When we moved to Arizona, one of the first years Halloween fell on a Sunday. When we were kids and this occurred it meant that we went Trick or Treating on Saturday night instead. In Arizona; that didn’t seem to be the case. We were not exactly sure how we were going to manage this. Did we let the kids go out on Saturday or Sunday?
Fortunately the church located behind our house helped a little with this dilemma. They had a tradition that they referred to as “Trunk or Treat”. This was something new for me, I had never heard of this before.
Basically the neighborhood around the church would bring their cars over to the church parking lot and pull into parking spots. The parents would then open their trunks and decorate them with Halloween decorations. There would be judges that would come around and decide who had the best-decorated trunk.
The parents would then sit at the back of their cars with bowls of candy and the neighborhood children would go around from car to car trick or treating. I was surprised to find out how popular this tradition was. It always occurred on the Friday or Saturday before Halloween night. On years where Halloween fell on a Saturday it was held on Friday otherwise it occurred on Saturday.
This of course was very popular with the kids. It was an opportunity for them to collect massive amounts of candy in a very small area. Parents loved it because it was a safe haven where their kids could trick or treat without worrying about the neighborhood they were going in.
Trunk or treat became an annual tradition around our house. We always plan on attending and now my parents who live in Idaho try to coincide their annual trip to see us so that they too can be at Trunk or Treat.
The festivities have expanded over the years and now include a chili cook-off and a small carnival for the children. Neighbors regardless of their religious beliefs all attend this event. As for the kids, they love the idea since it allows them to basically double-dip in the candy-collecting department. They can make a haul at Trunk or Treat then turn around and trick or treat on Halloween. What kid wouldn’t love that?
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