Holloween Monster Decoration - With Candy Delivery Chute and LED Lighting

An easy to set-up “Halloween Monster” decoration that allows candy to be sent down a chute from a second story window (or behind the monster) to the trick-or-treaters below. It is made with plastic storage tubs, gutter downspouts for the chute, and decorated with LED strip lighting and foam pool noodles.

This Instructable describes the building of a Halloween Monster. It is a unique way to provide candy to the yearly trick-or -treaters. Its concept was born during the covid era to reduce contact with many people while still giving out treats. It was so much fun for the kids that it continued to be a feature every year, but the original was built of only decorated cardboard boxes and was not durable enough especially in wet weather. So, this is a more durable and updated version.

With a short piece of downspout instead of a long chute, the candy can be dispensed from the back of the monster instead of a 2nd story window. This makes it fun for the kids as the candy slides down the tube and falls out the monster's nose and into a collection container.

It's easy to set up and tear down by sliding over 2 wooden dowels and connecting the 3 units electrically with connectors included in the build process.

TOOLS AND SUPPPLIES:

Wire cutters / strippers

Soldering iron and solder

Hobby knife

Scissors

Hot glue gun and glue

Hole saws – various sizes

Drill – Electric

Drill bits

Heat gun

Heat shrink tubing

Electrical tape

Sand Paper – 400 grit

Cyanoacrylate adhesive – super glue

E600+ adhesive (or alternate)

Epoxy (2 part)

Silicone sealant

Saw

Hammer

Spring Clamps

Measuring tape and ruler

Permanent marker

Popsical sticks

Optional – 3D printer and material

Magnets

Rotary tool and bits

MATERIALS:

Storage tubs (4) – various sizes w/ lids (3 large, 1 small)

Closet rods (2) – 8 FT wooden (Local home improvement Store)

Downspouts – plastic

Downspout 45 degree elbow

Pool noodles

Rope

Power adaptors (2) – 120 VAC to 12 VDC 10 amps

LED strips – 12 VDC various colors -  LED Strip Example

LED strip connectors

Connectors – 12 V auto style sealed with pigtail

Wire

Colored tubes

Velcro strip

Popsical sticks

Plumbing components

Paint

Outlet adaptor - 2 or 3 way plug – exterior grade

Extension cord with gound - exterior grade

4x4 inch lumber (for optional base)

Lag bolts ¼” x 6” long

Two materials will drive the design and customization of your Monster:

Storage Tubs:

The structure of the monster is built from tubs (3) bought locally from a store. Each set of tubs will have their own unique design features and sizes. This allows the ability to get creative by combining multiple items for a custom design.The tubs chosen have various patterns on the sides, bottoms and lids. These were used as features of in the monster layout. The face, arms and legs coordinated with lines and recesses on the tub design.

The vertical stacking of the tubs also allowed for some creativity in the design. By not aligning the faces of each in a straight vertical path some dimension of depth was given to the monster.

The fourth tub is a small container used to retain the candy as it exits the chute so the children can find it easily. This will be attached to the monsters body and the candy will exit out the monster's nose.

LED Strips:

The LED strips can be purchased from a number of internet sources. The color and variety chosen will be determined by the design you choose. On this design blue, green and white strips were included. These need to be waterproof for function and low voltage for safety. The waterproofing incorporates a silicone covering over the strip to protect it. We chose a 12 Volt DC variation. This also requires the purchase of one or more power adaptors to convert household electrical (120 VAC) into lower voltage ( 12 VDC). The number of LEDs you choose will determines the amount of current needed to supply your design. This will drive the size, capacacity and quantity of the power adaptors needed. The power adaptors are similar to a power brick used for a laptop computer, but not as expensive.

Stack the tubs on the floor and arrange and adjust to take the form you want (see diagram). Once positioned properly take measurements from the front and side to the selected position of the rods. These will be used to position the holes to be cut with the hole saw. Creating a diagram similar to the one shown will help in remembering the measurements and assuring what surface you measured them from.

This is also a good time to:

Determine arm and leg positions. These are made from pool noodles and require holes to be drilled for assembly.

Determine LED layout and color. This will drive the number of strips needed for the monster and with that the power adapter sizes needed.

NOTE: The LED strips like to lie in a straight line. More complicated layouts will require more connections and soldering. More info on this is provided in the LED Assembly section an should be reviewed prior to selecting the LED positons.

