Homeowner's Invention To Prevent Kids From Bagging All Halloween Candy

Many people put out a bowl of candy for all trick or treaters, leaving them with the same problem they face every year: how do you stop kids from taking all the candy at once?

One father who loves the spooky season has come up with a smart solution by creating a candy dispenser to ensure people can only take a small handful at once. Dan, from North Carolina, built a box out of plywood to hold all the sugary goodies, with a rectangular opening where kids can access the candy.

The container has been decorated to resemble Frankenstein's monster, and aptly nicknamed Frank, to keep in with the ghoulish theme. Dan, who doesn't wish to disclose his full name, told Newsweek that it's a "cute way to dispense candy and thwart the thieves from taking it all."

When trick or treaters arrive at Dan's house, they will be forced to put their hand into Frank's gaping mouth, so they'd be foolish to take more than appropriate. As Dan will be out trick or treating with his own children, he's made sure that the top of Frank's head is screwed on tightly, so there's no getting around the restriction.

Dan said: "The goal was to still allow handfuls of candy to be taken. The mouth hole is sized so that you can't fit an open hand in to grab candy. The idea is to hopefully prevent one person from easily taking everything and leaving nothing for other trick-or-treaters. You can still get quite a bit out just by pulling on a few pieces."

Many Americans get into the spooky spirit this time of year, with households across the country awaiting countless trick or treaters on their doorstep. A YouGov poll in 2021 revealed that 23 percent of American adults claim that Halloween is one of their favorite days of the year, with 63 percent willing to hand out candy to those who come knocking.

On October 29, Dan shared the picture of his latest crafty design on Reddit, posting as user u/kzlife76. The post has amazed many Halloween lovers and it has already received over 12,500 upvotes in a single day and generated more than 250 comments so far.

"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, with many comments about how cute it is," Dan continued. "I have received a lot of comments pointing out that someone will just steal Frank. I'm hoping that won't happen and am still thinking of a way to secure him to the porch.

"We live in a smaller neighborhood and I have faith, maybe naively, that our neighbors won't outright steal my box. Many people have said I should just answer the door and pass out candy in person, but I'm a parent and we will be out with our kids. I still want to be a friendly neighbor and give out candy."

The idea of the novel Frankenstein dispenser isn't to spoil the fun or put people off trick or treating, but rather to ensure that everyone gets their fair share of the candy that Dan is putting out this year.

He hopes that the children who stop by in their inventive costumes will appreciate the importance of sharing instead of being greedy. After all, who would dare cross Frank?

"I'd like to encourage parents to teach their kids not to be greedy when it comes to Halloween candy. The world is filled with awful things, so the least we can do is be kind and considerate of our neighbors.

"When you take all the candy from a house, you are only providing disappointment to the next little ghost or goblin when they are greeted with an empty bowl," he told Newsweek.

Many Redditors were highly amused by Dan's construction, but some have questioned whether it is entirely foolproof.

One comment reads: "I think you underestimate the resourcefulness of 21st century pre-teens."

Another person responded: "I came here to say that it's super cute and a cool idea, but the truly committed teens will clean this out without a second thought."

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