Hocus Pocus Trunk or Treat

This project gives you ideas for making a spooky, yet easy, Hocus Pocus-themed car display. The designer used a mix of decorations they made and things they bought from a store, including a “Come Little Children” sign.

Designer: Charynn Olsheski of Pineapple Paper Co.
Materials Used:

• Light-Up LED Ghost Tree (You can find a similar Light Up Halloween Tree on Amazon)
• Black metal lanterns
• Dripping Halloween candles
• Chalkboard sign
• Spooky cloth material
• Cardboard tombstones

Format: Handmade

Vibrant Day of the Dead Trunk or Treat

This fun setup uses bright, lively colors for a Day of the Dead theme that kids won’t find scary. Most of the decorations were reused from a party and were made from cheap items from the dollar store.

Designer: Arianny and & Danny of Craft & Sparkle
Materials Used:

• Large, medium, and small flat skeleton heads
• Candles
• Black garland
• Teal pumpkins
• Large and small pom poms
• Pink and teal tablecloths
• Rustic brand wreaths (spray-painted black)
• Colorful cut out banners
• 3D skeleton heads
• Black and pink flowers
• A life-size paper skeleton
• Cardstock
• Masks & scarves for costumes
• Black foam boards
• Skeleton hands (which come in sets of 2)
• Packs of glow stick necklaces

Format: Handmade

Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Trunk or Treat Décor

This design is based on the famous movie, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, for a soft, friendly Halloween scene. The author recommends reusing party backdrops and adding live pumpkins and hay bales for a great photo spot.

Designer: Shirley of Intelligent Domestications
Materials Used:

• A Peanuts Great Pumpkin Cardboard Stand-Up
• A few hay bales
• A few pumpkins in various sizes (live or fake)
• Fall flowers such as Mums
• A Charlie Brown backdrop for the car trunk
• A large candy bowl
• Lots of candy to give away
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade

Trunk or Treat Candy Cottage

This idea turns a car trunk into a candy cottage inspired by Hansel and Gretel using a large stove box. It was built for a church event to be fun, colorful, and inexpensive, with a door for kids to walk through.

Designer: Shirley of Intelligent Domestications
Materials Used:

• A big box (specifically, a stove box)
• Brown wrapping paper
• A sharp cutting tool
• Lots of scotch and shipping tape
• Elmer’s glue
• A package of ball pit balls
• Colored wrapping paper (like red and white stripes)
• Construction paper in various colors
• A couple of Dollar Store candy canes
• Cardboard pieces
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade

Epic Ghostbusters Costume and Trunk

This amazing setup looks like a Mobile Ghost Containment Unit, featuring black sheets, lights, a fog machine, and a custom sign. The designer also describes how the other Ghostbusters props were created. The whole project took four months to build and won a contest.

Designer: hickflix via Instructables
Materials Used:

• Black sheets
• Cheesecloth
• Plastic centipede toys
• Black light
• Fog machine
• Science fair board
• Diaper wipe box
• PVC pipe
• Paint
• Haz stickers
• Cardboard box
• Black paint
• Plexiglass
• Frosted glass spray paint
• Aluminum foil
• Two fluorescent light sticks
• Foam board
• Alice frame
• Zip ties
• Styrofoam
• Tortilla warmer
• Various odds and ends (such as tupperware)
• Black spray paint
• A light kit
• An LED belt buckle
• Speakers
• A 1st gen iPod Shuffle
• A metal water bottle
• Fish tank tubes
• Styrofoam
• PVC pipe
• Jumpsuit
• Alice frame
• Patch
• Felt
• Puffy paint

Format: Handmade

Mad Science Lab Trunk-or-Treat Ideas

This theme uses apothecary jars filled with weird items like spiders, bones, and ping pong eyeballs to turn your trunk into a spooky laboratory. You can use overflowing potion buckets for candy and test tubes filled with jelly beans.

Designer: Paula of Frog Prince Paperie
Materials Used:

• Black plastic table cloths
• Apothecary jars
• Creepy Halloween items (spiders, bones, ping pong eyeballs)
• Blinky plastic rings
• Lights
• Color-changing lanterns
• Potion buckets
• Test tubes
• Steampunk goggles
• Lab coat
• Plastic beakers
• Black gloves
• Goggles
• Rat prop

Format: Handmade

Mad Hatter Tea Party Style – Trunk Or Treat!

This project is based on the Mad Hatter Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland, featuring whimsical tissue puffs and giant tea party cutouts. The designer chose this theme because her daughter wanted to dress up as Alice for Halloween.

