I was in charge of the Trunk or Treat for our church community this year and I wanted to share what I learned from putting that event together. The beauty of these events is that they are pretty easy to pull together and such a blast for the kiddos. Even though it started pouring rain in the middle of ours, I think the kiddos all had a good time. And what’s a little sacrifice to make the candy taste that much sweeter 🙂 ?
What is a Trunk or Treat, and Why Host One?
Over the last 10 years trunk or treating has gotten increasingly popular as a safe and fun environment to celebrate Halloween. Our church usually hosts one on the weekend before Halloween so families can still trick or treat the traditional way on Halloween. It’s a fun way to build community, have an excuse to wear that Halloween costume more than once (after all that effort to get one together!), get double the candy, and offer a consolidated experience for rural areas.
Key Elements for Your Trunk or Treat
Picking Date, Time Etc
Of course you’ll need to pick a time, date and location to get things rolling. Again, I suggest the weekend before Halloween (either on a Friday or Saturday night) to allow for families to do traditional trick or treating on Halloween. The itinerary will dictate your start time, but keep in mind it is getting dark earlier and earlier this time of year. Here’s what our schedule looked like:
- 5:30- Light dinner, set up trunks
- 6:00- Costume Parade, Trunk & costume contest and prizes
- 6:15-7:00- Trunk or Treating
45 minutes was plenty long for us with the amount of cars we had, but you may allow for more time depending on your expected turn out/number of vehicles participating. I would estimate we had around 30- 40 trunks and around 100 people. We had expected more but the weather was not great. You may want to have an alternative date in case of rain. We decided we would just cancel in the case of bad weather. It ended up being a pretty iffy day, but we decided to go ahead. And not long after start time it began to rain. So that was a bummer (especially for me who had put all the time into planning everything), but we carried on and just ended early since the rain didn’t let up (like we really thought it was going to…). Here’s what our flyer looked like (I made it on Canva):
Sign Ups for Trunks
I think it’s nice if everyone who comes participates by having a trunk, but just to be safe it’s good to have sign ups with a minimum number of people committed to trunks (again that minimum number depends on the scale of your event). Having a trunk contest with prizes is a nice way to get people excited about participating. Make sure you include that in your flyer to help encourage people to participate! Also, building in “trunk set up” into your timeline is helpful so people don’t have to show up extra early to do their trunks (especially if your event is on a Friday and people will be coming from work). When it comes to being a “trunk host” it might sound intimidating, but really all it means is some simple decorations and candy to hand out! Here are some examples of some fun and easy trunks to try: Costco Trunk, Pirate Trunk.
Parking & Logistics
Depending on your venue you may need to set up some direction as people enter so it’s clear where they should park if they’re participating trunks, where everyone else should park, and where you want it to remain open and clear. You can do this with cones, caution tape, signs or even parking attendants guiding people as they arrive.
Music/DJ
I highly recommend having music to set the mood for your trunk or treat! We just had someone make a playlist on their phone and then hooked it up to a Bluetooth speaker that we played in the parking lot. A couple of pro tips:
• Set your speakers up toward the center of the lot so the sound spreads evenly.
• Add a tiny “dance corner” or open area for kids who need to wiggle.
• If you have announcements, assign one person to be the “voice” for the night so things feel organized.
Music might feel like a small detail, but it does huge heavy lifting for the overall experience. It’s the difference between “cute event” and “wow, that was so fun.”
Photo Booth
Every mama wants a picture of her kiddos in their costume, so why not have a Photo Booth ready to go? You don’t need anything fancy to pull it off. Start with a simple backdrop: a balloon arch, a fall-themed banner, a big sheet of patterned fabric, or even a row of hay bales. Add a couple of props like signs, pumpkins, costume accessories, or glow sticks and you’re good to go. If you have access to a ring light, that’s the cherry on top for crisp, flattering pictures after sunset. Put the booth in a well-lit spot just off the main path so it’s easy to find but not blocking traffic. A volunteer can help snap photos for families, or you can set up a simple “Take your picture here” sign and let people use their own phones. A small tip people love: offer a printed sign with your event name and year so families can include it in their photos. It’s a cute detail and makes the whole thing feel intentional.
