25 DIY Trunk or Treat Ideas for Halloween 2023

There's no place like gnome (sorry, we just couldn't resist), especially for Trunk or Treat. Believe it or not, this garden, including the man-eating plants, was mostly DIY'ed with foam and other craft staples.

1

Garden Gnomes

couple dressed as gnomes with man with a red triangular hat and long white beard and woman in red dress with short blue triangular cap in front of vehicle with giant faux red flowers around it, a white gate in front of it, which is beneath a garden arch with faux greenery and flowersFrog Prince Paperie

There's no place like gnome (sorry, we just couldn't resist), especially for Trunk or Treat. Believe it or not, this garden, including the man-eating plants, was mostly DIY'ed with foam and other craft staples.

See more at Frog Prince Paperie.

SHOP EVA FOAM

2

Carnival

open tailgate with step right up carnival look banner and red and white striped canopy over top in front of it under the canopy are three red and white striped classic popcorn boxes with popcorn, a prop cauldron with candy, a red skull inside a black bird cage and inside the vehicle are pumpkins and prop bonesMichelle's Party Plan-It

Merge big top fun with Halloween for a "carnevil" that won't be too frightening for little kids or too intense for the church Trunk or Treat. Classic retro-look popcorn boxes add the finishing touch.

See more at Michelle's Party Plan-It.

SHOP POPCORN BOXES

3

Football Tailgate

woody station wagon with tailgate open with blue and gold pennants hanging from the top, a football, a little cooler, yellow flowers a blue and yellow checked tablecloth and more are on the tailgate and there is a michigan director's chair and a picnic table that's blue and yellow in front of itBrian Woodcock

For this year's event, how about combining autumn's best offerings (football and Halloween, natch) into a festive tribute to everyone's favorite game? After all, if you're a die-hard fan, chances are you already have all the merch from your favorite team needed to dress your display brilliantly.

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4

Alice in Wonderland

little girl dressesdas alice in wonderland in a blue pinafore dress with black and white striped leggings and older girl dressed as the mad hatter in a purple and pink dress with green leggings standing beside a table in front of an open tailgate with oversized playing cards on the front, a black and white checked tablecloth and over the top of the vehicle are large paper flowers and cut outs of a pocket watch, top hat and tea cup with hearts on itA Lovely Design5

Egyptian Tomb

trunk or treat tailgate open to reveal stand up gold pyramids, sign that looks like carved hieroglyphics in stone that reads trunk or treat and in front of it is a mummy head with bugs spilling out of it surrounded by prop pieces of egyptian anubis dogs, gold scorpions and an egyptian style cat mask and platers of candyFern and Maple

Perfect props, like the nifty Anubis dog statues, are the key to realizing a petrifying pharaoh's tomb. We also love the menacing mummy mask accessorized with bugs spray-painted gold—and lots of gauze bandages, of course.

See more at Fern and Maple.

SHOP ANUBIS DOG STATUE

6

Harry Potter

little girl dressed in harry potter black robe pointing a wand in front of a suv with the tailgate open revealing hogwarts themed items like hanging keys a white owl pumpkins, a curtain printed with a stone wall pattern as a backdrop and moreTikkido

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7

No Tricks Just Treats

open tailgate decorated with colorful balloons, a sign reading no tricks just treats multi colored pumpkins and a white cloth hanging off the end covered in a faux spiderweb and candy corn lights there is a white cart next to the vehicle with cotton candy on stands a treat yo'self sign and a donut treeJen T by Design

Here's another project sure to appeal to the littles. Brightly hued balloons, a colorful sign, yummy cotton candy on stands and a donut tree (we want!) all give a vibe more sweet than scary.

See more at Jen T by Design.

SHOP BALLOONS

8

Beetlejuice

woman dress as beetlejuice in green wig and vertical black and white striped suit jacket and leggings holding plate of candy with black and white curtains in front of open tailgate of vehicle with betelgeuse sign with arrow and faux headstonesTikkido

Beetlejuice just never goes out of style for Halloween—especially with the sequel set to debut next year. This blogger DIY'ed just about everything needed to recreate the character's iconic gravesite, including the light-up sign.

See more at Tikkido.

SHOP GLOBE STRING LIGHTS

9

Peanuts Great Pumpkin

back end of a vehicle open with lucy and linus and other peanuts halloween cut outs sitting in it and around it with hay bales and mums and a pumpkinIntelligent Domestications

What could be better than a visit from the Great Pumpkin on Halloween? Trunk or treating with the Peanuts crew, of course! Thanks to a few store-purchased cardboard cutouts, you don't have to be handy to make happen.

See more at Intelligent Domestications.

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10

Haunted Ghost Town

haunted ghost town trunk or treat with jail cut out with barred window with a skeleton in it sitting beside the open tail gate there are hay bales, a black pumpkin and lantern on top of the bales, a wood crate below with a cow skull and in the tailgate is a full sized skeleton in a cowboy hat and lots of candy, to the other side of the vehicle are two stand up tombstones and a skeletonMichelle's Party Plan-It

Give your haunted Trunk or Treat Old West flair this Halloween by outfitting prop skeletons with cowboy hats and neckerchiefs. Then, simply drop in a few hay bakes, lanterns, and whatever other rustic items (a steer skull! a wagon wheel!) you have on hand or can find.

See more at Michelle's Party Plan-It.

