5 – 3″ wide strips. Then stretch the sleeve loop in opposite directions. This will make the shirt material roll.

After you have stretched and rolled the sleeve loops, cut them at the seam. Then thread each end through the grommets on the bag and tie a double knot on the inside of the bag.

Now gather up your little trick-or-treater and give him this unique candy collection bag! My sons’ had the biggest smiles on their faces. Definitely worth the effort to make these bags.

This eency weency spider is my favorite!

Way more personalized than these generic plastic pumpkins, don’t you think?!

Which one is your favorite? I can’t decide, because I love them equally as much. Spook or Spider?

Eeeeeekkk, we can hardly wait for October 31st!

Disclosure: This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Elmer’s #gluenglitter #CollectiveBias #CBias. The ideas and opinions shared in this post are purely my own from my own crazy creative head.

Follow up: Well, my youngest loves his bag so much that he told me, “Mom, we should decorate every side with a different holiday.” And that is exactly what he did today during quiet time. I just want to stop time and keep him five forever!

I thought I’d sneak one more fun craft in before Halloween. Don’t fret, this craft takes about 5-10 minutes. You’ll spend more time gathering the supplies than you will creating it.

My sitter came over to make these pumpkins with my boys. I was a little skeptical when she asked for three rolls of toilet paper, but the results were so stinkin’ cute!

Materials: 

Toilet Paper Rolls
Fat Quarter of Fabric
Sticks for stems
Ribbons
Tissue Paper
Scissors
optional: acorn, sweet gum tree ball or other natural elements

Step 1: Lay out your fabric, and set your roll of toilet paper in the middle.

Wrap 1-2 sheets of tissue paper around the sides.

Step 2: Tuck one corner into the center of the toilet paper.

Step 3: Continue tucking in the fabric, folding any fabric under that won’t quite meet the center of the toilet paper.

 

Step 4: Fluff your pumpkin sides and work with the fabric until you have a nice round pumpkin shape.

Step 5: Add your stick to the center. You can glue an acorn to the top, or tie your natural elements on using your ribbon.
 Add ribbons or other embellishments if you wish.
Step 7: Enjoy! But don’t tell your prim and proper friend that you have toilet paper on your dining room table! It will be our little secret.

Don’t forget! Tomorrow’s the night that we’ll be drawing one lucky follower who will win a CD/DVD car visor wallet and a $25 gift certificate for Amazon.com. If you are a follower via Google Friend Connect or Feedburner (see my side bar), your name has been entered! Be sure to check back for the lucky winner.