Need to host a trunk party for someone special leaving for college soon and have no idea how to go about it? Read this PartyJoys post for some simple tips on how to go about arranging the perfect college trunk party.
How About This?
Get a light-colored trunk and ask the guests to write a message for the student who’s leaving. That way, every time he looks at the trunk, he’ll be reminded of the good times.
I am pretty sure you’ve heard of theme parties, and beach parties and luau parties and the like, but have you heard of a trunk party? You have? Isn’t it absolutely genius? For those of you who don’t know what it is, a trunk party is hosted in honor of someone who’s about to leave for college for higher education. In spirit, it is almost like a going away party, but in effect, it has an interesting twist attached to it―when people come over for the party, they’re requested to bring college supplies and other utilitarian items as gifts which will be required at college in order to start his/her new life there. And it gets even more interesting … the guests are further asked to place these gifts in a trunk! That’s right. A real trunk is arranged for and all the gifts are placed in it―hence the name ‘trunk party’. The reason this is done is to emulate the old times, when students bound for college used to carry their luggage in trunks (because there were no other fancier means of transporting one’s luggage).
If you think that the idea of throwing a trunk party is pretty swell, you’re in luck, because, in this PartyJoys article, we will give you great ideas on how to throw a college trunk party.
College Trunk Party Ideas
Invitations
The invitations should spell out all the details regarding not only the venue and the time of the party, but also other important details, like if it’s a casual party intended for fun and laughter over dinner and drinks, or it’s a party where the guests are expected to get gifts. Also, make sure to send out the cards at least 3 weeks before the party so that the guests can plan ahead.
The college trunk party invitation ideas provided above are a great mix of the simple, to-the-point wordings, as well as the humorous kind. You can design your cards based on these.
Decorations
The decorations for a trunk party will usually center around the varied designs of a ‘trunk’. You can keep the decor simple by putting up cutouts of a trunk and using them as streamers. Or, for a more dramatic effect, place a sizable trunk in the center of the room, shine a spotlight on it, and as the guests walk in with their gifts, ask them to place them in the trunk. If, on the other hand, you don’t want to overdo it with the trunk design, you can also opt for designing the place in a combination of the college colors to where the student is headed.
Food
There are a couple of ways in which the food theme can be handled. Use a summer theme and bring out the hotdogs and the fries. Or you can go with a pre-college theme and server burgers and chocolate milk―a nice little twist considering that they will have to leave their ‘chocolate milk drinking’ days behind when they go off to college.
Other than the food, you can incorporate the trunk theme into the decoration of the food. Like, using a trunk-shaped icing on the cupcake, or, having trunk-shaped cutouts and placing the dry food in them.
Games and Activities
One of the highlights of the eve is to arrange for plenty of games and activities at the party. Here are some of the games that you can play.
Open the Trunk
This game will be played in pairs. Place two trunks on two separate tables and lock both of them up. Next, spread a lot of keys over the table―one of these keys will open the lock on the trunk. At the blow of the whistle, both participants have to sift through the keys and try to pry the lock open. The person who manages to do that first, wins the game. There can be several variations that can be used in this game, for example, to increase the difficulty level, ask them to use their non-dominant hand, or tie one of their hands behind their back so that they will be forced to do the task with just one hand. All the winners can then be pitched against each other to get a final winner.
Pack it Up
This game is played in pairs as well. Place two trunks on the floor, and place a lot of empty cartons and boxes around it. At the blow of the whistle, both participants have to start filling the trunk with these boxes and ensure that they try to fit in as many boxes as they can, the only condition being that the participant should be able to close and lock the trunk. At the end of 30 seconds, the whistle will be blown again and the contents in both trunks will be counted. The person who has managed to fit in the maximum number of boxes, wins. The final winner can be declared by pitching all the winners from all the rounds against each other.
Filling Up the Book
This activity doubles as a sentimental gift for the student. As the guests walk in, hand them a small slip of paper, and ask them to write a memory about the guest of honor. Once everyone is done, paste all the slips in a scrapbook and give it to the guest of honor. You can even have a session at the end of the eve, after dinner, where the student randomly reads out some excerpts from the scrapbook.
Gifts
There are two kinds of trunk parties―one, where there are gifts involved, and two, where there are no gifts involved, and there’s only a casual get together that has been arranged. In parties where there are gifts involved, many people do not specify the gifts to be brought and the guests will bring in what they think is right. In the other type, people register at different stores and the guests make a choice from among these. If you’re looking to register, you can consider adding some utilitarian items, college supplies, electronic gadgets like tea kettles, iron, alarm clock, and a comfortable bedding and pillow set to the mix.
With all these tips and ideas on throwing a trunk party, you’re not very far from hosting the perfect one, of that we’re sure. So you go right ahead and make it a fabulous party.