In the case of this monster the eye positions and sizes were estimated and plastic plumbing parts were purchased at a local store. Two 3 inch plastic clean-outs for drain systems were selected. They allowed LEDs to be mounted in them and also had one closed end to seal off the back of the eyes and provide a surface for light reflection.

Using Hole Saws:

Several large holes are required to assemble the monster. For this monster and the materials chosen the following large holes were needed: 

Rods – Closet rod – 1 3/8 inches – Holes 1 1/2 inches

Arms – Noodles – 2 1/2 inches (the holes were drilled the same size as the foam for a friction fit)

Eyes - Plumbing - 3 1/4 - Holes 3 3/8 iinches

Hair – Colored tubes – 1 1/8 inches (the holes were drilled the same size as the tubes for a friction fit)

Wire pass through from tub to tub - 1 1/8 hole

Power cord entry - 1 1/8 hole

Notes:

All sizes except the 3 3/8 inch hole saws were included in a common hole saw kit. The 3 3/8 inch hole required the purchasing of a seperate hole saw. Hole saws can be purchased individually, but they also need an arbor to mount them to the drill which can come with a kit or purchased in addition to the actual saws.

Hole saws like any power saw are dangerous and should be used with caution, no loose fitting clothes and wearing safety glasses.

Saving the large circular scraps left from cutting the hole may be useful. I used these "samples" as a test strip to check the adhesion of the LED strip included adhesive and alternate glues for attaching the strips.

Cutting Hole For Nose:

The nose is a downspout elbow. Two rectangular holes are required; one in the front and back. The hole in the back is made more of a slot to allow some variation of the downspout tube angle comming down from the second story window. Both were cut using an oscillating saw. If one is not available a couple of holes can be drilled in the corners and a jig saw or a keyhole saw may be used.

Note:

The hole in the back of the monster's head can be cut at final assembly once the correct angle of the chute is determined. This will assure the proper position of the hole based on the slope of the chute from the house to the monster.

Two options are available to connect wires to the LED strips. Commercially available connectors may be used or wires can be soldered directly to the conductive pads on the strips. This project used a combination of both. Soldering must be done carefully and has some additional steps needed as described below.

Once the strips are cut (with scissors) to length at the center of the conductive pads, the waterproofing silicone must be removed. The method used was to use a sharp hobby knife to slice through the silicone down to the circuit layer. Cut both across the strip and along the edges to loosen the sealant. Then pry and scrape the silicone off. 

Notes: 

Red wire is used for positive (+) and black wire used for negative (-).

Do not damage the circuit layer with the knife, it could easily cut the circuit layer causing failure of the strip.

Check closely that the silicone is removed completely from the pads. It is clear and hard to see. A magnifying glass can help. If it is not removed, both the connectors and soldering will not provide a good connection.The soldering process will get very difficult with the silicone melting and not allowing the solder to make proper attachment to the circuit pad (I experienced this exact issue).

Always check to assure that the red wires go to positive and black to negative.

Soldering:

To solder wires to the strips, start by stripping the wires and pre-tinning the wires and pads on the strips (adding solder to the items individually). Once each has solder on it they can be brought together with the heat and joined quite quickly. Visually check the joints.

Solder should not be used as a mechanical connection, only electrical, so some form of support or stress relief should be used. In this case a piece of popsicle stick with hot glue applied over the wires was incorporated to add a structure between the wires and the LED strips. This prevents the solder bond of the wire and flex circuit carrying the LEDS from getting stressed and cracking.

Connectors:

The connectors were suppose to be easy to use and just require the circuit strip to be inserted and the cover closed to cause the terminals to make contact. The connectors I bought did not allow the cover to close. The cover contacted the LED on the strip preventing closure. My solution was to insert the LED strip into the metal terminals of the connector (assure the strip goes bretween the two metal clips) an then soldered it at the electrical contact point. I then used some side cutters, clipped off the palstic pieces on the connnector cover preventing it from closing and then superglued them shut.

Connectors come in various styles. These were used on the monster face where 90 degree corners were needed. Connectors could have been used on the main body and if building again, I may choose that option rather than routing the LEDs as I did around the 45 degreee corners.

Notes: The connectors were painted black to match the background color, but if doing so assure no paint is allowed on the metal contacts.

The LEDS for the face were connected and powered up on the bench prior to installation as a in-process check of the connectors and layout.

Assembly to Tubs:

The tubs had limited adhesion with the adhesive strip included on the LEDs. To improve the durability, the surface where the strips would attach was sanded with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and super glue was added.

