Paper Towel Roll Tunnel Candy Drop

Here is a fun way to use leftover candy from Halloween, Easter, parades, or any other time of year.

One of my children has food allergies and can’t have any of the traditional candy we buy at a store or get on these fun occasions. I usually make her an allergy-friendly version she can eat, but she still likes to look at and explore the traditional candy. I know I loved sorting candy as a child!

In an effort to demystify these sweet treats for all of my children and avoid making them completely off limits for the ones with allergies, I use this activity to provide a different way to engage with the candy other than eating it.

This activity doesn’t have to be limited to kids with food allergies. My oldest loves to sort through the candy to find pieces that will fit inside the tunnels.

Here’s what you need

• Paper towel or toilet paper rolls- my kids love the collection part and are way too excited when we finish a roll of paper towels.

• Painter’s tape- I buy a few rolls at a time because it is so useful for activities!

• Scissors- optional, but I like to provide opportunities for cutting skill practice. This can be a great way to introduce cutting for younger kids. You can’t go wrong with this classic brand, but I do love how this set comes with a cover for the blades.

• Candy- we used Halloween candy, but you can do this activity any time of year with any type of candy you have on hand.

Set up

5-15 minutes

Some of the fun is in the set up here, so offer suggestions as needed depending on the age of your child. At 3 and 5 years old, I taped one roll on the wall and put a bowl under to show the objective of this activity and let them lead the next steps. When the kids were younger, I essentially made the whole thing by myself, but asked “which roll should we use next?” or “should we put this roll here or here?” to get them involved.

As the kids get older, they can do more of the creative thinking themselves. They can also cut the tape and position or reposition the rolls as needed.

1. Have your child sort through the candy to find the ones that will fit through the tubes you have. Have the rolls ready on the sidelines for them to discern which shapes or sizes don’t work. For younger children, I might have them help me sort a few pieces, but you can speed things along to keep them interested.

2. Tape the rolls on the wall, door, or large window. I use painter’s tape on all of these surfaces without issues. I’ve tried Scotch tape on the windows, but I think the painter’s tape comes off easier.

3. Make your tunnel as simple or elaborate as you want. When my kids were smaller, we kept one side shorter to let them participate independently and one side taller that required standing on a chair or me lifting them up.

Clean up

1 minute

1. Take everything off the wall and either recycle or throw away.

2. Eat, save, or get rid of the candy. Some of our candy inevitably gets broken, crushed, or melty and we end up tossing a few pieces.

There are a few things I love about this activity.

1. It gives us a natural opportunity to practice sorting. We talk about shape, size, color, and weight. I’m actively trying to fill our days in this season of young children, so I do not rush this step. If the kids want to sort candy for 30 minutes, I let them.

2. This allows wonderful opportunities for creativity when planning the tunnel path.

3. Problem solving is organic and we can talk about different ways to go about identifying and solving a problem. I try to be fairly hands-off here and let the kids work through the problem on their own for a little bit before jumping in. When I step back as a parent, I’m always so impressed with the clever solutions my kids think up. If they are truly stuck, I try to simply narrate the situation and help them identify the problem. When they are really little, I might have to do more of the problem solving, but talking it through out loud still allows them to witness and be introduced to the process of naming the issue and thinking up a few ways to solve it. Who knew candy could help teach so many life skills?

4. This activity can be left up for a few hours or days. We come back to it several times over the course of a week or so before I take it down.

You can make your tunnel as intricate or straightforward as you want, keeping in mind that you might have to do some readjusting after a few candy runs. The big lollipops always nudge the rolls one direction and make it difficult for the next run to go smoothly. We almost always end up with some sort of race during this activity and I can definitely foresee timers being involved as the kids get older.

I would have to say this is officially a post-Halloween tradition in our house now that we have done it for 3 years in a row, and honestly, it’s pretty fun for me as well. I started this before I knew Vaila had food allergies and the kids absolutely loved it. Ellette did not get to participate this year because all of the candy that fits into the tubes would also fit nicely in her mouth. I didn’t want to have to be on choking duty while trying to take pictures and enjoy time with my older kids. She will get to join us next year.

I hope you get a chance to set up this candy drop activity. The supply list is short and I can almost bet that most of you usually have and empty toilet paper or paper towel roll handy.

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