Want to learn how to build a candy dispenser wall for your next party? They are so popular right now for kids’ birthday parties, but they can cost in the hundreds! I am going to show you that you can build your very own DIY candy wall, as a beginner, make it look fantastic…and save lots of money!
Why you’ll love this project
- Beginner Friendly: Yes! This fancy treat wall is made from just a few pieces of wood which you can have pre-cut at your local home improvement store. Then just attach the candy dispensers.
- Super Customizable: Paint it, decorate it, make it something completely different; this treat wall is super versatile for any party or theme!
- Ready in about an hour! If you get everything pre-cut, you can have this entire wall built and filled with candy within the hour!
Looking for more party DIY projects? Then you may want to see these: DIY Tabletop Champagne Bar, How to Make a DIY Dessert Cart, How to Make a DIY Outdoor Movie Screen
Why I made a DIY Candy Wall
About 2 months ago, my twin girls told me they wanted a Glamping themed birthday party for their 9th birthday. So of course, I headed straight to Pinterest for some inspiration. As I was scrolling through, I came across the cutest candy wall. But then I looked at the price…. it was $650! Honestly, my first thought was …wow people are actually buying this for $650? My second thought was I can definitely make that for a lot less!
Now let me just say, this is no knock against the hard working folks who are selling these on Etsy. There are tons of people who have no desire to build this or anything else and for those people, they can purchase it. But if you are anything like me, your motto is why buy it when you can make it yourself! So let me show you how I did it.
DIMENSIONS
I made my candy wall 6 ft tall X 24″ wide. The base dimensions are 35″ X 15″.
Materials Needed
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- 3/4 inch plywood (I used wood I already had but any sanded plywood will do)
- 2 – 2x4x6 ft (Cut 2 pieces 36″ and 2 pieces 9″)
- 2 – Candy wall dispenser
- Happy Birthday neon sign or Treat Yourself neon sign
- Paint
- Screws (1.5″ and 3″ long)
- L brackets (optional)
- Candy (i.e. Skittle, M&Ms, Jelly Belly, etc.)
TOOLS NEEDED
- Drill
- Spade wood drill bit
- Jigsaw
- Sander (Orbital or a hand sander works)
- Miter saw (you may be able to get cuts done at store…if so, you won’t need this)
How to Make A DIY Candy Dispenser Wall
- Cut your wood down to 6 ft x 2ft (24 inches). You can get the store to do this for you.
- Next you’ll need to cut your arch. You can also leave it square at the top if you don’t want to bother with this step. If you choose not to do an arch, you don’t need the jigsaw. I chose to freehand my arch but I don’t recommend that because my arch wasn’t symmetrical. It was good enough though lol. Check this video out to learn a few different ways to create the perfect arch.
- Once you have your arch traced out, it’s time to cut it using your jigsaw.
- After the arch is cut out, sand the edges using an orbital sander.
- At this point, you can leave it in it’s natural state or paint it.
- Now it’s time to get this baby to stand up! There are a number of great ways to do this but I honestly went with the quickest thing I could think of that would be secure.
- Secure your 2 – 36″ pieces of 2x4s to the back. Then add the 2 – 9″ pieces as shown below.
8. After they are secured, add 3 inch screws from bottom of base and front of base to secure. Add extra screws as needed.
9. Stand it up and make sure it’s standing on it’s own. To add extra security, you can add weights or sandbags to the back of it when in use.
10. Next step is positioning your sign where you want it to go. This will determine where you need to cut your hole.
11. Once you’ve decided where to cut your hole, use your spade bit and make a hole in that spot.
12. Attach your neon sign and use small screws to nail it to the plywood.
13. Follow instructions to secure the dispensers to the plywood.
14. Add your candy and then pop them in.
Not too bad, huh?
Tips for the best result
There are few different brands of these sweet dispensers on Amazon. I went with this one because it had a ton of great reviews. But I did notice some people mentioning that the dispensers would not stay in the holders. So I was a bit nervous about that.
- One tip I read that came in handy was to make sure I squeeze the actual metal holder in before popping the dispensers in them. This seemed to help.
- Out of the 2 triple sets I ordered, only one of the dispensers seemed a little loose and it did fall out when one of the kids pulled too hard. But we were able to get it back in and it was fine the rest of the time.
So in total for me, this project was less than $100 (since I already had the wood). Much better than $650, wouldn’t you agree? 🙂
Now who’s gonna make one of these? If you do, be sure to tag me when you share it!
Also, be sure to check out my video here on Instagram to see the video of how I made this.
Other Candy Wall Ideas
I decided to repurpose this candy wall for my birthday by turning it into a cupcake/dessert stand. It was so easy to do. All I did was remove the dispensers and fill the nail holes using spackle. Then I cut 1x3s down to about 18 inches wide or so.. you can make them however wide you’d like. I attached them with screws from the back and painted everything pink.
I found a floral arch from Hobby Lobby and attached that with 2 nails and it turned out like this:
This candy wall display can be changed up for any occasion. You could also do a candy wall for a baby shower, a bridal shower, or even a wedding using Jordan Almonds and baby bottles or wedding bells. The ideas are endless.
FAQ
What is the best candy for a candy dispenser?
When choosing candy for the candy dispensers you definitely want to opt for small pieces of candy that are not wrapped (think Skittles, M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces) over something wrapped like mini Snicker’s Bars.
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