Holes were drilled where the LED strips started and wires previously soldered to the strips were inserted to the interior so they could be connected to the power adaptors in a later step.

Where the strips were straight and flat it was easy to attach them. On the body of the monster a series of 45 degree angles had to be negotiated by the strips. Rather than cutting and soldering a slight bulge was added to get around the corners.Holding the strips while the adhesive dried was a challenge, but magnets put on the strip and on the other side of the plastic held them in place.

Assembly to Eyes:

LEDs were added to the inside surface of the eyes by glueing them in place in a spiral pattern going around the circumference approximately 3 times.  E6000+ glue was used to attach them. As with the tubs, holes were drilled for wires to pass through for later attachment to power. The glueing was completed in sections and multiple popsical sticks and spring clamps were used to hold them in place while drying. The exterior of the eyes were spray painted after sanding the surface with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to add color.

Assembly to Tubes (Hair):

The LEDs are directional, so to control the strip direction in the “hair” tubes a 3D printed plug with a tab to glue the strip to was created. This also prevented water from intrusion into the end of the tubes.On the opposite end 2 holes were drilled (across from each other) for the wires to go through controlling the rotation of the strips at that end. Once the strips are glued to the plugs (and dried), the strip is inserted into the colored tube without seating the plug.  The wires are inserted into the holes to retain them, and the plug is rotated with a visual check to see that the LED strip is straight down the tube with no twist before seating the plug with glue.

Note: If a 3D printer is not used rubber stoppers or cork could be used to cover the end of the tube. Controlling rotation may need to be accomplished at that end by glueing the strip directly to the tube.

Tubes / Hair:

The tubes for the hair were inserted with the colors in a random pattern. They are temporarily retained by a friction fit. Each one is powered up and rotated for the LEDs to project light out to the front of the monster. Once completed glue could be applied to permanently fix them and silicone sealant run around the base of each tube on the exterior side of the tub for sealing.

Eyes:

The exterior of the eyes have been painted. Two-part epoxy was mixed and used to glue them into place. The head was move to a “face down” position and gravity used to hold eyes in place while epoxy cured.

NOTE: Epoxy typically is rated for 1, 5 or 10 minutes, but that is just the working time to position items. Be sure to check cure time which is much longer – typically hours to get full strength.

Nose:

The nose is an 45 degree elbow for the downspout. The back side of the nose was removed to allow candy to fall out easily, The exterior was spray painted. Assembly occures at final set up.

Arms:

The pool noodles used for arms ( 4 pieces ) just "friction fit' into the holes drilled. The top arm were cut to a length that allowed hooks on the end of the arms to be connected to the candy collection container. A rope (in this case 2 dog leashes from the dollar store with hooks already attached) were run through the noodles and a loop tied in the interior of the body, A metal quick connect loop was used to attach the two ropes so they can't pull out.

Candy Container:

The candy container had 2 holes drilled to accept to rings that the hooks from the dog leashes can attach to. A self adhesive velcro strip was used to attach the container to the body of the monsert.

POWER ADAPTERS:

In the case of this monster 2 power adapters were used. Each one had an output of 12 VDC with 10 Amp max capacity. By providing 2 units, each did not need to run near its maximum rating to prevent chances of overheating.

The power adaptors come with a circular barrel style connector. These were removed with wire cutters and the 12 VDC auto style connectors added. The wires were stripped, soldered and heat shrink tubing added for mechanical strength and insulation. These connectors will allow for disassembly and storage. They also have a locking mechanism to prevent them from coming unplugged unintentionally.

WIRING:

The connections require the combining of many wires. The wire used was 18 AWG stranded wire. This was chosen because it was what I had available and would easily handle the current requirements.

For each joint of wires (from 2 wires to 5 wires), the wires were stripped, twisted, soldered and covered with heat shrink tubing. In some cases, for added strain relief and to clean up the mess of multiple wires extra layers of larger shrink tubing are used.

For the hair tubes, wires for 2 or 3 tubes were combined with a lead wire that was then routed and combined with other lead wires to get all the LEDs connected to the power adapters. This allowed 15 sets of wires to be combined in stages down to a single set for connection to the power adaptor. Similar combinations were used for LEDs from the legs and then the body to connect all the strips.

Connections:

The power adapters were planned to be placed in the body (middle tub).

