Saturday, October 5, 2013

Not-So-Scary Fun with the Neighbors: "You've been BOOed" DIY

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One of my favorite Halloween traditions and a great way to kick off October is "boo-ing" your neighbors.  It's a simple and fun activity that is a perfect excuse to spread some Halloween cheer throughout the neighborhood.  The past couple of days, neighbors have been going all out on their houses.  My personal favorite is a house that has huge spider scaling the exterior walls- it's pretty neat.  Another corner house has created a full on cemetery that goes around the block.  I've never had the experience of passing out candy to trick-or-treaters on base, and unfortunately that's happening again this year as I got scheduled for alert.  However, I love doing things like this to get into the spirit of the season.
So how does it work?

1. Essentially you pick two families or friends to create goodie bags or baskets for and that's your starting place.   The first family I chose has a one-year old and a brand new baby, both girls.  The second family I chose is a young couple who is around Ryan and my age and they don't have pets or children.  Definitely two different dynamics, and a lot of fun to shop for.

2. Choose a container to present your Halloween finds.  At only $1 at Target, pumpkin pails are a great choice to stash your goodies for your neighbors.  You can also find baskets on sale at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  Another great place to check out are thrift stores like Goodwill where you can find quality baskets for only a few dollars.

3. Fill her up!  This isn't meant to be an expensive activity but it's easy to get wrapped up in picking up $2-$3 items.  My rule for myself was to choose items under $2, unless it was a bigger item and then I accounted for that.  For both families I shopped at Target and had a few items that I had from previous shopping trips.  A great place to look for items are dollar sections.  Michael's always has great stuff on sale and so does Target's dollar bins.  What I really like about Target, is that their Halloween section features costumes, decorations, and crafts.  I was able to find items in their dollar bins and Halloween section with affordable prices.

For family #1, I chose two crafting sets ($2/each), a set of stickers (99 cents), a Halloween Skittles container ($1), Creepy Gummy Worms ($1), and had a set of baby girl onesies from a gift I forgot to give awhile back (whoops).  For family #2, I chose a cotton candy cone that glows ($1), chocolates in bone shapes ($1), Halloween shot glasses ($1 from the dollar bins at Target), a ghost cookie cutter ($1), Stickers (99 cents) and Halloween Skittles container ($1).

Definitely think out of the box and try to come up with fun and unique ways to gift items.  If you shop at Bath and Body Works frequently, they usually have a buy three, get three deal and if you pick up extras of Halloween scents, consider throwing in a lotion or body wash.  They also have the 5 for $5 deal on antibacterial hand sanitizers.  You can always add additional candy or create little goodie bags ($1 at Target). 
 
4. Create a "you've been boo'd" sign to post.  I bought two large foam ghosts from Michael's (each $1).  I then took puffy paint and wrote "you've been boo'd" on each one.  These will be taped to the front doors of your neighbors house as you leave their baskets behind.  This signals to everyone else that the family has already been "haunted."

Download available below

5. Be sure to include two copies of instructions.  One set for each family.  After they receive their gifts, they'll pick two families who haven't been "boo"ed yet and make baskets for them.  You can download a set of instructions here.  

Is this a tradition with your family and neighborhood?
What is your favorite part about booing your neighbors?

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