Trunk or Treat: A Halloween Tradition for Today’s Families
If you’re new to parenting, the term Trunk or Treat may be unfamiliar. This is an organized trick or treating event using the trunks of people’s cars.
Parents, kids, and teachers drive to a designated parking area. They park their cars. pop their trunks to reveal a Halloween cache of candies, and invite the costumed children to walk from car to car, picking up goodies from each trunk.
Trunk or Treat is a great Halloween activity that works well for group organizations such as preschools, Sunday school, Hebrew school classes, mommy and me groups, scouts, or just an organized fall event sponsored by the town or city where you live.
It’s also a great option for moms of toddlers or preschoolers who may not be ready for the long walk through dark neighborhoods on Halloween night.
Tips for Hosting a Trunk or Treat Event
- Select a location where you’ll be able to arrange for a private, invite-only event. Be sure to obtain permission if the trunk or treat is to be held in a public area, such as the town’s municipal park or the school parking lot.
- Send out an advance notice that a Trunk or Treat will be planned for a specific date, time, and place during Halloween season. You can briefly explain what a trunk or treat is, for people who aren’t yet familiar with the concept.
- Avoid hosting your Trunk or Treat at the same time as regularly scheduled trick or treating.
- Let Trunk or Treat participants know that they’ll be expected to contribute wrapped candy treats to pass out to the children. Encourage parents to make their cars look festive using simple, low-cost Halloween decorations.
- Remind parents that kids should wear costumes. Suggest that parents keep their own Halloween garb to a minimum so that everyone can be easily identified. You can make it a contest, with prizes for scariest, silliest, and most creative costumes, or Best Trunk Decorations.
Other Tips for Trunk or Treat
- This is a great opportunity to clean out your car. Make sure the trunk is clear of clutter and you’ve vacuumed up the dust and dirt.
- If you don’t have time to empty your trunk, you can always throw a dark-colored blanket over the clutter and add a few jack o’ lanterns.
- Find out how many guests are expected to attend, so that you’ll know how much candy to buy.
- Make sure treats are purchased pre-wrapped, for the safety of all.
Trunk or Treat Decorating Ideas
Encourage kids to help decorate the trunk of your car. Let them be creative and come up with their own, homemade decorations using recycled items from around the house. Ideas can include:
- Pumpkin painting and parent-supervised pumpkin carving
- Baskets of gourds and colorful dried corn
- Creepy creatures made from a modeling compound such as Play-Doh
- Spooky scene dioramas made from shoe boxes, popsicle sticks, and cardboard tubes
- Homemade ghosts cut out of old sheets and curtains
- Mini “hanky haunts” – little ghosts made from old handkerchiefs
Low-Cost Halloween Decorations at the Dollar Store
- Battery operated strobe lights, battery-powered “candles,” and flashlights
- Plastic bats and skeletons
- Light-up jack o’ lanterns (best to use flashlights or battery-powered candles, not real candles)
Ideas for a Halloween Trunk Liner
- Vinyl Halloween tablecloth
- Black or dark-colored blanket
- Spooky Halloween themed sheets
- Burlap bags
Hope these tips help you throw the best trunk-or-treat event ever!
Loving Life — The Reboot!
Dominique
More Halloween Posts
- Other Ways to Celebrate: Other Alternatives to Celebrate, Adult Halloween Parties
- Costume Posts: Baby and Toddler Costumes, Superhero Costumes,
- Halloween Food: Creepy Concoctions
- Freebie: Halloween Decor eBook
3 Comments
Nick
I love trunk or treating. It seems like it’s a safer option for the kids as well. Too bad it has to be that way in today’s day in age. I remember going around my neighborhood and knocking on doors with friends. All in all trunk or treats are still very fun and always love the little games they have. Lol.
Dominique
I remember trick or treating too! Our neighborhood is still into trick or treating so it’s pretty safe here. My son takes my daughter out then gets some of her candy as his payment! LOL Thanks for reading
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