It’s that time of year when churches invite their members to fill parking lots with cars covered by DIY costumes and pack their trunks with candy corn and peanut butter cups.
Trunk or Treat is about providing a fun, safe activity for kids and families in your community. If done properly, it can be a great outreach initiative.
So you’ve got the kids, cars, and candy ready to go — but how do you make sure this amounts to more than just a night of fun and nauseating amounts of sugar?
Check out these tips for a successful Trunk or Treat.
Trunk or Treat Considerations
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the event, but make sure you’re prepared with more than just some sweet treats.
- On Trunk or Treat night, take advantage of the fact that hundreds of people from your local community are pouring into your parking lot. Advertise another upcoming event for kids and families so they’ll come back for more fun.
- Make sure you have plenty of volunteers available to not only hand out candy and help with the grunt work of the event, but also to engage with the families and answer any questions from parents.
One of the biggest draws of Trunk or Treat is that it’s typically safer than children roaming neighborhoods in the dark. So make sure you take all the necessary precautions to ensure a secure environment for families.
Social Media Promotions
Hopefully you’ve been promoting your Trunk or Treat event for several weeks now. But even if you’re behind on the marketing, you can still use social media to attract more people—up until the day of your event!
- If your church has an active social media presence, consider creating an event hashtag. You can use it leading up to Trunk or Treat, during the fun, and after the event as you share details and pictures on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- You can also create buzz by inviting people to a public event on Facebook. It’s not so much about predicting attendance as it is about creating awareness. It will give you an idea of whether to expect a decent attendance.
- Before posting pictures online, make sure you have consent from parents — and watch out for license plates. Your social media activity could backfire if you don’t respect people’s privacy.
Follow-ups
Don’t miss an opportunity to learn more about the people from your local community so you can follow up with them later.
- Ask parents and guardians to fill out visitor connection cards or enter their information on a check-in kiosk. Keep it short, though. You’re providing a free event to the community, so don’t make people feel like there are strings attached to your friendly gesture.
- Consider allowing those cards to serve as an entry form to win a drawing – for something that is worth sharing their contact information.
- Be straightforward. People will be more likely to give you their information if you tell them what you’re going to do with it. Will you send them a letter or add them to your weekly newsletter?
- Use that valuable information within the next few days after your event — while the fun is still fresh in their minds. Get them entered into your database and into a workflow so they receive an automated email or letter. Have a member of your follow-up team call them. Invite them to the next family-friendly event at your church. Use Trunk or Treat as just the first step in making families familiar with your church.
Next Steps
Seasonal events such as Trunk or Treats can benefit from using an event management tool, such as the one available in Elexio Community Church Management Software. Use event management to organize activities, get accurate headcounts, plan who is bringing what, and communicate with attendees in real-time. Sign up for a Free Trial to learn how Elexio can simplify your church management.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.