12 Fun Trunk Party Ideas To Impress Your Guests

Need trunk party ideas for your new college attendee? We at Peerspace got you!

Heading off to college is always a bittersweet occasion for parents. You want your child to fly high and achieve their dreams — but you’re also sad for them to leave the nest and nervous about them living on their own. That’s where a trunk party comes in handy. 

At a trunk party, guests bring gifts to help your child “pack their trunk” for college life. Gifts can include important essentials, like sheets, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food, and fun stuff, like dorm decorations. It’s a fun way to celebrate a new chapter and get a new college attendee off on the right foot. Use these 12 creative trunk party ideas to guide your party planning and create an awesome celebration!

1. Find an awesome spot to host a trunk party on Peerspace

Step 1 of any good party: figure out where you’re hosting. While you could always throw one last house party to see your child off, you can make the party more memorable and special by booking an awesome party venue.

Check out Peerspace if you need help choosing an ideal spot. Think of it like an Airbnb for party venues that connects you to amazing event space rentals in your area. You can book spaces in cities from New York to London – and snag them for affordable hourly rates.

Some venues that could be awesome for a trunk party include: 

• This garden house for creative and social events in Washington, DC (pictured above) with indoor and outdoor space and in-house catering services.
• This classy TriBeCa loft in NYC, NY with incredible A/V equipment, catering and decorating services, and an amazing ambiance.
• The Fitzgerald, a designer home in East Nashville, TN with maximal design and proximity to all the city’s favorite destinations.
• This Columbia City event space in Seattle, WA with a bar, a dance floor, arcade games, A/V equipment, darts, TVs, and an outdoor patio.

This is only the beginning of the stylish, well-equipped venues you can book for your trunk party. To find available venues near you, just tell Peerspace what you’re planning (a party, in this case) and your city. Then, just hit search and browse the results. You can filter your listings by price, number of attendees, and amenities until you find one that ticks all the boxes.

Send your top choices to your soon-to-be-college attendee, and then book your favorite. You can also consult a venue’s host if you have any questions or requests. Peerspace hosts strive to ensure your experience in their spaces is perfect and can assist with various aspects of party planning if needed.

2. Make a gift registry to ensure your kid gets what they need

While the premise behind a trunk party is to “pack a trunk” with college essentials, gifts are totally optional if your child already has everything they need. 

But if you are asking for gifts, an online registry can help guide your guests on what to bring. You can use MyRegistry.com to create a universal wish list of essential college supplies from sites all across the internet. You can include items like non-perishable food from the grocery store, dorm organization items like bins, and maybe a few fun things too. 

3. Customize your invitations to charm your invitees

Once you’ve sorted your date, time, and venue, it’s time to get the word out. This calls for some customized trunk party invitations for your guests. You can use services like Evite to customize and send online party invitations – and you can even include digital RSVPs to track the guest list. See ya, postage fees. 

Beyond the time, date, and address, be sure to include info about the trunk party and include a link to the gift registry – if you’re accepting gifts, that is. 

Combine your trunk party ideas with our garden party ideas for a beautiful outdoor event!

4. Decorate your party space to the nines

While your venue may be fun and stylish by itself, some extra decorations never hurt anyone. Set the tone for your party by decorating with colors or banners from your child’s chosen college. Try to choose decorations that work with your venue’s overall palette to create a welcoming environment for your guests. 

5. Send them off with a home-cooked meal 

When your child is prepping for a semester full of cafeteria lunches and microwaved dinners, a homecooked meal can be an awesome way to send them off. Have one last hoorah with your child’s favorite home-cooked foods, then snack on them while mingling with guests.

And if you don’t feel like dirtying up your own kitchen or want some gourmet equipment to make your job easier, a venue with a kitchen courtesy of Peerspace can help you out. For example, we love the spacious eat-in kitchen at this modern farmhouse in Atlanta, GA!

6. …Or order in one last time 

Of course, if you don’t feel like cooking, you could always treat your child to some tasty dishes from their favorite restaurant. If you booked a Peerspace event venue, you can ask the host to put you in touch with a caterer for your trunk party. It’s one less thing you have to worry about, so you can focus on other party planning aspects. 

7. Gamify the party and play trunk Tetris 

Here’s one of the most fun fun trunk party ideas for competitive types. Grab a suitcase and some oddly-shaped or bulky items, then challenge your guests to pack it all away into the suitcase. It’s like an IRL Tetris game, and it’s a fun way to put your packing skills to the test. 

8. Or grab your keys and play car trunk Tetris

Who says the “trunk” at your trunk party has to be a suitcase? You can play a variation of the trunk Tetris game by challenging your guests to pack a car trunk full of oddly shaped items. Whoever can make everything fit the fastest is the winner. And if you use this as an excuse to gamify packing your car, we won’t judge. 

9. Dorm food cook-off

Do you think your guests can cook a gourmet meal out of ramen, peanut butter, and coffee? Put them to the test by challenging them to a game of Chopped – dorm food edition! 

Put together ingredient baskets filled with common college staples, then give everyone a time limit to create a tasty dish. Let your child taste their favorites and crown the winner. And who knows — they might pick up some cooking tips for campus life. 

Check out our goodbye party ideas for more sweet inspiration!

10. A memorable photo booth 

When everyone is having an awesome time at your trunk party, you’ll want to remember it forever. Try setting up a photo booth where your child and their friends can capture memories of the night. You don’t need anything crazy — even a few balloons and some cardboard props can create a picturesque scene. Plus, the pics will make an awesome starting point for a dorm memory corkboard! 

You can also make it easier on yourselves by booking a Peerspace venue that already comes with a professional photo booth. For instance, you can book this beautiful event space in Independence, MO, and enjoy its open layout, kitchenette, A/V equipment, and optional photo booth add-on!

11. Ramp up the friendly competition with a college trivia challenge

How well does your child really know the college they’re about to attend – or your other guests, for that matter? Find out by hosting a themed college trivia challenge at your trunk party! You can find college-focus questions on sites like IvyWise to test your guest’s knowledge. To up the stakes, try handing out a prize to the winner, like a university hat or T-shirt. 

12. A book of good wishes 

Last but not least, we’ve got one of the sweetest trunk party ideas to crown the essentials in your trunk. 

Pick out an empty journal or a favorite kid’s book, then have your guests write a message of encouragement on each page. When your child starts feeling homesick at college, they can read all the messages from their loved ones and feel supported and encouraged. Don’t forget to save a couple of pages for yourself so you can pour your heart out on the page. If you need a few tissues to get through it, we won’t judge. 

Trunk party ideas: conclusion

With these trunk party ideas and the perfect event space rental from Peerspace, you’re well on your way to throwing your child an event that’s both practical and a total blast. Enjoy!

Find unique party venues on Peerspace