Halloween 'trunk-or-treat' events become growing trend as safety becomes top priority

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"Trunk-or-treat," the act of trick-or-treating from car trunks, has become a growing Halloween trend among parents and children.

Schools, churches and neighborhood organizations have been putting together "Trunk-o-ween" events in recent years throughout U.S. parking lots, and parents say they think these formal trunk-or-treat events are safer than going door to door.

Wes Wright of Detroit, founder and CEO of CookOut News, a Michigan-based outdoor cooking news site, took his two young children trunk-or-treating on Friday, Oct. 28.

"My wife and I are really cautious about safety, so we only go to the trunk-or-treat at our kids' school," Wright told Fox News Digital.

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"It's a safe event because it's run by the school with the [parent-teacher organization], and the parents buy all the candy for the school ahead of time," Wright said. "We don't take them to other trunk-or-treats though because it's not at a familiar place to them and also because we think it would take away from Halloween to have too many trick-or-treating events."

Parents and children are participating in trunk-or-treat events, which involves collecting candy from decorated car trunks instead of houses. (iStock)

Wright said that he finds the trunk-or-treat format helpful because he and his wife can teach their children that they can get candy from teachers, faculty and other people they know instead of strangers.

"For our peace of mind, we know the candy is extra safe because we bought it," Wright said.

Trunk-or-treat events have been hosted by schools and communities nationwide.

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The Austin Police Department hosted its third-annual trunk-or-treat event on Saturday, according to FOX 7 Austin.

FOX Bangor reports the that Holy Family Church in Old Town, Maine, hosted a trunk-or-treat in the last week. As did Cape Coral City Hall in Southwest Florida, according to FOX 4 News.

Wisconsin-based schools in the Superior School District have also been hosting trunk-or-treat events, according to FOX 21 Local News.

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The Halloween & Costume Association, a New Jersey-based trade organization focused on promoting the celebration of Halloween nationwide, says trunk-or-treating has become so popular that manufacturers have made special trunk decoration kits.

"Trunk or Treat décor is also trending this year," the association wrote in a Halloween trend report.

"Many have turned to all-in-one kits that provide quick and easy ways to create a unique experience for Trunk or Treaters," the report continued. "Many kits have appeared on the market this year, some of which as low as $9.99 making it an inexpensive trend to get in on."

Trunk-or-treat decoration examples have become seasonally trendy searches on visual-focused social media platforms, including Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram.

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Baruch Labunski, CEO at Rank Secure, a Toronto-based digital analytics and search engine optimization firm, told Fox News Digital that trunk-or-treating began about 20 years ago and was started by local churches and civic groups.

Trunk-or-treat candy distributors decorate their car trunks for Halloween trick-or-treaters. (iStock)

Trunk-or-treat events are usually "smaller and more contained than trick-or-treating neighborhoods or business districts," which has allowed parents to watch their kids while they collect treats from vehicle owners.

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"[Trunk-or-treating] has also become a popular event among car enthusiasts as it can be combined with a cruise-in or car show and done any time before Halloween as well as on it," Labunski said.