# Trunk or treat decorating KITS?!?



## autumnghost

Wandered through WalMart's Halloween section while I was shopping today. They have Trunk or Treat decorating KITS. 

You have about 4'x4' of space to decorate and you need a kit? Talk to me when you have 2,000 square feet of yard to deal with.

Just shook my head and laughed.


----------



## jaege

Trunk or Treat? Its just idiotic.


----------



## RoxyBlue

Come now, be charitable - at least they're still celebrating the holiday

And think of this, too - decorating a small space well presents its own set of challenges. The kit is just a jumping off point for folks who participate in this activity and haven't yet tapped into their creative skills, just the way buying store-bought tombstones is for haunters who are just starting out putting together a yard haunt.


----------



## autumnghost

Consider me suitably chastised. {hanging head in shame}


----------



## BioHazardCustoms

I really don't understand the concept behind Trunk or Treat, but that might be because I firmly believe in the tradition of Trick or Treating. If they need a kit to get them started, more power to them. I personally need a kit for more props for this year. Not gonna buy one, I'm just saying...


----------



## RoxyBlue

It's okay, Autumn, I understand where you were coming from, and it was funny

I think the biggest factor driving Trunk or Treat is a desire to have a safe area for kids to do their trick or treating.


----------



## BioHazardCustoms

Then don't take your kids trick or treating in the ghetto. Especially if your teenager is going dressed as a "Gangster Rapper"


----------



## silentskream

BioHazardCustoms said:


> I really don't understand the concept behind Trunk or Treat, but that might be because I firmly believe in the tradition of Trick or Treating. If they need a kit to get them started, more power to them. I personally need a kit for more props for this year. Not gonna buy one, I'm just saying...


Our town's "trunk or treat" is done by the local police department.. the idea being that parents who are uncomfortable encouraging their children to approach a stranger's home and take candy from them will be more comfortable with getting it from the police.

it serves a couple purposes, really.. the households that don't like to open their doors to strangers can still participate, and then children can still participate even when their parents are less willing to let them actually approach houses.

I think it's a little silly, and i hope to always be an authentic halloween household.. but i get it.


----------



## Terrormaster

I get it and understand the reasoning. Doesn't mean I gotta like it though. I'm all for embracing change and challenging traditions. But trunk-or-treat is just silly. 

I think people this day and age are being way to uber paranoid. But I'm not a fan of the way this generation of kids are being coddled and spoiled. Kids don't play outside much anymore. Most kids are lucky to be able to ride their bikes in the driveway much less being able to ride a few blocks away to visit a friend. You gotta schedule playdates with your friend next door instead of just going over, knocking on the door and asking if they can come out and play. Over protective parents sit in their cars not 20' from the bus stop in the morning while their kids wait 10 minutes for the bus to arrive - yet the school is only 5 minutes away. Heck, in most cases I don't even see kids playing in their own yards anymore. And this is in the really GOOD neighborhoods. 

Yes crazy stuff happens even in great neighborhoods. Yes sometimes the pedophile is your neighbor of 25 years who always seemed like a really nice person. But honestly things are no worse today than they were when most of us were growing up. The media and access to news and information 24/7 as it happens has made us paranoid of walking out of our front doors even. Crap happens... And if it's gonna happen it's gonna happen, that's life. If you aren't living it you're wasting space. 

Trunk-or-treat is just an over reaction to this paranoia. Halloween is a perfect time to get to know your neighbors. It's one of the best meet-n-greet holidays there is. And what do we do, go hang out with only people know and feel safe around at a trunk-or-treat. As you can tell, it's a particularly sore spot for me. As a father of two I want my kids to go outside and play and enjoy life as I did when I was a kid... You know, actually being a kid. But society today keeps pushing us into smaller and smaller social groups of only people we know. Pity really... And depressing...


----------



## debbie5

America, The Land of the Scared Parents.


----------



## JohnnyL

When I have them, I'm sending my kids off Trick or Treating at 6 and not allowing them to come home until early morning, after they've had an adventure full of witch fighting, zombie hunting and ghost hunting.


