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Somebody passed a sign-up sheet around, it sounded like fun at the time, and you wrote your name down. Now there is a trunk with your name on it, a date on the calendar, and not much of a plan.
This list is for that person. You are not especially crafty, your weeknights are already spoken for, and you would rather not spend a small fortune decorating a car that will sit in a parking lot for two hours.
Every idea below is sorted by how much time it actually takes: under an hour, one afternoon, or all-in. Each one comes with the short shopping list that makes it work. Before any of that, though, there are four things every trunk needs, whatever the theme.
Read this first: the four things every trunk needs
A great theme with no light, no backdrop, and a candy bowl that tips over is a bad trunk. A plain trunk that gets these four right is a good one.
Light
Most trunk or treats run into the evening, and a dark trunk disappears. Battery-powered string lights are the single best purchase on this page. Tape them around the edge of the hatch and inside the trunk, and the whole thing looks finished. Skip real candles entirely; kids in costumes crowd in close, and a battery tea light looks the same from three feet away.
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A backdrop
Plastic tablecloths are the secret material of trunk or treat. They are cheap, they come in every color, they tape to the inside of the hatch in minutes, and they hide whatever is actually living in your trunk. Two or three will cover almost any theme on this list.
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If rain is in the forecast or your lot has no cover, a pop-up canopy over the back of the car keeps you, your decorations, and the candy dry.
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A candy station that does not tip over
The bowl balanced on the bumper will go over within ten minutes. A small folding table at the back of the car, with a wide, heavy bowl or a shallow bin on it, solves that and gives you a place to stand that is out of the way. Buy more candy than you think you need, because running out early ends your night before everyone else’s. Keep a handful of non-candy treats, like stickers, pencils, or small toys, for kids with food allergies.
Shop small folding tables on Amazon
Shop bulk individually wrapped candy on Amazon
Shop non-candy treats on Amazon
Something to do for thirty seconds
Kids remember the trunk where something happened. A toss game, a question, a bubble machine, a riddle. It does not need to be elaborate, and the math games near the bottom of this post count.
Under one hour: seven ideas
Mostly closet, tape, and one purchase.
1. Pumpkin patch
Orange and green tablecloths, a fall leaf garland across the top of the hatch, and as many pumpkins as you can fit, real or foam. A plaid blanket over the bumper finishes it. This is the easiest theme on the list, and it looks right at every church and school event.
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2. Under the sea
Blue tablecloths for water, a few paper fish taped to them, and a net draped across the opening. Add a bubble machine and it becomes the trunk the little ones will not leave.
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3. Campsite
A fake campfire, two camp chairs, a lantern, and a cooler as the candy station. You probably own half of it already. Hand out s’mores-flavored treats if you want to go one step further.
4. Tailgate
Team colors, a couple of pennants, and a small foam football for kids to toss through a hole cut in a piece of cardboard. Use the local high school’s colors and the parents will stop to talk.
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5. Barnyard
A red tablecloth, a straw hat, and every stuffed farm animal in the house. Wear the scarecrow or farmer costume from our October costume list and the trunk is done.
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6. Bubble trunk
One bubble machine pointed out the back of the trunk and a few strands of lights. That is the whole theme. It is also the trunk kids will run toward from across the parking lot. Bring extra bubble solution; a machine goes through it faster than you would expect.
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7. Rainbow
Tablecloths in six colors, cut into wide strips and taped in arcs across the hatch, with a cloud of cotton batting at each end. It works on its own, and it is also a head start on the Noah’s Ark trunk below if you want to build on it next year.
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One afternoon: eight ideas
A Saturday afternoon, some cardboard, and a slightly longer shopping list.
8. Noah’s Ark
A cardboard hull taped across the back of the trunk and painted brown, a rainbow over the top, and stuffed animals two by two. Kids will count the pairs without being asked, which is a small win for a math site.
Shop Noah’s Ark decorations on Amazon
9. Jonah and the whale
The trunk is the whale’s mouth. Blue or gray tablecloths over the hatch and sides, two giant eyes on the upper corners, and a row of white paper-plate teeth along the top edge. Whoever hands out candy sits inside as Jonah.
