Halloween
is traditionally a time for kids and even adults who are
young at heart to don costumes and roam their neighborhood to gather
those precious treats and have some spooky fun.
But what happens when you
live in a sparsely populated town or a rural area where
your neighbors are spread out over large distances. Many
parents drive their costume clad children from house to
house, sometimes even organizing Halloween night car
pools to shuttle the children around.
On
the flip side, for people who love handing out treats, but receive few if any trick-or-treaters because
they live in a neighborhood with few children or out in
the country, it can be frustrating.
Trunk-or-Treating, also
known as Halloween Tailgating or Tailgate Trick-or-Treat
is a simple concept and fun alternative. A group of people park their
Halloween decorated vehicles in a central location,
usually the parking lot of a
business, school or other suitable area, at a designated
time, where trick-or-treaters can move from car to car
to show off their costumes and collect treats.
Nothing will replace
house-to-house trick-or-treating, and nothing should,
but this form of mobile trick-or-treating is
quickly growing in popularity where conventional
door-to-door trick-or-treating is difficult, unsafe or not
very practical.
Like
many things, no one really knows or probably will even
know how Trunk-or-Treating got started, but it doesn't
really matter. It simply gives people another option for
celebrating Halloween.
Some of these mobile
trick-or-treating events are loosely organized, with one
neighbor suggesting to their friends and fellow
neighbors, "Let's have a Halloween Tailgate party in the
Quickie Mart parking lot on Halloween night, see you at
seven o'clock and don't forget to decorate your car."
Other Truck-or-Treat
events have a whole
committee, a business or even the town itself organizing them.
In
some communities kids go out for traditional
trick-or-treating in their own neighborhood, then its
off to a Halloween Tailgating party. Double the fun,
double the treats!
Whether its the trunk of
a car that looks like an Autumn Harvest, the backside of
a van decorated as a vampires lair, or a pickup truck
with a mobile pumpkin patch on it, you can decorate your
vehicle with a little imagination. Many organizers have
a Trunk Decorating Contest where prizes are given
out to the best decorated trunk or vehicle.
Trunk-or-Treat
Tips
Number one and most
important is to get permission from the business, school,
etc. to use their parking lot in advance. Make sure
everyone parks out of the flow of their regular
traffic so as not to disrupt their business.
Halloween Tailgating
should only be held in well lit area's.
Let local law
enforcement and the fire department know when and
where you'll be holding the Trunk-or-Treat in advance.
They may get involved, give you some tips and even help out.
Check with your local
city offices and the local newspaper to see if there's going to be a Trunk-or-Treat in your town.
If
not, maybe you should organize one!
Use common sense
safety - Never leave your children alone at one of
these events.
Battery powered
lights and decorations work great, but if you want
to run holiday lights and props that are for AC power,
and draw low current, you can buy a device called an inverter from
your local auto parts store that will convert the DC
power of a car battery into AC power.
Be sure to take
folding chairs to sit on and some refreshments for
yourself.
