17+ Best Easy Trunk or Treat Ideas to Make Your Halloween a Blast
Need trunk or treat ideas that are fun and easy? You’re in the right place.
Trunk or treating is a fantastic way to celebrate Halloween with the community.
Our family has joined in our church’s trunk or treat event every year for the past 7 years or so and my kids have a blast picking our theme.
And not to brag, because I know Jesus prefers humility, but we’ve won the friendly church competition for the best theme each year and gotten the coveted Bath and Body Works candle prize to prove it! HA!
So I know a thing or two about putting together some good ideas.
I’ve got some super simple inspiration that will have kids (and their parents) buzzing with excitement.
So get your Halloween on and let’s get into some trunk or treat magic!
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What is Trunk or Treat?
Trunk or Treat is a fun and safe alternative to trick or treating often hosted by churches or neighborhoods.
People decorate their trunks and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters in a parking lot.
Trunk or Treat is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit with friends and family.
How Trunk or Treat Works
- As I mentioned Trunk or Treat events are often organized by local schools, groups, churches, or families.
- Participants arrive at the event, open their trunks, and show off their Halloween setup.
- Each participant has tons of fun candy to hand out to kids.
Benefits of Trunk or Treat
- Trunk or Treat can be viewed as safer than traditional trick-or-treating.
- Trunk or Treat is a great way to build community and have fun with friends and family.
- Parents can see who their kids are talking to and what they’re eating.
Themed Trunk or Treat Ideas
Trunk or treat
Trunk or treat ideas
Trunk or treat
Movie Trunks
- A setup inspired by your favorite movie is a great trunk or treat idea.
- Examples: Harry Potter, or Star Wars
- We did Despicable Me but it rained that year and had to be moved inside our church. Still, it was cute as I had Gru stealing the moon (We already owned a light-up moon and I printed out a pic of Gru and taped it ot the front). We also had the box of shame and I made minions out of toilet paper rolls for free!
- I really leaned into the role of Vector the Villian. My son dressed as Gru and my sweet daughter nailed it in her Lucy Wilde costume.
Mary Poppins Trunk-or-treat
- Our family embraced Mary Poppins for our church trunk or treat and it was a huge hit.
- We even used my son’s fog machine and made it look like a chimney was smoking.
- My daughter nailed her Mary Poppins costume and it was actually really easy to do.
- I made a skyline out of Dollar Tree board paper and put fairy lights in each of the windows so they glowed.
Trunk or treat
My daughter inspecting the dry ice in the vase with the large light up spider
TV Show-Inspired Trunks
- We did Addams Family last year and it rained again so it had to be moved inside the church. I was Morticia Addams and my girls dressed as Wednesday Addams.
- I debated whether or not to do this one only because it’s slightly dark for church but we did it in a way that wasn’t overly goth or spooky.
- It’s hard to see from the pictures but I picked up dry ice from the grocery store and put it in a glass jar so it smoked. We also used our fog machine and put it under the table.
Our family’s Little Red Riding Hood Theme for trunk-or-treat
Trunk or treating
Trunk or treat idea
Book-Inspired Trunks
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by your favorite book.
- Examples: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or Where the Wild Things Are.
- Our family did Little Red Riding Hood for a church trunk-or treat a few years back. I used a skinny tree that I put out around Christmas for our “forest.” My husband made me a plywood sign for all the story locations like “grand-ma’s house.” I ordered flower wallpaper from Amazon and put it on plywood for grandma’s wall inside my van. We added a little lamp and china tea-cup to play up the grandma’s room.
Creative Trunk or Treat Ideas
Trunk or treat
trunk or treating
Trunk or treat
trunk or treat
After we used the balloons for our trunk, we put them in front of our house.
Yellow Brick Road Trunk-or-Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by The Wizard of Oz like my family did.
- Use yellow fabric and balloons to create a yellow brick road. I made mine with a long plastic yellow roll I ordered off Amazon. I painted the bricks using a lighter colored yellow on sponges.
- Add a sign that says “Emerald City” or “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” like I did
Cute idea for a Candyland-inspired trunk fro DIY Inspired.
Candyland Trunk-or-Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by the classic board game Candyland. It’s a kid’s dream come true.
- Add a sign that says “Welcome to Candyland”
- If you’re not the DIY type you can just order pre-made Candyland decorations
Easy Ideas
Pirate Ship Trunk or Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by pirates.
- Add a sign that says “Ahoy Matey”
Excellent outer space trunk from At Home With Natalie.
Outer Space Trunk or Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by outer space.
- Blow up star balloons and attach to your car.
- Make your own DIY planets by painting round paper lanterns to look like each planet.
- Add a sign that says “Blast Off”
- Or just order pre-made decorations online
Fun and Playful Trunk or Treat Ideas
Gumball Machine Trunk or Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by gumball machines.
- Add a sign that says “Gumball Machine”
Beauty and the Beast
Disney Inspired Trunk or Treat
- Lots to work with here with Disney movies
- We did a Beauty and the Beast theme for our church Trunk or treat a few years ago. The background was an online ordered wallpaper of books stuck to a foam board. The paper chandelier lit up and was ordered online as well. We borrowed the fancy candelabras from our neighbor.
DIY Trunk or Treat Ideas
This is a cute and easy Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin Patch set up from Glued to My Crafts.
Pumpkin-Inspired Trunk or Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by pumpkins.
- You could also do a Charlie Brown-inspired pumpkin patch theme.
- Add a sign that says “Pumpkin Patch”
Sunflowers Trunk or Treat
- Create a trunk or treat setup inspired by sunflowers.
- Add a sign that says “Sunflowers” to complete the look.
Green Trunk or Treat Ideas
Green trunk-or-treat ideas are a great way to celebrate Halloween while reducing waste and being sustainable.
These ideas are good for the planet and add a fun and creative twist to your trunk or treat. Here are a few green treat ideas to get you started:
Nature Trunk or Treat
Bring the outdoors in with a nature-themed trunk or treat. Use natural materials like leaves, twigs and pinecones to create a rustic and eco-friendly decoration.
Old pallets or crates can be turned into a woodland scene or a magical forest. This themed trunk looks amazing and helps kids appreciate nature.
It’s a win-win for the environment and your Halloween!
Hands-On Trunk or Treat Ideas
Game Station Trunk or Treat
If you’re not the DIY type there are loads of trunk or treat kits that make it super simple like the Super Mario Brothers One.
You can lean into the gaming theme with some fun games for kids to play to get candy.
Turn your trunk into a mini carnival with a game station setup! Kids will love playing games and winning prizes. You can create a ring toss using recycled bottles and rings or a bean bag toss with not-so-spooky targets.
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Conclusion
Remember it’s all about being creative and having fun while spreading Halloween cheer.
Whether you go spooky or silly your trunk is a blank canvas for your imagination.
Leave a comment and tell me what you’re going to use! Happy trunk or treating!
Hi I’m Erica! TV news anchor and mom to 4 littles. I’m obsessed with creating those “wow” moments in life through crafting at home, cool travel adventures and special celebrations with loved ones. Thanks for joining me on this adventure!