----------



## craigfly06

I went to a church , that did that every year. The trunk or treat thing, they would have a festival then the kids in costume, had to have a costume!, would TOT to the cars. It wasnice because it was a big church and had members from all over, so they got to see the kids in their costume. I dont think it was ment as a replacement for TOT. The people would decorate their cars, some would play games, it was fun. I think it is a good idea to have, an extra, to TOT!!!!! I see what your saying though about kits, could come up with an idea on your own. But it is an idea for those who might not have an idea. ( Gee i should be in politics, flip-flopping around!!


----------



## silentskream

i also think some churches do it to keep the kids away from the witches and devils and "unchurchy" things that they think halloween stands for.


----------



## Warrant2000

I would like the challenge of putting on the most intense trunk in the lot, and with a conveniently built-in 12V power supply.


----------



## EverydayisHalloween311

Ya i for one am totally against trunk or treating. As a home haunter what the hell would i do if nobody came to my house? LOL


----------



## Pumpkin5

:jol:My sister's church does the whole trunk or treat thing, but it is usually on the Saturday before Halloween....I guess for some people, gas price is an issue and if they can take their kids just one stop, somewhere they can get lots of candy, from people they know, they feel safe. It destroys the whole magic and fun of TOT in my opinion though, but I guess I have to agree with Roxy. At least they are still celebrating the season. 
P.S. Guys? I don't know who is being honest here....yes...I decorate my house for the joy in the faces of the trick or treaters...the smiles from the parents....the passerby people's oohs and ahhhs......but mostly??? I do it for me....come on....be honest....


----------



## CreeepyCathy

In a country full of fat kids, we should be encouraging our kids to walk the neighborhood to get their candy. 

Yeah, I said 'fat'. I ain't P.C.


----------



## DemoniaD

I know a couple people that do trunk or treat instead of trick or treat for "safety reasons". These people take their kids to several of them put on by different places. I really don't see how taking your kids to get candy from strangers trunks is more safe than taking them to strangers doors.


----------



## Pumpkin5

CreeepyCathy said:


> In a country full of fat kids, we should be encouraging our kids to walk the neighborhood to get their candy.
> 
> Yeah, I said 'fat'. I ain't P.C.


:jol:...but seriously Cathy.....what do you really think????
(I am sorry...I thought you were LordHomicide for a moment....)


----------



## CreeepyCathy

Pumpkin5 said:


> :jol:...but seriously Cathy.....what do you really think????
> (I am sorry...I thought you were LordHomicide for a moment....)


 Well, if I sugar- coated it, it would just add to the weight problem that our already too- fat kids are having. 

I'd, also, like to add: We make life too easy for most of our kids. Everything is handed to them; they work for _nothing_. Trunk or treat? Puh- Leez... They stroll around a parking lot and get candy? Lazy parents= lazy kids.

(don't get me started... my Excedrin ain't workin' & I'm in a mood. )


----------



## Hauntiholik

What if the excuse of being "safer" by going trunk or treat is actually a way to cover up the fact that the parents are lazy and don't want to walk around the neighborhood with their kids?


----------



## EverydayisHalloween311

CreeepyCathy said:


> Well, if I sugar- coated it, it would just add to the weight problem that our already too- fat kids are having.
> 
> I'd, also, like to add: We make life too easy for most of our kids. Everything is handed to them; they work for _nothing_. Trunk or treat? Puh- Leez... They stroll around a parking lot and get candy? Lazy parents= lazy kids.
> 
> (don't get me started... my Excedrin ain't workin' & I'm in a mood. )





Hauntiholik said:


> What if the excuse of being "safer" by going trunk or treat is actually a way to cover up the fact that the parents are lazy and don't want to walk around the neighborhood with their kids?


Wouldn't doubt that one bit. Same for folks who don't turn their porch light on. Cheapos lol


----------



## RoxyBlue

My guess is, if you ask the kids who are trunk or treating if they're having a good time, they will likely say "yes", and isn't that what ToT in any form is all about?


----------



## CreeepyCathy

I think Trunk Or Treating is more about _greed_. It's a quick, effortless way to score a bunch of candy. Perfect for the lazy person. 

And,... I'd guess they'd say they're having a good time, too. But, I'd bet if most had a choice... they'd rather go door to door, in the dark, and get the real experience.


----------



## remylass

I saw this at Walmart. It just makes me sad. I don't like this trend.


----------



## Terrormaster

DemoniaD said:


> I know a couple people that do trunk or treat instead of trick or treat for "safety reasons". These people take their kids to several of them put on by different places. I really don't see how taking your kids to get candy from strangers trunks is more safe than taking them to strangers doors.


