Dressing up in costumes, knocking on doors and saying, "Trick or treat!" has long been a custom every October 31. But there are alternatives to traditional door-to-door trick-or-treat and one of the most popular trends is the trick-or-treat tailgate party.
A trick-or-treat tailgate rounds up family cars in a parking lot, where little ghosts and goblins go from one trunk to the next, gathering up treats. The adults passing out candy can dress up, too, as well as decorate their cars for the occasion.
Why a Trick-or-Treat Tailgate Party?
For little ones, containing trick-or-treat to a parking lot and walking from car to car is less strenuous than covering houses in a neighborhood.
In rural areas or neighborhoods where houses are far apart and driveways are long, trick-or-treating can be a trek, hardly worth showing off your costume and getting a fun-sized candy bar. Parents often drive the kids from house to house.
Neighborhood trick-or-treating brings up the possibility of going to houses you don’t know, making Halloween a safety issue.
Having a trick-or-treat tailgate party builds a temporary neighborhood just for this one night of fun. It offers a safe, practical and convenient alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating.
Organizing a Trick-or-Treat Tailgate Party
Early planning is a good idea, especially for first-time trick-or-treat tailgaters.
Invitations - It’s important for the trick-or-treat tailgate organizer to invite participants early – at least a month before Halloween. Don’t exclude people who don’t have young children – some older people love handing out treats and seeing the kids’ costumes. Extending invitations to a wide range of people and may just bring out some unexpected participants.
Some trick-or-treat tailgates are organized for church groups, teams or clubs, while others are more loosely based neighborhood groups. If a group has fewer than 12 families, it might be wise to include more participants. The more the merrier, in this case.
Written invitations are a good idea, so all invitees are clear on time, date, place, what to bring, how many kids will be getting treats, and how to decorate their cars.
Setting the location – Some good locations for a trick-or-treat tailgate are a large cul-de-sac, a church parking lot, a school parking lot, or park. When choosing a commercial or privately owned parking lot, it’s important to get permission from the owner. A trick-or-treat tailgate shouldn’t be held when there are cars at a lot for any other purpose.
Setting the time – If a tailgate party is in lieu of organized trick-or-treat, it’s a good idea to set it for the same time and date, so kids don’t feel they’re missing out on anything. It’s okay to set the party for after dark, as long as the parking lot is well lit and in a safe area.
Halloween Decorations Are For Cars, Too
Decorating the back of a car or van is easier and in many ways more fun than decorating a house for Halloween. The back of a van or hatch-back car can be decorated to look like the inside of a hearse, and the back of a pick-up truck can be filled with straw bales and pumpkins. Any vehicle can be decorated with spider webs, plastic skeletons and other Halloween decorations.
Halloween Tailgate Bonus Fun
Here’s the bonus with this type of trick-or-treating. You’ve already got friends and neighbors gathered together in one place – you’re set up for a Halloween party where the kids can eat some of their candy and play some games, and the adults can socialize.
Party organizers may want to ask the local police department, fire department or local businesses if they want to participate by bringing a fire truck or company van to the festivities.
Whether it's an alternative or in addition to organized trick-or-treating, a tailgate party is fun for the kids and adults.
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