Boy, 6, opens a drive-by joke stand in his driveway while quarantining at home

Elena Sheppard
Updated ·2 min read
Callaghan, 6, is entertaining the neighbors with his drive-by joke stand. (Photo: Courtesy Kelsea McLaughlin)
Callaghan, 6, is entertaining the neighbors with his drive-by joke stand. (Photo: Courtesy Kelsea McLaughlin)

Callaghan McLaughlin loves jokes so much that the Canadian 6-year-old, quarantined at home in Saanich, British Columbia, set up a “drive-by/walk-by joke stand” in his driveway for passersby to enjoy — from a safe distance, of course.

“Callaghan has been actively telling us one-liners and knock-knock jokes for the past six months or so,” his mom, Kelsea McLaughlin, tells Yahoo Life. “We felt it was time for a fresh audience!”

McLaughlin also shares that every spring and summer break the family makes a list of things they want to do. “‘Lemonade stand’ is always top of the list,” she says. “Obviously this time around things were a bit different so I had to come up with an idea for how he could still be out in the community but still be physically distant.” She put the two ideas together and, bam, joke stand.

According to his mom, the joke stand — where jokes are delivered free of charge — started on April 14.

“We sent a plea out on social media to come and stop by for friends and neighbors,” she says. “I knew that he would feel more successful if he got a few friendly and familiar faces.

“He typically sets up around 9:30 a.m. and spends about an hour outside,” she adds. “He goes back after lunch for another hour and a half or so. Our front yard also has a pretty neat treehouse so he toggles back and forth when he spots a potential ‘customer’ approaching.”

Callaghan is the oldest of three, and his mom describes him as “an extrovert, and very social.”

After being featured in Canadian media, he got some love from fellow Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds.

The attention Callaghan really cares about, though, is the kind he’s getting from his community. “I like getting to be outside and sometimes my friends walk by that I haven’t seen for a while from school,” he tells Yahoo Life. “My principal came by too!”

His favorite joke of the moment? “Where does a trout keep its money? ... A river bank.”

The joke stand is just a side hustle, however, as Callaghan wants to be a scientist when he grows up. “I want to invent things to make the world safer and cleaner,” he shares.

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