We had a fantastic photo booth set up by one of our community members, unfortunately the rain put a damper on things- but we carried on anyway! And here’s how it looked (before the stupid rain):
Costume & Trunk Contest
A costume and trunk contest is a fun way to recognize people who went above and beyond. We had planned to have a short costume parade where we could evaluate the costumes and picked a few winners in different categories: best DIY costume, best group costume, best overall costume. Because of the rain we skipped the parade and went straight to trunk or treating so I tried to pick winners just by walking around. We did the same with trunks: Best overall trunk, most creative trunk, and spookiest trunk. I created some free printable awards you can use for your Trunk or Treat that you can grab by entering your email below. I created 2 versions of each award- one with a spot to write in a name and one without a spot (12 pages total). Depending on your event one might be better than the other. When we announced the winners we gave them a small prize to go with it (fall scented candles for the adults and candy for the kids). If your budget allows, gift cards are always a hit (because they’ll already have lots of candy).
You can grab these free printables by filling out the form below:
Costume Parade
A costume parade is a nice way to extend the event a little, as trunk or treats tend to go quickly. It’s also a chance for judges to evaluate costumes, for parents to get pictures of their kiddos, and for everyone to enjoy and admire each other’s costumes. It’s best to do this towards the beginning, before it gets too dark and before everyone’s costumes get too disheveled.
Should You Serve Food?
Whether you serve food at your Trunk or Treat or not will depend on a lot of factors (chief among them- your budget!). We did serve a “light dinner” as a way to make it easier for families to worry about one less thing before running out the door. We did a Nacho bar which included: tortilla chips, nacho cheese, chili, jalapenos, sour cream, and guacamole. We kept the menu simple but the nachos were a hit and kids and adults alike seemed to enjoy them. We actually got the nacho cheese from Taco Bell so that was a popular thing especially among the teens (did you know you can get “catering” food from Taco Bell?). Once again the rain made things tricky, and peopled huddled under trees to eat their nachos. Look at all these tables and chairs we set up just to serve as rain catchers :(. In the past we’ve often done a crockpot soup/chili type potluck as well. Another idea is to invite local food trucks to come set up shop in the lot for the evening so families have the option of purchasing dinner if they’d like.
Other Fun Add-Ons
Other things to consider adding to your event if you really want to level up:
- Fog machine
- Face painting booth
- Carnival-Style Games– Set up simple, low-prep games like pumpkin bowling, ring toss, beanbag toss, or a “guess how many candy corns” jar. Kids love quick-win activities, and volunteers love that they’re easy to run.
- Craft Stations– A small table with stickers, markers, and mini pumpkins or Halloween masks to decorate gives little ones a fun hands-on activity. It’s especially great for kids who want a break from the excitement.
- Treat Walk (Like a Cake Walk)– Use numbered floor spots and play music. When the music stops, draw a number and that person wins a small treat or prize. It’s nostalgic, easy, and always a hit.
- Food Area or Snack Bar-Hot chocolate, popcorn, donuts, or a food truck can elevate the whole event. Families tend to stay longer when food is available, and it adds to the festive vibe. (See previous section for more details).
- Community Booths– Invite local groups—fire department, library, youth programs—to set up small tables. Kids love exploring, and it builds great community involvement.
- Projector Movie- You might consider setting up a projector screen and playing a fun light hearted Halloween movie (like Charlie Brown) near the end of your even for families that want to stick around and “trade” candy.
Adding these extra activities helps spread out the crowd, reduce wait times at the trunks, and create a carnival atmosphere that keeps everyone smiling all night long.
Hosting a trunk or treat doesn’t have to be complicated to be meaningful. With a little planning, a handful of volunteers, and a focus on safety and fun, you can create an event that families look forward to year after year. Whether your gathering is small and simple or full-on festival style, what matters most is bringing people together and creating a space where kids can celebrate, laugh, and make memories.
Use this guide as a starting point, adapt it to fit your community, and don’t stress about making everything perfect. The candy will run out, things will go wrong, it will start to rain right as your event begins (arg!), but the kids will have fun anyway!