These Trunk or Treat Halloween Decoration Ideas Make Your Car the Star

But as exciting as it is for the little ones, trunk-or-treats are usually just as fun (if not more so) for adults. Even if you don’t love dressing yourself up, there’s something incredibly entertaining about bedecking your car with spooky decor or clever themes people will remember for years to come.

The hard part is coming up with the idea, so we’ve decided to make life easier for you by sharing a few spooktacular trunks you can easily copy, perfect for those who are short on time or inspiration.

Why not make the kids work a little for their candy? We love this idea because it combines sports fandom with an interactive game for your trunk-or-treaters. If you’re a big sports fan, odds are pretty good that you’ve got a lot of team swag lying around that you can use to your advantage. The decorations don’t steal the spotlight here, but it’s a trunk that people won’t soon forget.

Read: Trunk or Treat Tips: Take Halloween On The Road This Year

Drive around your neighborhood during the spooky season and there’s a high probability that you’ll see someone’s house covered in fake cobwebs and outlandishly large spiders. Why? Because it’s easy to do — and it’s terrifying. To replicate this idea with your car, all you need are some white latex balloons to blow up for some spider eggs (gross, but effective), some fake cobwebs and whatever inflatable or plastic spiders you can find.

Read: 12 of the Best Halloween Trunk-or-Treat Decorations for the Busy Mom on a Budget

Your interactive game doesn’t have to be sports-related (unless you consider board games to be a sport). Look at how clever and easy this Twister-inspired trunk is! Not only is it incredibly easy to put together, but it adds a fun little “spin” on what treats your little goblins and ghouls get to pick up. We’re stealing this one for the future.

Read: Experience Thrills and Chills on these Halloween Drive-Thru Attractions

All your car really needs for a spooky trunk are some teeth and a pair of menacing eyes to make it look like a ferocious, man-eating beast. You can spice this favorite standby up by adding a few twinkle lights, if you want, but it’s a foolproof idea either way. 

If you recently hosted a birthday party for anyone under the age of 8, you already have everything you need to create a cute trunk the kids will love. This one requires just a few party decorations, a white disposable tablecloth and bam — you’ve got yourself a winner. And the nice thing is that you’ll likely be able to find most of these items at your local dollar store!

While it’s fun to go all-out to display your creativity at your neighborhood trunk-or-treat, your budget might not like it very much if you’re spending oodles of cash on something that will only last for a couple of hours. Instead, why not just work with what you’ve got? Most people already have a decent assortment of Halloween decor at home that can be easily thrown into the back of your car for a quick and creepy setup. 

Take your home zoo on the road! This decoration idea is about as easy as it gets if you want to save money and don’t have any Halloween decor on hand. All you have to do is gather up a bunch of your kids’ stuffed animals, snag that stair gate from the living room and write a sign that says “Don’t Feed the Animals.” Level of Difficulty: 2/10.

If you’re a fan of this popular food chain, it’s an easy one to copy. All you really need are some red balloons, cow costumes/paraphernalia and a hand-painted sign. Bonus points if you have signs encouraging your trunk-or-treaters to “Eat Mor Can-D.”

We love this decked-out Army Jeep idea, which cleverly pays tribute to the Jeep’s roots without being overly complicated. This one might take just a touch more preparation than the other ideas on this list, but it’s guaranteed to be a stand-out at the party. 

Halloween is a deeply nostalgic time for a lot of adults who harbor fond memories of this holiday. So why not do a throwback theme that’s sure to bring a smile to all of your trunk-or-treaters’ faces (especially their parents)? This cute and colorful Care Bear trunk will be hitting everyone in the feels. Other possible ideas include: Cabbage Patch Dolls, My Little Pony, Ty Beanie Babies or Barbie. Or if you want to be truly terrifying: Furbies.

The easiest, peasiest, most stress-free car decoration option for your trunk-or-treat can be found on (where else?) Amazon. Having long since caught on to the trunk-or-treat trend, Amazon has amassed a good collection of read-to-go car costumes that will literally take seconds to put together. It costs a little money, but the time you save will be priceless.

The beauty of a list like this is that it’s endless. There’s no limit to what you can do with a few decorations and a touch of inspiration. It doesn’t have to be fancy or over the top, either! Just bring a sense of fun, a little imagination and delight for the kiddos. That’s what this holiday is all about, anyway.