I guess they have it in their heads that somehow members of their congregation can be trusted because they're "God Fearing" church goers. Anyone who pays any attention to the news knows that even those of faith do wicked things. The only real difference between them and all the other psychos is that they get the convenient excuse of saying their deity told them to do it. Not trying to knock any particular religion here and don't want to risk taking the thread in that direction. Just saying that just because one is religious does not make them any less likely to be a bad person than anyone else.


----------



## Otaku

Rant warning -
Trunk-or-treating just seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy. The signs I see in front of churches advertising it all tout it as a "safe" Halloween. So instead of visiting your neighbors and actually talking to them, creating new friendships, (and incidentally, improving the safety of your neighborhood), kids wind up getting their loot in a parking lot from a bunch of like-minded paranoids who are either too scared or too lazy to take their kids out for a real Halloween experience. And I'm sorry, but IMHO there just isn't anything creepy about a decorated car trunk, I don't care how creative or inspired one might be. Probably won't be too long before half the cars at a trunk-or-treat all look the same because they all bought the same damn kit. This might sound like something Dr. Seuss would say, but like Christmas, Halloween doesn't come in a box.
Ok, rant over.


----------



## jdubbya

I feel obligated to weigh in on this, only because I have strong feelings about it. At the outset, I'll say I'm against the idea of Trunk or Treat, for many of the reasons mentioned. In many cases these events are sponsored by religious institutions and billed as a "safe alternative to traditional Trick or Treating". Why do we need an alternative to a tradition like Trick or Treat? I'm in agreement with the poster who said that having kids go to stranger's cars and get candy from their trunks is also a bad message. From my earliest memories I can recall being warned to never approach a strangers car, even if they offer you candy. WTF! The laziness also comes into play. As a kid, we'd walk for blocks on Halloween night. When we were young, my dad would accompany us and he'd walk for blocks too. When we were old enough to go out on our own, we'd go to as many houses as we could, go home and unload, then go out again to different neighborhoods. This was Halloween! Out after dark with your siblings or best friends, being a little scared, getting treats, pulling the occassional prank and scaring someone else, or even scaring yourself! Why must there be an alternative to this! I rail against this and my concern is that if this is a trend, and it clearly seems to be, it will be another step towards losing traditional TOT. If this gains acceptance, and it will if people support or condone it, then how long do we have before TOT ceases to exist?
That said, organizations who sponsor such events on nights other than Halloween, and who do not try to replace TOT with trunk or treat, are a bit more acceptable in my view. The concern there is that parents opt to replace TOT with an organized parking lot event, telling the kids that this is what they are allowed to do and nothing more, hence depriving the kid of the traditional TOT experience. We've all seen it; "Fall Festivals", doing away with Halloween celebrations in schools, Trunk or Treat, "safe alternatives to traditional TOT". It's becoming more prevalent and IMO is a real threat to the traditions we all grew up with. Personally, I'd never support one of these events and think if more people become complacent about this type of thing, one day TOT will be a thing of the past. Seeing what we all do and reading the great numbers we get every year on Halloween is very encouraging, but lets not think that his could someday just be a happy memory. Screw trunk or treat! And Johnny L, you're going to be a great dad!


----------



## BioHazardCustoms

I agree that trunk or treat sends a bad message to kids. I can remember my mother telling me numerous times to NEVER approach a stranger's car, no matter what. Now it's okay to tell your kids to go to a strangers car if they have candy? Sorry, wrong answer. Religious or not, people are not to be trusted.

Like jdubbya, I can remember fondly many Halloweens trick or treating with a group of friends, parents walking along behind us, and as we got older, letting us go out on our own (got my first real kiss while trick or treating) Now that I'm older, I think those times are what inspired me to learn how to haunt. I want that same experience for my son. I want him to be able to look back when he has kids and smile at the memory of trick or treating with fond thoughts in his heart.


----------



## Kaoru

Hopefully Trunk or Treating is just a small trend, but I do agree I don't like the push by some religious groups either. Although around here, ToT's come out in big numbers and I hope it stays that way.


----------



## Terrormaster

Laziness is definitely a huge factor as well. For the last several years I've been seeing decreasingly less people just walking and more people driving block to block with their kids.


----------

