Trunk-or-Treat Bingo Cards (Free Printable Spot-It Game)

The word list

Twenty trunk themes you are likely to see and twenty sights from the lot itself. Every event is different, so swap in the themes your own volunteers signed up for and the card matches the night exactly.

How trunk-or-treat bingo works

A trunk-or-treat is a row of parked cars with their trunks decorated like little stage sets, and children walking from one to the next collecting treats. It is safer than a dark street and over in an hour. Bingo turns the walk into a spotting game, so children look at the decorations instead of only at the candy.

1. Print one card per child, or one per family for the littlest ones. There is no caller; the parking lot calls the game.
2. Clip the card to a lanyard or a treat bucket handle, with a crayon on a string. Hands are full of candy within minutes.
3. At each trunk, children look for a square that matches: the theme of the trunk, or something around it, like bubbles, lights or a dog in costume.
4. Four in a row earns a cheer; a full card earns a bragging walk back to the car. Decide beforehand which one counts.
5. Hosts can hand out a sticker or a glow stick for finished cards at the exit table, which also gives you a head count.

Variations for hosts

• Volunteer version. The person organizing the event knows exactly which trunks are coming. Type those themes into the list and every square is guaranteed to exist.
• Little kid card. Set the grid to 3 by 3 and keep only the sights (balloons, bubbles, lights, a dog), which a three year old can spot from a stroller.
• Decorator contest. Give each driver a card and let them mark the other trunks. The most-marked theme wins the pumpkin trophy.
• Fundraiser table. Print the cards on colored cardstock and offer them with a crayon at the entrance table for a small donation toward the candy.

Tips for parents

Set the end point before you start. A trunk-or-treat row looks short but takes an hour at four-year-old speed, and a finished bingo card is a natural moment to say we are done.

Bring a flashlight or clip a light to the card so squares can be found once the sun drops. Most events start in daylight and end in the dark.

If your child's event is a fall festival rather than Halloween, the squares still work. Hay bales, cider, string lights and themed trunks turn up at harvest nights too.

Parking lot safety

A trunk-or-treat happens in a parking lot, so the rules are about cars. Good events block the lot and ask every driver to park, switch the engine off and stay with the vehicle; if you see cars moving, keep your child on the far side from them. Children walk, never run, between trunks and stay within arm's reach of their adult. Hold hands in the dark, add a glow stick or reflective tape so drivers can see small costumes, and check treats at home before eating. Do not let children climb into any trunk, even a wonderful one.

Printing for a crowd

Large print is on and the free square says Treat, so each card is one page that a child can read in low light. Six cards print by default; set Cards to the number of children you expect, up to thirty. For a big event, print on cardstock so the cards survive an hour of candy and crayons.