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Celebrating Halloween Traditions: Boo
Published 10.11.2007 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)
A couple of years ago I picked up my friend's daughter for preschool and noticed a ghost picture in her door. I asked, "What's that for?" She said, knowing how much I hated my own neighborhood and how much I wanted to live in hers, "I'm afraid to tell you, I think it'll upset you."
So I knew it was some sort of 'Fun Neighborhood' tradition but, at that point three years away from achieving my goal of living in a family oriented neighborhood, I didn't want to know about it.
Then Monday night, now that we've been in our wonderful new neighborhood for two months, I came home to find two packages on my porch. Enclosed were some treats for the kids, a printed picture of a ghost and a little poem explaining we'd been 'Boo'd'.
When you're 'Boo'd' you hang your ghost picture in your window to let everyone know you've already been treated. In order to keep the game going, you choose two neighbors to send a couple treats to with a copy of the poem and their own ghost image to hang in their window.
Have I mentioned I love it here? Because I do. I also love this tradition so much I wanted to share it with you.
Over at Skip To My Lou, she's got her own version of the Halloween 'Boo' and doesn't limit the fun to her neighborhood. She offers up a poem you can download for yourself and also created a paper cone to fill with treats. Each participant simply refills the cone with treats and delivers it (secretly!) to the next person. Great idea if you live in a neighborhood where people are lame but you still want to do something fun for Halloween.
Here's another page describing how to start a Boo/Ghosting in your neighborhood. Complete with download-able images and poems to use. Here are the instructions we received:
You've Been Boo'dNow it's your turn to "Boo" two other people in the neighborhood.
You should "Boo" these people within 2 days of receiving your treat.
Hang the ghost on your front door so that everyone can see that you have been "Boo’d" and will not Boo you again. This will also let you know who you can Boo.
Fill 2 bags with candy and treats. Copy this letter and the ghost twice. Include treats, letter, and ghost in your bag of goodies for the neighbors that you choose.
After dark, and only with an adult, "Boo" 2 of your neighbors.
Do not let the person that you are "Boo’ing" see you, for it adds to the fun of it all.
Place the treat bag on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and run!
It will be fun to see how many ghosts will appear in our neighborhood by Halloween.
Please keep it safe and enjoy!
We did our Boo the other night, being lucky enough to have almost all the neighborhood to choose from since it's still early in the month. We're also lucky enough to like almost every one of our neighbors enough to gladly send them a treat. All except that one lady....every neighborhood has to have at least one.
The kids and I grabbed some candy, a toy for each of our recipients along with some stickers. I also used this opportunity to raid the Martha craft supplies at Michaels. God Help Me, I love that stuff.
I bought non-Martha candy boxes because they're less than a dollar a piece but I used the Martha Halloween transfers on the boxes. Note: I'd use stickers to customize my bags and boxes in the future, the transfers were a bit of a pain for something so simple.
I also used the transfers to customize plain orange gift bags (40 Cents!).
I think this is a great tradition and, mark my words, something Martha will have a "Halloween Boo" craft set for next year at this time.
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Melissa Summers was one of five Melissa's throughout her schooling, in her everyday life she is the only Melissa who folds laundry. The name Melissa is derived from the Greek word for Honeybee. The Buzz Off is published weekly on Tuesdays. She writes almost nearly everyday at Suburban Bliss.
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