There are several ways to host an event outside of the home. Hosting a Trunk or Treat vehicle as we did at our church is one of them! These are so fun because you can choose and create your own theme. You can use some of your craft skills. Or buy a kit. You can keep it simple, or go all out! Let’s look at 6 steps to creating an eye catching trunk or treat display.
Make Your Main Feature Your Focal Point
You need a main feature that says what your display is all about. This one picture shows you what the theme is right away. It should be colorful and set up in a way that pops. You can use fabric, plastic or any large item that covers the trunk area like this large poster. Some of the display will be flat and some should be 3D to help bring it to life. If you are a craft geek like me, you’ll have a lot of fun making things with your hands. You can also use printables or purchase premade figures to attach to your background.
Create An Eyecatching Sign
Your sign is the next attention catcher. It should go at the top lift of the trunk. Or at the base of the car. The side of the car is also appropriate. Especially, if you have a whimsical theme like Alice in Wonderland that have signs pointing in a certain direction. Google pictures of the movie, book or event and use it for inspiration. We want to make it feel like you’re walking into the scene of the movie.
Add Complimentary Decor
The complimentary decor are the accessories to your main feature. It will have important, memorable, iconic images or scenes from the movie, book etc… to continue to tell the story of your display. Also decorations that give a 3D look and stay with the color scheme. Balloons, paper lanterns, garland and lights are just to name a few.
Create Entertainment That Draws Attention
You can get the whole family involved in planning the entertainment. My son made this plinko game. And we used Connect 4 chips. We also made a ring toss game with a styrofoam base as well as water bottles that we decorated with decorative paper and paint. You can glue the water bottles to a poster board or a wooden board. And use glow sticks for the rings. The icing on the cake was that we played “It’s A Great Pumkin Charlie Brown” in the DVD player in the car. If you have a portable dvd player, you can set it up in the trunk with the theme from the movie.
Provide Fun Treats
Halloween candy is the typical treat used for trunk or treat. But having a variety makes it more fun! We had candy, rice krispy treats and glow sticks. You can also find variety packs of toys, stickers and bubbles. Put them in a halloween or themed bowl or container. Or a plain bowl and add some cute labels.
Hostess Challenge: When deciding on a theme, choose a fun costume to go with it!
