This dad's 'candy chute' could help to save Halloween

The ongoing pandemic is bad news for Halloween lovers everywhere. But despite reports of Halloween being totally canceled this year, some people are trying their best to come up with creative solutions to celebrate the spooky holiday.

One of those people is Andrew Beattie, Halloween lover, dad, and now, inventor of the candy chute. With the help of his daughter, Andrew built a 6-foot-long Halloween-themed pipe to send candy down for safe, socially distanced trick-or-treating. And with that, Andrew is keeping the spirit of Halloween alive this year.

In his Facebook post, which has gone totally viral, Andrew explains that with his candy chute in place, trick-or-treating will be a contact-free experience! There will be a sign telling people where to hold their bags and buckets, and he will stand at the top of the chute, 6 feet away, and deposit the candy through it.

He'll be wearing a mask and gloves and the candy will come right out of a bag. He wrote, "I want our youngins to be able to have some sense of normalcy and maybe a little bit of exercise in all this madness, and I've put a LOT of thought into how to do it safely, and I appreciate your concern."

Andrew and his 6-year-old daughter made the chute out of an old Amazon delivery tube they had in the house. They painted it orange and black and attached it to the stairs outside their home. Then, they wrapped some lights around it to make it extra festive.

Andrew told BuzzFeed News that the candy chute actually solves two issues. In addition to keeping people safe distances from each other, it also helps kids or parents that have mobility issues and wouldn't be able to easily get up the stairs. 

Andrew had no idea that his post would gain so much attention, but people love the idea so much. Some cities, like Los Angeles, have attempted to forbid trick-or-treating this year for safety reasons. Although the city took back the ban, it still strongly advises against it.

But with things like Andrew's candy chute, there might be a way for kids to stay safe and still have the quintessential Halloween experience. "Halloween really is a time when kids plan on covering their faces and staying away from strangers and going out walking," Andrew said. "It just makes sense if we can incorporate that in."

Did this one dad just save Halloween for everyone this year? He might have. In a follow-up video on Facebook, Andrew's daughter demonstrates how the candy chute works, and I don't know! Seems pretty flawless to me!

If candy chutes start popping up in your town in the coming weeks, you'll know who started the trend. Candy is the most important part of Halloween, after all.

But of course, the actual most important thing about Halloween is to stay safe, and this year, safety means something totally different. Only do what you're comfortable with, and no matter what you do, wear a mask!