Let’s Boo The Neighbors This October
Boo-ing the neighbors is a good thing to do. I see it as a “pay it forward” type of activity.
Image and Free Printables Courtesy of http://www.sistasfun.blogspot.com
I did this last year and had a great time. At our annual Block Party around Christmas, Boo-ing the neighbors was the buzz. And it can happen around Christmas, too — stay tuned.
My neighborhood is changing with more families moving in. It’s nice to have more children in the neighborhood. I believe it keeps the neighborhood young. And any activities you can do to get the neighbors involved with other neighbors, all the better. It doesn’t matter if you know them or not . . . maybe it would be more fun if you don’t.
Now this next part may be a bit creepy, but bare with me. You need to go out in the neighborhood on a leisurely stroll. You’re going to do a mini stake-out. Just checking out the neighbors that you don’t live around. The idea of boo-ing the neighbors is to go in the dark of night, leave a packet of goodies at the door, ring the doorbell and run like the wind to a safe place where you won’t be detected. I like going out in the early morning, leave the goodies and get home before the neighbor opens their door and finds the goodies.
This spy thing you’re going to do is to find the best time to do your initial delivery — you don’t want your neighbors to find out who left the packet of boo-ing instructions and the goodies. And, you need to see how many people use their front door. Many go through the garage or have a back or side door they use. Also, watch out for those motion detector lights. If your target has those, you need to know when you should deliver your packet while your neighbor is out shopping or picking up the kids or dropping them off at school.
I pick four houses. Two of retired people and two where there are children. I want the retired folks to get involved by receiving something for this Halloween/Harvest season. They may get a kick out of leaving a packet at a neighbor’s door or they will just enjoy the goodies they received. Now families with children are more likely to get involved in the activity.
I drop my four bundles at the four doors and I wait a couple of days to see if the sign “We’ve Been Boo-ed goes up on their door or in a window. If not, I have to select a couple of more houses.
For me, it doesn’t matter if the neighbors get involved or not. I’m having fun giving.
Yet, I do like it when I see those signs popping up that read, “We’ve Been Boo-ed!”
You do have a decision to make. You can either put your “We’ve Been Boo-ed!” sign up or wait to see if you’ve been boo-ed. It doesn’t matter either way. You just don’t necessarily want the neighbors to know who started the whole thing. Not that it really matters, but I think having the neighbors guessing is a good thing. It’s all in fun with good candy for the neighbors to enjoy.
I believe it starts the ball rolling for Halloween . . . even if it isn’t a holiday or activity in which you choose to participate. My neighborhood is very good about honoring the porch light rule — if the porch light is off, don’t knock at the door.
Compliments of BeenBooed.com
I’m curious to see if any neighbors from last year will get the ball rolling this year. Wouldn’t it be delightful to see two or three neighbors getting involved at the beginning? My goal is to have every house in the neighborhood Boo-ed before Halloween.
You can look online and see all kinds of different designs to use for your boo-ing pleasure.
I do like this design on the right. It has both the poem and the sign on one sheet of paper. If you go to the website you’ll find there are three versions for you to print out . . . also you may want to do some boo-ing at work.
Some people don’t like the idea of making 2 goodie packs to distribute when they only received one.
The idea for me is to spread the good cheer for this harvest time of year. No one will know if you participated or not in all honesty. So, if you choose not to participate, that’s perfectly all right. If you choose to give only one, that’s perfectly all right, too.
It’s something you want to do . . . not have to do.
The same is true about participating in the Trick-or-Treats on All Hollow’s Eve.
I enjoy participating within the neighborhood. Most holidays are personal involving just the family. Yet for Christmas we do outdoor decorating for the neighbors to see and to enjoy.
As I said, this is a fun activity I enjoy doing . . . even if I’m the only one doing it. And maybe it’s a good idea not to overdo it. I was looking online and I saw different similar activities for Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
The act of giving or paying it forward comes in all forms and the idea is to give without expecting anything in return. I know I’ve paid for the bill of the car behind me in a drive-thru fast food place on a whim. I know people have done the same in restaurants and at theaters. It is just something nice to do and give some stranger a pleasant surprise.
I don’t think this will change the world, but it couldn’t hurt.
Thanks for stopping by!
Please leave me a commented if you’re so moved to do so.
Sharon
