Do You Boo?

Booing the neighbors is not my original idea. I have no idea who started...but I heard about it last Halloween and it sounded like a fun community activity, especially since I don't really know my neighbors. I know a few things about them that anyone with eyes can see, but who are they? And how will they feel about me starting up a neighborhood Boo? That is yet to be seen. What I can tell you...I had a ton of fun making up the Boos and I can't wait to see if my neighbors get into the spirit. AND...I want to know...do you Boo?

So what is Booing? It is not standing outside and yelling "boo" when your neighbors walk by. From what I've read there are many interpretations and different ways to do it. Just Google "Halloween Boo" and you will find a million different ideas. I'm going to tell you how I will be doing it...you can take it from there. Basically, a Boo is leaving an anonymous treat, a sign, a poem, and instructions for two of your neighbors. In the instructions they are told to pass it on to two more neighbors and hopefully you will see it spread throughout the community. The treat can be a fun Halloween basket of treats and decorations. The poem (I found one I liked online) tells the story of Booing. The sign lets the other neighbors know that that house has been Booed and they should give it to someone else (and also is a fun way to see how many people participate). You can copy the person's poem and sign or if you are crafty, make your own.

It doesn't have to be anything super expensive either. I made my boos from stuff I already had and a few things I got at the Dollar Tree. And if you aren't crafty, don't sweat it! Just grab a $1 bucket at the dollar store or Target, and throw some candy and little toys in there. Viola!

To me, this is kind of like a "Secret Santa." Just a fun way to build up your relationships with your neighbors and have a little fun. Below are some links for other Boo ideas, free printables, and poems. And here is how I made mine....

This one I made for a friend's three daughters. But it would make a great Boo basket too.

Materials:

• $1 Halloween bucket
• Ribbon (also bought from the dollar store)
• Black or orange tissue paper
• Treat bags
• Black and orange crepe paper
• Halloween trinkets (spider rings, pencils, kaleidoscopes, fangs, stickers, straws)
• Candy (I did not put too much candy, because I know my friend eats very healthy
• Halloween caution tape (found at the dollar store)

There are so many Halloween trinkets that are very inexpensive and make great give aways. I've seen small play doughs, bubbles, pencils, erasers, etc. Since my friend has three kids, I wanted each one to have her own bag.I filled the bags with the trinkets and candy and tied them up with crepe paper. I also decorated the bags with stickers. Then I placed black tissue paper at the back of the bucket, and placed the treat bags inside. And last, I tied on two Halloween ribbon bows and threw in some caution tape.

These are my Boos for the neighbors. I made three since I want to get things started. I used all the same materials as I listed above. And I used things I already had...so keep that in mind. I had the crepe paper (streamers), treat bags, and these are just plain old tin cans I decorated. Grab a glue gun and some Mod Podge and you will have everything you need to create!

First, I decorated the tin cans (soup cans). I used Mod Podge to glue crepe paper around the cans, then cut out the "caution" from the caution tape and glue that on the front. I placed some stickers on, and cut the ring off the spider, bat and skull rings and glued them on with hot glue. I placed the treat bags inside then filled them up and tied them with ribbon.

And since I am not a graphic artist....here are some links for boo signs and poems you can print. I am not insecure in sharing other blogs :) You can Google more...there are tons of variations. :)

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/crafts/halloween/boo-youve-been-booed-poem-signs