Body and Legs:

From one power adaptor two of the 12 VDC automotive style connectors were attached. One connector for the body and one for the legs. A wire harness was made that can pass from the bottom tub up into the middle tub for easy assembly of the monster.

Face, Eyes and Hair:

The second adapter handled the face, eyes and hair. The wires for these were combined as described with a lead long enough to extend out of the top tub down to the lower level of the body. A connector allows disassembly for storage.

NOTES: In all cases double check to assure that connections are positive to positive and negative to negative.

When using a heat gun on shrink tubing be careful not to get too close to any plastic parts as its easy to deform or melt those items. The tub walls are thin and low temp plastic which can melt quickly.

Note: When soldering many heavy wires together a smaller soldering iron will take some time to heat all the the wires enough to have a good flow of solder throughout the joint. Take time to allow this heat to build for a good joint.

Other options would be to use twist on wire connectors or crimp fittings available at home improvement stores or a terminal strip. These avoid the soldering of many wires and allows easy disonnection if that becomes an issue.

Pick the connectors or terminal strips with the correct wire size and number of wires being joined.

Based on the window location and length of downspout, position the monster on the lawn to allow the downspout to enter the back of the head and exit out the nose. The end of the downspout was painted to match the nose (yellow) as it will be visible in the final position. Two lengths of downspout were used with the top section inserted into the bottom section and held with two short screws (Long screw will prevent candy from sliding down chute).

Base and Rods:

Treated 4x4 boards were cut to fit the outline of the bottom tub. They extended out the back for bags of sand if needed. The boards are connected by predrilling holes and using ¼” x 6” long lag bolts (3 on each side). The bottom tub is used as a pattern to mark the holes. The 4x4 is drilled with holes for a tight fit for the rods (same diameter as the rods). Drill the holes completely through the 4x4 (with a spade bit) as this will allow the rods to be pounded back out of the base for disassembly. Drive the rods into the base. This worked quite well to hold the monster even in high winds.

Tubs:

Assure the connecting wire on the bottom tub is extended out the wire hole in the tub. Lift the bottom tub to the top of the rods and align the rods with the holes. Push the tub down to the base.

Remove the lid from the middle tub (so connections can be made) and assemble it by lowering over the rods (I wrote “top” with a white paint pen inside so I would know which direction to assemble it). As it is lowered push the connector and wire from the first (lower tub) into the hole on the bottom of the middle tub for later connection to the power adaptor.

Add the top tub (head) in the same fashion. Guide the wire for the LED connection from the top tub into the hole in the top of the middle tub.

Electrical:

Set the 2 power adaptors on the floor of the middle tub. Marry 3 automtive style connectors for power. Connect 2 power adaptors to 120 VAC multi-outlet adaptor. Route extension cord up through hole in the bottom back of the middle tub and plug the multi-outlet adaptor to the cord. This puts all high voltage connections out of the reach of children once the tubs are closed up.

Arms:

Insert the top two arms (pool noodles) into the body holes. Connect the ropes inside the body with a retaining ring. Insert the two lower arms (these are just a friction fit and can be posioned as desired).

Lids and Candy Container:

Assembler the lids to the front of the middle tub and back of the top tub. Attach the candy container to the front of the middle tub with the Velcro and the ends of the dog leash clips extending from each of the top arms.

Chute:

Connecting two lengths of downspout was accomplished by cuting wedges of material approximatly 1.5 inches long out of the bottom end, of each side, of the top tube and colapsing it slightly to insert into the bottom tube. Secure with 2 short screws.

To position the hole in the back of the head for the chute, initially position the downspout next to the head (rather than through the head) at the proper height to exit at the nose hole. This will set the angle of the chute, and the height required for the rear hole can be marked and then cut. Once cut, extend the downspout through the back of the head and out the front. Attach the nose elbow to the downspout to direct candy to the container.

Test:

Test the flow of candy to assure it drops into the candy collection container.

Let the kids have fun!

NOTES:

DANGER: An open window without screens is a FALL RISK for adults and especially for children. Take EXTREME CARE if using an open window.

DO NOT drive rods into the ground in any area with cable, fiber, electrical or sprinkler lines. If in doubt, don’t do it. (for alternate mounting with no base)

Alternate Mounting:

If no wooden base is being used -- Assure that no cable, fiber, electrical or sprinkler lines are in the area to be installed. If unsure, DO NOT drive rods into the ground. Assure wires inside of the tub are clear of the rod holes. Set the lower tub on the ground (lid down in our case) and drive the two rods into the ground until stable.