SHOP SKELETONS

11

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

narnia trunk or treat with fur coats hanging in back of van, cut outs of snowflakes hanging from tailgate, cut out of a lion beside the van, on the other side is a faux christmas tree and a lamppost and there is a teen girl dressed as the white witch in a white fur trimmed cape and blue tulle skirt and a little girl dressed as the fawn in fur pants and a long scarfTikkido

It's easier than you might think to whisk all away to the enchanted land of Narnia. Here, thrifted furs represent the wardrobe, while faux snowflakes and Christmas trees recall the wintry forest. And Aslan even makes an appearance, thanks to a life-size cardboard cutout.

See more at Tikkido.

SHOP LION CUTOUTS

12

Super Mario Bros.

girl dressed as mario in sper mario brothers with mustache blue overalls and red hat and other girl dressed as princess peach in a pink and red dress with a crown they are standing behind props of two yellow boxes with question mark symbols on them, two black balls with teeth and eyes and cartoonish green piranha plants with red and white dotted heads and big mouths with teethFrog Prince Paperie

With the new Super Mario Bros. movie a worldwide smash, this Halloween is the perfect time for a Trunk or Treat designed around the iconic video game. Follow the handy tutorials from Frog Prince Paperie and you'll be able to DIY Piranha Plants, Chompers, Question Mark Boxes and more in a snap.

See more at Frog Prince Paperie.

SHOP BEACH BALLS

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13

Day of the Dead

open tailgate of vehicle revealing colorful day of dead themed trunk or treat with sugar skull banner, stand up sugar skulls, paper flowers and a stand up gravestone with dia de los muertos written on it with sugar skullLynlee's

Colorful sugar skulls are everywhere and on everything these days, which makes crafting a Trunk or Treat with a Día de los Muertos theme easy peasy lemon squeezy. If you're feeling especially artistic, you can buy plain ceramic skulls and paint your own designs on them.

See more at Lynlee's.

SHOP SUGAR SKULL BANNERS

14

Bat Cavern

little girl in black bat costume with wings hanging between arms and waist and bat fangs and big silly eyes on shirt standing in front of trunk or treat with vehicle gate open to reveal cave backdrop with paper bats hanging in front of it and table with bat tablecloth with bat themed treats on itTikkido

Why not go a bit batty this year with a motif dedicated to Dracula's flying friends? Less fearsome than fun, this delightfully decked-out vehicle even features a backdrop of stalactites and stalagmites on which perch bat-shaped cookies.

See more at Tikkido.

SHOP BLACK RIBBON

15

The Shining

open tailgate revealing large square of paper with the orange and black wallpaper pattern from the shining on it in front of a drawing of a door with redrum in red written on it and hanging around the open tailgate are papers with all work and no play makes jack a dull boy typed on itShop Shannon Sweeney

The only way this project could be better is if there were creepy twin girls in blue dresses lurking in front of it. ("Come and play with us, Danny...forever...and ever...and ever..." *shiver*)

See more at Shop Shannon Sweeney.

SHOP PAPER

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16

Woodland Wonderland

back of a retro van decorated as a woodland house with paper cut out and lantern mushrooms there is a cardboard house with a blue door reading woodland house in the back of the vehicleEyeWolf//Getty Images

If you can't quite get enough of cottagecore, this is the Trunk or Treat for you. Craft a woodland bungalow out of cardboard, decorate with mushrooms and other symbols of the forest, and you'll be feeling like you just stepped out of a fairy tale.

SHOP PAPER MUSHROOM LANTERNS

17

Bug Bistro

open tailgate revealing a black sign with white lettering reading bug bistro and bar special today spicy scorpion soup, around the sign are black framed gold bugs including a tarantula and scorpion and jars of bug shaped candyFern and Maple

Scorpion soup anyone? Gold bugs ingeniously displayed on velvet jewelry trays and in ornate frames and a letterboard advertising the day's "special" are the highlights of this creepy-crawly café.

See more at Fern and Maple.

SHOP LETTER BOARDS

18

Bad Unicorns

vehicle tailgate open with wicked in gold letters spelled out on a banner across opening, unicorn heads made out of green paper lanterns a green cartoon unicorn standup sitting in front of the tailgate and sitting on the tailgate are black plastic cauldrons labeled clever trick sweet trick and rotten trickFrog Prince Paperie

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19

Skeleton Pirates

open tailgate of vehicle with a skeleton it, a skull, a treasure chest, a skull, prop bottles of rum and a pirate flag with skull and sword crossbones hanging over the back in front of the vehicle is another sitting skeleton, bones and skullsDIY Inspired

Stuff a treasure chest full of candy coins, Mardi Gras beads and other fun giveaways, outfit a couple of skeletons in pirate garb and faster than you can say "Ahoy, matey!!" you've got a vehicle dedicated to ghostly high seas hijinks.

See more at DIY Inspired.

SHOP TREASURE CHESTS

20

Wizard of Oz

little girls dressed as dorothy in blue and white checkered pinafore dress and red shoes next to younger girl with wand and silver witch hat and baby dressed in lion onesey being held into the frame in front of truck with yellow painted brick road, rainbow pillow and painted emerald city in back and spilling out of tailgateKlos + CoHeadshot of Jill Gleeson

Jill Gleeson is a travel journalist and memoirist based in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania who has written for websites and publications including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Country Living, Washingtonian, Gothamist, Canadian Traveller, and EDGE Media Network. Jill is the travel editor for Enchanted Living. Learn more about her journey at gleesonreboots.com.

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