20 Thrifty Trunk or Treat Decorating Ideas

Check out this AWESOME list of 20 of the BEST simple and thrifty ‘Trunk or Treat’ ideas for your car, truck or SUV! You’re going to love these easy and super fun Halloween ideas to make your trunk the best in the lot, without spending a lot of money or time!

Every year my church does a Trunk or Treat for Halloween, so I am always looking for simple trunk or treat decorating ideas and something that can be put together quickly and effortlessly.

If you haven’t heard about a Trunk or Treat before, it’s usually a church, school, neighborhood or community sponsored event where people gather up and park their cars in a big parking lot. They open up their trunks or truck-beds and decorate them. Then they pass out candy.

It’s a fun way for kids to get a lot of candy in a short amount of time. Plus, it’s a nice, safe family-friendly environment, too.

Here are my favorite Simple Trunk or Treat Ideas

1. Skeleton Theme

Set up a spooky Skeleton Truck or Treat Idea from Curly Crafty Mom complete with lots of skeletons, carved pumpkins and lights! A perfect setting to a fun Halloween night and an easy Trunk or Treat idea for SUV’s! Use Halloween decorations you already have, or get some plastic skeletons at the dollar store, plus take out those Christmas lights earlier this year and use them to light up your trunk!

2. Candy Land Theme

Bring Candy Land from Pinterest to life in your trunk! This works great in a truck because you can fill the whole thing with candy – every kid’s dream! No kid will be able to resist walking up those colorful tiles! It’s colorful, fun, and delicious! Perfect for a Trunk or Treat in the morning or afternoon, with plenty of sunlight to brighten up those colors.

3. Zoo Theme

It’s a true Trunk Zoo from Project Little Mo in this trunk. Perfect for SUV’s and that can use all your animal stuffed animals for a quick and thrifty trunk! You only need a fake gate and some hay to make the scene complete!

4. Unicorn Theme

This larger-than-life Unicorn from Pinterest is the perfect way to magically decorate your car for Trunk or Treat! I mean, who can resist those eyelashes and all of those colors – not me! You can use cheap fabric or tissue paper to make the pompons, and the unicorn hair, then make the eyelashes with black cable ties and fill colorful buckets with candy!

5. Camping Theme

Going camping has never been more fun than on this Camping Trip trunk from Jeannie Marie & Company. Set up a tent, a chair and a cute paper fire with plenty of treats – sounds like my kind of camping! Who knew that Trunk or Treat camping ideas could be so fun? Hide some yellow or orange lights underneath the tissue paper to simulate the fire for a fun-tastic effect at nighttime!

6. Mouth Theme

Have you ever seen a bigger Mouthful of Candy from Pinterest? Such a fun way to display treats in a car or an SUV especially if you want to walk around with your family! All you need is cardboard, paper, and a red plastic sheet or fabric to make this easy mouth trunk!

7. Wizard of Oz Theme

Follow the Yellow Brick Road from Pinterest all the way to the bucket of treats at the end of the rainbow! This would be a fun trunk or treat idea for church or a neighborhood gathering! You only need to create the yellow brick road with yellow paper or plastic, fill a basket with candies and make a paper rainbow next to it. And don’t forget to match it with costumes!

8. Frog Theme

Transform your car into one big Trunk Frog from Pinterest. Complete with the longest red tongue that is perfect for leading kids to the treats in the trunk. All you need is a green plastic tarpaulin sheet (you may already have in your garage) and some cardbard and plastic for the other details like the eyes and tongue. Oh, and don’t forget to print out a giant fly and tape it to the frog’s tongue!

9. I Spy Theme

Make the ultimate trunk with this interactive I Spy game from Pinterest. Use items from all over your house and add them in your trunk. Kids will be hanging around your trunk all night playing this game! What fun ideas for pickup trucks on Halloween!

10. Mummy Theme

What can you make with an old sheet and a little paint? A Mummy from Pinterest is the perfect idea for trunk or treaters! Such a simple trunk or treat idea that everyone will love!

11. Grease Theme

Bring all the nostalgia from the movie Grease from a User on Flickr to your trunk with simple decorations. This would be a fun trunk or treat idea for church, too. Bonus points if you wear a poodle skirt! Go, Grease Lightening! Complete it with cardboard vinyls hanging, and balloons!