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10. Outer space
Black tablecloths, a strand of white lights for stars, and a few planets hung from the hatch on fishing line. Glow sticks make a good non-candy treat for this one.
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11. Favorite book
Turn the open hatch into the cover of a picture book, painted on foam board, with the story’s props in the trunk below it. Whoever hands out candy dresses as the main character, and our book character costumes for teachers will get you most of the way there.
12. Construction zone
Caution tape, orange cones, and a toy dump truck full of candy. Hand out a few plastic hard hats and you have made some four-year-old’s entire night.
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13. Carnival booth
Red and white striped tablecloths, a hand-lettered sign, and a bean bag toss. Every kid who plays gets a treat, hit or miss.
Shop bean bag toss games on Amazon
14. Jungle safari
Green tablecloths, hanging vines, stuffed animals peeking out from the corners, and a pair of binoculars around the host’s neck.
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15. Candy shop
Oversized lollipops on the corners, pastel tablecloths, and a hand-lettered Sweet Shop sign. The candy is the decoration, which is efficient.
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The all-in trunk: five ideas
For the person who wants to win it. These take time or money, and usually both.
16. Parting of the Red Sea
Two walls of blue streamers hung from a frame on either side of a short path, so kids walk between them on dry land to reach the candy at the end. It needs space beside your car and a helper to set up, so check with the organizer first.
17. Drive-in movie
A battery-powered mini projector aimed at a white sheet across the open hatch, a short family cartoon on a loop, and popcorn bags as the treat. Test it in your driveway at dusk first; a projector looks very different in a lit parking lot.
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18. Garden of Eden
Artificial ivy everywhere, silk flowers, and a cardboard tree hung with apples. Hand out apple-flavored candy, or real apples. It looks wonderful lit up at night, and it takes real time.
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19. Pirate ship
A cardboard hull, a sail on a pole, a treasure chest full of gold-wrapped chocolate coins, and a plank laid flat on the ground for kids to walk.
Shop pirate party decorations on Amazon
20. Fall photo booth
A photo backdrop, a few hay bales or a stack of pumpkins, and a basket of props. Parents will line up for it, and it keeps families at your trunk long enough to actually talk.
Shop fall photo backdrops on Amazon
A math teacher’s addition
I am a former math teacher and principal, so this section was always going to happen. None of these feel like school. That is the point.
Multiplication ring toss
Set up nine bottles or cones numbered 1 through 9. Kids toss two rings and multiply the two numbers they land on. Older kids can go for the biggest product; 9 × 9 is the one they want. Younger kids can add instead.
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Roll and multiply
Two big foam dice. Roll them, say the product, get a treat. It takes about ten seconds a kid, so the line keeps moving.
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Estimation jar
Fill a clear jar with candy and let kids guess how many are inside. Write the guesses down and announce the closest one at the end of the night. Kids who count one layer and multiply by the number of layers get much closer than kids who guess, and a few will figure that out on their own.
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Music
If you have a tablet and a speaker, play the Multiplication Hustle play-along at your trunk. It starts at 9 × 9, the summit, and captures the whole mountain from the peak down, with a move for every fact. Kids will dance. Some of them will learn 6 × 8 while they do it.
The day-of checklist
Put these in one bag the night before:
- Spare batteries for every light
- Packing tape, clear tape, and a handful of zip ties
- Scissors
- A trash bag, because the wrappers end up in your trunk
- A folding chair
- A coat, a hat, and a blanket for your lap. Late October in Michigan does not negotiate.
- Extra candy, kept out of sight
- Non-candy treats for kids with allergies
- Hand wipes
- A phone charger
- A flashlight for packing up in the dark
Before you go
Still need costumes for the kids? 20 Eye-Catching Costumes for October has a whole section for fall festivals and trunk or treat.
And if your kid spends the ride home counting candy by twos and threes, that is skip counting, and skip counting is where multiplication starts. If you want to build on it, start here: What is the best app for learning multiplication tables?
