Jesus interacted with sinners, and Paul used a statue of an unknown god as an opportunity to share Christ. We can use Halloween as a time to reach out with love and share faith, too.
Whether you participate in trunk or treat at church, decorate your car for your driveway, or adapt the ideas for your door, let Halloween be an opportunity to weave in faith with fun and sweet treats.
Choose a theme, make the display fun and inviting, give out treats related to the theme, and add an activity or handout to share a loving message. Choose candy to reflect the theme and add a printed note or activity to give out. Make sure there's lots of lighting, and add more with solar lights if needed. Here are a dozen ideas to connect with kids and their parents.
Decorate your car with optical illusion printouts. Many can be found on Pinterest. Set up an arrow for the Walk by Faith, not by Sight Walk around the car. Such illusions show your eyes can deceive you.
Children like pop-up surprises, so create balloon pop-up messages with helium balloons and boxes decorated like treasure chests that are easy to open and reclose or buy plastic treasure chests. Decorate each balloon with a picture of God's goodness and a short scripture on the reverse side of a few of the balloons. Add sound effects to make popping noises. Or put the scripture on the box and let the balloon be decorated to match the scripture. Check online how to make paper poppers, print a message on each paper, and have some to show and give you.
Create the throne and rainbow described in Revelation 4. Invite people to experience joy in heaven with a joyful greeting, a red pompom for the softness of God's love, a bag of confetti for blessings God sends us, and listening to the joy of nature of rolling waves in a shell. Fill the air with sweet scents like vanilla or apple cider. Praise each child to nurture inner joy.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Nataliia Kheilo Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Nataliia Kheilo
Decorate the car like a trading post. Prayer swap-drop off your prayer need, pick up a sweet treat, and promise your need will be prayed over. Promises can be slips of paper to pull out or a fishing pole to fish for one. Have a chalkboard or easel to write prayer answers that people share.
Decorate the trunk as a jungle with stuffed animals, stars, and the moon. Have a mirror inside a case for kids to open and see the best of all God created. Use a green sheet or plastic tablecloth for a green canopy and draw the trunks on it.
Decorate with polka dots and make a polka dot maze for kids to follow to the treats. On the big stepping stone, dots have a few simple steps to faith.
Decorate a fall scene with apples for the apple picking. Cut open an apple crosswise for kids to see the star inside. Remind them that there is star quality in everyone because we are made in God's image. A big pile of leaves and a rake can add to the appearance. If it's on soft grass, kids can jump in. Have bubbles to blow to shout praise while sending bubbles to God.
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Fachy Marin
Decorate the trunk with lights like solar lights and use solar lights (or luminaries in bags) to make a path to the trunk. Or use black light shining on neon-colored signs. Add a light-up globe or shine light onto a globe and add a sign with John 3:16.
Hang up a treasure map and mark the spot for giving out candy. Place the candies in a treasure chest or hide them in small chests. Make a large interactive map with doors they can open to find out more about treasures from God. Hang a row of balloon hearts and the words of Matthew 6:21: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Post hearts around the car for kids to open and find treasures of words that share God's blessings for them.
Make mock street signs with danger signs and U-turns to make a path around the car. On the danger signs, add words for some sins that trip kids up (lies, cheating). Look online for directions and make large sliding 2-picture cards or agamographs to show transformations like a caterpillar and butterfly, Jesus on the cross and then rising, or a healed cut.
Decorate the place like a campfire with smores supplies. Make large Smores posters with messages of Smore's reasons for faith. Make a large s'more by wrapping white felt or craft foam around a slice of a paper towel or wrapping paper roll to make a giant marshmallow. Cut a brown and beige piece of craft foam for the cracker and chocolate. Layer them up. Add a hanger and hang them up from the open trunk top.
Create a nativity scene or one of the shepherds and angels. Use Christmas lights. Wear costumes of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and angels, and add a creche with Jesus.
Smile and greet everyone with joy and praise for coming. Understand some kids will grab and go while others will linger to do activities. Be gracious as people leave with joyful thanks for coming and a welcome to visit again or join in on the next event. Rejoice as the community participates and play some joyful music. At the exit, have a welcome sign that announces the next event and church times.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/kajakiki
Top Photo credit: ©Getty Images/evgenyatamanenko
Karen Whiting is a mom, author, international speaker, writing coach, and former television host who loves sharing ideas to strengthen families. She has written Growing a Mother’s Heart: Devotions of Faith, Hope, and Love from Mothers Past, Present, and Future and 52 Weekly Devotions for Family Prayer, which includes a different way to pray each week plus stories and activities to explore questions children ask about prayer. Her newest book, Growing a Joyful Heart co-authored with Pam Farrel, shares stories that show how to have inner joy, more joy in relationships, choose joy in all circumstances, and become a joy-giver. She loves adventure including camel riding, scuba diving, treetop courses, and white water rafting plus time at home crafting and baking.