12. Black Cat Theme

Transform your car into the biggest Black Cat from a User on Flickr the kids have ever seen! It will prove to be a purr-fect night with the treats in the trunk! It’s a simple trunk or treat idea that will knock the socks off the guests! This will work especially well at night! Use reflective paper or add some lights for an even spookier effect!

13. Pirate Theme

Ahoy, Matey! Pirate Treasure from Pinterest is found in your trunk and this is the one the kids will be clamoring to come to on Halloween night! Lay out your gold treasures – aka candy – for the perfect decoration/treat ever! Use a wooden box (like a fruit box or wine box, if you don’t have a small wooden chest) and fill it with chocolate coins and candies! Add some pirate accessories and decorations like a sword and a treasure map, for an even cooler effect!

14. Spooky Halloween Theme

A Classic Halloween trunk is the perfect way to come to a trunk or treat. With spiderwebs, gravestones and cauldrons, what more do you need for a spooky good time? You can get the fake spiderwebs and spiders at the dollar store or at any store that sells Halloween decorations (you may even already have some!).

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Theme

Bring back the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the best way possible with this simple TMNT decor from Pinterest! This is an easy trunk or treat idea for SUV’s. The only way it could be better is if the theme song is playing. Turtle Power! You only need a couple of fabric scraps in green and orange to create the ninja turtle, and don’t forget to add a couple of paper pizza slices!

16. Jurassic Park Theme

Welcome all of the Jurassic Park fans to a fun world of dinosaurs in the back of your jeep from this cool idea from Pinterest! Complete with an inflatable dinosaur, this trunk will be a hard one to beat! It would also be a great idea for a truck bed! Add some fake plastic plants, spiderwebs, and use up all those plastic dinosaurs you have around the house!

17. Kayak Theme

Kayaks and candy – what a great combination! This is one of those ideas for a pickup truck that will wow the other guests! Easy to set up and so fun to be at as all the trick-or-treaters come by to get their candy! If Kayak is your favorite sport, then you won’t need to buy anything to recreate this fun trunk. Just add some blue fabric for water effect and you’re done!

18. Alice in Wonderland Theme

No Trunk or Treat is complete without an Alice in Wonderland-themed idea for a pickup trunk from Down South Balloons on Instagram! With simple decorations, mostly made out of paper and cardboard, this is a fun idea for your truck bed! Complete it with fake roses, a garland made of cards (plus lots more cards), and a directions sign for an even more magical effect!

19. Aladdin Theme

It’s a whole new world when you have an Aladdin-themed trunk from the Dating Divas that could be great for pickup trucks or for cars. I wonder if you can get a Genie to come out of that lamp though… Use some pillow stuffing to make the clouds, a small carpet (doesn’t have to be magical), and a stuffed tiger to complete your costumes!

20. 80’s THEME

So this is one I came up with several years ago. Yep that’s me in my 80’s thrift store finds! To make this thrifty trunk I went to the dollar store and bought a couple packages of black n white napkins. Then taped them together on the back to make the background. They had a gold foil table cloth that I cut out the letters 80’s Rocks and added that to the background. Then cut out a few colored triangles for added flair. I have a boombox that I blasted some backstreet boys music and displayed my old carebears, an 80’s phone, and anything else I had laying around from the 80’s. Also found light up glasses at dollar store as well and wore them for fun. Guess what..?? I won first prize that night for the best trunk!! Horray!!This is a fun and creative trunk that won’t break the bank.

More Halloween Ideas

• 20 Cheap Kid’s Halloween Costumes for Under $10 – If you’re looking for a cheap kid’s Halloween costume, check out this list!
• Monster Cookies – The spookiest cookies that taste amazing and are a great family project!
• Pumpkin Bowling – A fun family game that everyone can play using Halloween materials!
• Halloween Treasure Hunt – Put together this adventure that will take Halloween to the next level with this super fun treasure hunt.
• DIY Pumpkin Spice Room Spray – Fill your home with the fresh aroma of fall with this homemade pumpkin spice room spray.
• Halloween Decor on a Budget: Spooky Man-Eating Spider – Make a giant Halloween decoration with these easy steps, without breaking the bank!
• Easy Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting – The perfect fall treat with delicious pumpkin flavor that everyone will love.

For more Thrifty Trunk or Treat Ideas check out my Pinterest board full of them! And please tag me on Instagram showing me your trunk – who knows, it may end up on my list next year!!

This blog post was originally posted September 18, 2014, and updated with several new ideas, better images and updated descriptions on October 15, 2020.