Saturday, October 2, 2010

Do You Boo?

We started this tradition in our neighborhood a good five or six years ago. One of my friends told me about it, and I knew we lived in the perfect neighborhood for this to take off. And it has.

If you don't know what "Boo'ing" is, simply put it's like a chain letter version of "Ding Dong Ditch." Only you leave a little Halloween treat for the family on the doorstep before you run off into the night giggling like fools. In turn, the recipient must "Boo" three other neighbors within 48 hours to keep the Boo going until Halloween.

The Ballerinas LOVE the "ding dong ditch" part. We take off on our bikes under the cover of darkness, riding super slowly so our carefully packed baskets don't topple over. The Big Ballerina is the one who usually walks the basket up to the doorstep while the rest of us hide behind a tree to watch. The nervous anticipation of getting caught is half the fun. Choosing what and who to Boo, and then keeping it a secret all month is the other half.  

Getting Boo'ed in return is also a big part of it. You hope that you'll get something good. After a few years of getting less than a stellar stash (and one year nothing at all :(), we finally hit the mother lode last year. We were Boo'ed by our neighbor who is an artist. She knew I'd been drooling over her Halloween driftwood sculptures so when we found THIS on our doorstep, I was doing the Monster Mash. The ballerinas, on the other hand, were a wee bit disappointed that we didn't get a basketful of sugar.

The treat you leave can be whatever you like. We usually try to bake a Halloween goodie (although last year I was lazy and just baked chocolate chip cookies) and add some other fun Halloween decorations. Since we'll be bombarded with candy on the 31st, I try not to add much candy at all. Last year, I started adding a little adult beverage to the basket. A little Firefly vodka and some lemonade.

 This year, I found some fun Magic Hat "Hex" beers that fit the theme perfectly.


We made some pretzel pops. Hard to tell from the photo, but the brown one is a Witch's Finger.  

Threw in a little black crow, a mini pumpkin and some gummy pirate's teeth, and...

We're ready for nightfall. 

Hopefully, we won't get caught. And LB won't blab our secret at the bus stop on Monday morning. If you're interested in starting this in your neighborhood, leave a comment and drop me an email at kimgrowsup@yahoo.com. I'll email you the Boo letter and instructions to get you going.

13 comments:

Nell said...

This is seriously cool man! Awesome idea! x

Gabe said...

what a great idea. . .too bad we don't live in a neighborhood. Maybe we can "boo" ourselves.

Jen said...

We look forward to this every year too. My kids always tell the people that we booed them...they just cant keep secrets!
I love all the goodies you put in yours!
Happy Boo-ing!

Unknown said...

What a fun idea!! Thanks for the great idea!!

Dani said...

We did this at a school I used to teach at and it was such fun.

Maybe I should start it at my current school?

Yes, I think so.

Kelli said...

Hey Kim, this is a great idea - although Halloween isn't really that big in Australia. Thanks for your lovely comment over at my blog. I love your blog!

Melissa said...

that story is BRILLIANT kim!!!!

i need a boo letter!!

my two nieces are arriving from australia just before halloween so that would give me 5 excited kids to rope into the plan!!

melissa xx

{cindy} said...

We do Boo...but I think I like your version a lot better then the big bowl of candy we usually get!! Maybe we need to go first, to get the ball rolling in the "right" direction!:)
Enjoy the day

Anonymous said...

This sounds like such a fun idea! The basket you made looks super cute!

Lisa @ lists in my pocket said...

Can you send me the letter? I love this idea!! Listsinmypocket@gmail.com

knack said...

this is an awesome idea!

xo

My Interior Life said...

Our neighborhood "boos" intermittently, but I don't think I've ever given or gotten anything nearly as cool as your packages. I may have to steal your ideas and up the ante a bit in our hood this year!

1 Funky Woman said...

We did this a couple of years ago and then it stopped. I think I will start it this year, I love the Hex brew!

Come on you are creative get into the spirit, how can I help? I wish we lived closer because I so would love to decorate other people's homes!

I can be commissioned, lol!

Meg