My sister invited me to participate in the Trunk or Treat activity at the church where we attend. I’d never heard of it before, but apparently it’s been going on for a while…to the extent that there are costumes to deck out one’s car that can be bought online. Of course. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but this past celebration was bittersweet because I’d donated all my costumes before relocating, so I couldn’t just throw something together for this event.
Plus, in my mind, I’m still in the process of getting settled. It’s more than simply unpacking my things. I’ve passed many a day stuck in rumination, so I hardly gave more than a passing thought about this activity. My sister and I even went shopping for some decorations a few weeks prior to the event, but nothing really clicked since I thought she was simply using my car to run her own Trunk or Treat activity.
As we got closer to the event, I’d brainstormed “Musical Pumpkins,” played like Musical Chairs except instead of walking around chairs as music played, kids would pass small pumpkins around in a circle until the music stopped.
In order to get a better idea of how we’d run our own Trunk or Treat, we visited another such activity at a school the week before.
Ever so popular Mario Brothers
The Haunted Cemetery
Or was it a portable haunted house?
More Mario Brothers
Skeletal Remains
Pumpkin Patch
Candyland
Spiderwebs & Pumpkins
The Nightmare Before Christmas
We didn’t participate in a single game and as far as getting candy. My highbrow self didn’t care for any of that cheap stuff. If I was going to challenge my prediabetic status, it might as well been with the good candy. In the end, I accepted a fun size pack of peanut M & Ms. Peanuts are nutritional. Besides, there were only five or six pieces. Nothing too bad to make my left eye throb…my internal monitor that there’s too much sugar in my blood.
Musical Pumpkin Patch
My sister bit off far too much. I knew that she was in charge of the event, but I hadn’t realized how much she’d signed off to do rather than delegating the work. In addition to decorating my trunk for Musical Pumpkins, she decorated two other trunks; had chopped onions in two different styles for the hamburgers and hot dogs; provided games for other people; had made a game out of styrofoam and a cardboard box; and circulated around the event, which was held in the church parking lot. In other words, I was left alone to run my activity.
Pumpkin Ghost Game
My sister had put a lot of effort into making the Pumpkin Ghost game, but turned out that no one needed it. I took it off her hands. The objective was simple: manipulate the box to place the three balls, which were painted to look like Jack ‘O Lanterns, into the three indentations, which were the ghost’s mouth and eyes. The dexterity needed to place all three balls into the indentations eluded most of the little kids, who wildly jerked the box around. The preteens to teenagers got it although I had to reset the balls in the middle of the styrofoam because they’d get stuck along the edges.
Dad playing Pumpkin Ghost
As hokey as Pumpkin Ghost was, I found that I became too invested while watching the kids manipulate the box. Without thinking, I’d be all up in the box myself before recovering and taking a few steps back. Even parents complimented me for such a simplistic, yet engaging game.
For some of the little kids, I encouraged them to try for at least one ball, so I could reward them with a piece of candy. The older kids walked away with at least two or three pieces of candy.
Nighttime View
I could have easily left long before the sun went down, but darkness brought out the beauty of the lights. I believe next time, Trunk or Treat will be held earlier in the day. If asked to participate, I will order a car decoration and have a matching costume!