Designer: Misha of A Lovely Design
Materials Used:

• Tissue poms
• Tissue fans
• Tea party cut-outs
• Plates
• Napkins
• Centerpiece
• Table runner
• Huge playing cards
• Alice Costume
• Mad Hatter costume
• Red card stock circles
• Hand drawn urns
• White tablecloth
• Checkered table runner
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade

Bat Cavern Trunk-or-Treat

A minivan is turned into a dark “Bat Cavern” using foam insulation to make hanging stalactites and stalagmites. The event also included themed food and drinks like “cave crystals” and “Fruit Bat Skewers.”

Designer: Nikki Wills of Tikkido
Materials Used:

• Foam insulation for stalactites and stalagmites
• Toothpicks
• Royal icing
• Bucket of trick-or-treating candy
• Felt
• Googly eyes
• Ribbon-winged bat treat bags
• Sugar cookies
• Giant marshmallows
• Green pumpkin bucket
• Silver samovar
• Homemade no sew bat cozies for styrofoam cups
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade

Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween Trunk or Treat

This design blends spooky Halloween and snowy Christmas elements inspired by the movie. The author shows how they made decorations themselves, like a Jack Skellington pumpkin and Zero’s house.

Designer: Lynlee of Lynlee’s

Materials Used:

• Fondant toppers
• A white foam pumpkin (originally orange, spray-painted white)
• Black craft paper
• A Santa hat
• Wrapped gifts with personalized tags
• Potion bottles with labels
• A cookie jar resembling witchcraft books
• Measuring cups in the form of a poison bottle
• A black tulle tablecloth
• A Jack Skellington pumpkin craft (made from a foam pumpkin, paint, craft paper, and a Santa hat)
• Zero’s house (made from a foam tombstone and a banner on a garland)

Format: Handmade

Beetlejuice Trunk or Treat

This setup recreates the famous gravesite from the movie, using black and white striped tablecloths as a backdrop. A homemade headstone built from foam core and plastic decorations completes the fun theme.

Designer: Nikki Wills of Tikkido
Materials Used:

• Plastic tablecloths
• Black foam core
• Plastic halloween decorations
• Flashing LED globe lights
• Wrapped hard candies and round chocolates
• Paper plates
• Felt Upholstery foam
• Large googly eyes
• Blazer and leggings for costume

Format: Handmade

Mario Brothers Trunk or Treat Ideas

This Super Mario Brothers theme uses big, creative props made from cheap items like cardboard boxes and dollar store finds. The design includes famous game elements like “Boo” ghosts, Chomper plants, and Question Mark boxes for treats.

Designer: Paula Biggs of Frog Prince Paperie
Materials Used:

• Cardboard boxes
• White paper lantern
• Fishing line
• Suction cups with hooks
• Beach balls
• Black spray paint
• White and black vinyl
• Plastic chain lengths
• Yellow craft paper
• Glue stick
• Black foam core
• 4-foot rod
• Hula hoop
• Green craft paper
• PVC pipe
• Bucket of concrete
• Tissue poof
• 6-inch piece of cord
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Science fair boards
• Duct tape
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade

Halloween Trunk or Treat: Shark Style

This tutorial shows you how to turn your car trunk into a menacing great white shark using foam core boards and paint. The final decoration looks like the shark’s mouth is wide open and filled with candy for kids.

Designer: Pop Fizz of HGTV
Materials Used:

• White foam core poster boards
• Light blue foam core poster boards
• Blue foam core poster boards
• Dark blue foam core poster boards
• 6 ft dowel rods
• Plastic plate
• Gray and red acrylic paint
• Paint roller/brush
• Painter’s tape
• Permanent marker
• Hot glue gun
• Utility knife
• Red bed sheet
• Large cutting mat
• Luau decor
• Candy buckets
• Preferred candy
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade

Easy Trunk Or Treat Monster Tutorial

This tutorial shows a mom’s guide to making a fun and low-budget car monster decoration. The article is written to help “real people” plan holidays easily, with simple, step-by-step instructions and pictures.

Designer: Tia Fowles of Events to Celebrate
Materials Used:

• Black garbage bags
• A white poster board
• Scissors
• Painter’s tape
• 2 feather boas
• 2 sheets large colorful paper
• Balloons
• 2 giant googly eyes
• Foam board (for horns)
• Craft paint (for horns)
• Sewing thread (for balloons)
• Format: Handmade

Format: Handmade