Dear mums, welcome!
Halloween is around the corner, and I know exactly what’s on your mind. You want your children to have a blast, but you also want to keep them safe.
If you have toddlers or young kids, traditional trick-or-treating can feel overwhelming. Dark streets, large crowds, and scary costumes can be a bit too much for little eyes and tender hearts. That’s why I love "Trunk or Treat" events!
A Trunk or Treat event is where families park their cars in a safe spot, like a church or school parking lot. Everyone decorates their car’s trunk and hands out candy and treats to the children right there. It’s a wonderful, enclosed, and safe space where kids can move around easily.
But do you want to know a secret that makes it even better? It’s adding a simple, safe, and fun game to your car’s trunk!
When you set up a little game, it adds a moment of pause to the children's rushing about. Instead of racing from car to car to grab candy, the kids get a chance to play, laugh, and socialise with one another. It creates such lovely, beautiful memories.
Today, I want to share some simple game ideas that I have tried out myself over the past few years. They are perfect for young children because they are safe, easy to set up, and bring so much joy to their faces. And if you want some easy indoor activities to do at the table after playing these games, don't forget to check out our Easy Halloween Toddler Crafts: Cheap Paper Plate Ideas for Busy Moms guide!
- What you need: Get a large piece of sturdy cardboard or a big plastic pumpkin bucket. If you use cardboard, draw a big, happy pumpkin face on it and cut out a giant mouth.
- How to play: Give your little ones a few soft orange bean bags. Let them stand close to the car and try to toss the bean bags right into the pumpkin’s mouth.
- Why it is safe: The bean bags are soft, so nobody gets hurt if a throw goes wild. Plus, you can let the smallest toddlers stand as close as they need to so they never feel like they failed.
- What you need: Take a roll of blue painter's tape or white masking tape. Criss-cross the tape across your open trunk to make it look like a giant spider web. Make sure the sticky side is facing out toward the kids! Buy some cheap, lightweight plastic spiders or fake bugs.
- How to play: Hand a plastic spider to the child. Let them try to gently throw or place the spider onto the web. The goal is to see if they can make the spider stick to the tape.
- Why it is safe: There are no sharp edges or heavy objects. It is just light plastic and gentle tape. It is also wonderful for helping toddlers practice using their little fingers.
- What you need: Gather six empty, clean plastic water bottles. Take a black marker and draw simple, cute ghost eyes and mouths on them. For the bowling ball, use a small, soft foam ball or a little orange pumpkin.
- How to play: Line up the ghost bottles in a triangle right on the ground behind your trunk. Give the child the soft ball and let them roll it down to knock the ghosts over.
- Why it is safe: The plastic bottles are completely empty and very light. The ball is soft foam. Even if a toddler decides to throw the ball instead of rolling it, it won't hurt a soul.
- What you need: Buy two or three cheap plastic witch hats from the dollar store and place them on the floor of your trunk. Then, get some colorful plastic rings or even glowing necklaces shaped into circles.
- How to play: Kids stand a step away and try to toss the rings so they land right over the pointy top of the witch's hat.
- Why it is safe: The rings and hats are light plastic with rounded edges. You can make the target very close so that even a two-year-old can get a ring on the hat and feel super proud of themselves.
- What you need: Get a large, shallow plastic bin. Fill it up with dried orange and black beans, or even shredded green paper. Hide small, non-scary Halloween toys inside, like plastic skeletons, little plastic pumpkins, or rings.
- How to play: Give the child a little plastic shovel or just let them use their hands. Tell them to dig through the bin to find one "monster" toy to keep.
- Why it is safe: It is a calm, seated game. Just a little motherly reminder: if you have very small babies who still put everything in their mouths, make sure the hidden toys are large enough so they cannot be swallowed! Always watch them closely.
- Keep it bright: Parking lots can get dark quickly as the sun goes down. Hang some bright, battery-operated fairy lights around your trunk game so the kids can see exactly what they are doing.
- Praise every single effort: Toddlers do not care about winning or losing; they just want to see you smile. Cheer loudly for every single child, even if they drop the ball or miss the target completely. Every kid gets a treat just for trying!
- Have non-candy prizes too: Sometimes little ones have allergies, or their parents prefer they do not eat too much sugar yet. Keep a little bowl of Halloween stickers, bubbles, or stamps handy. Trust me, the other moms will thank you from the bottom of their hearts!
I am just a fellow mama sharing the fun things that have worked for my own family, so please remember that this post is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Every child is unique and grows at their own pace. As parents, we know our little ones best, so please use your own loving judgment when setting up these games. Always supervise your children closely during play, especially around small toys that could be choking hazards, to ensure everyone stays safe and happy!
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