This has become a Halloween tradition in my neighborhood and the kids have so much fun with it each year! My oldest has been Boo’ing his friends for about 5 years but this was the first year that my youngest, who’s 4 now, was able to join in the Boo’ing festivities. He had a blast but his giggling almost got us busted last night.
If you’re not already familiar with the game, let me explain how it works and what you need to get started.
What is Boo’ing? It’s a Halloween game where kids secretly leave treats on the doorsteps of their friends and neighbors. It’s up to the recipients to keep it going until Halloween.
How do you “Boo” someone? You need a bag of treats – preferably in a clear cellophane bag or wrapped in clear plastic Saran wrap so it’s obvious that it’s a treat and not something malicious or dangerous. You also need a “Boo” sheet with a picture of a ghost or something halloweenish explaining the rules of the game. The sheet can be double sided with the “We’ve Been Boo’d” sign on one side and the “You’ve Been Boo’d” instructions on the other side. Or, you can use 2 separate sheets of paper. You can even draw a picture and handwrite the instructions:
1. Enjoy your Treat!
2. Place the “We’ve Been Boo’d” sign on your front door.
3. Within 24 hours – make 2 copies of this note, the “We’ve Been Boo’d” sign and 2 treat bags.
4. Secretly deliver to 2 neighbors/friends without a Boo sign on their door. Don’t get caught!
5. Keep an eye on nearby front doors to see how far and fast it spreads by Halloween!
Last night we dressed in black hoodies, waited until dark and then the kids and I snuck around to some neighborhood homes and Boo’d some friends. The kids like to hide and watch instead of running away so we pick a hiding location first, then we set down the treat bag on top of the paper, ring the doorbell and RUN! Our first mission went well. The intended recipient came to the door, looked around bewildered, then spotted the loot. Success!
The second house was more complicated. They had a lot of stairs leading up to the front door so we knew that we had to get down them quickly (and safely) to get to our hiding spot on the side of the house. Our first attempt was a bust because either the door bell didn’t ring or they didn’t hear it. We tried again. This time we knocked loudly and ran. The mom came to the door, saw no one and went back inside without seeing the loot on the doorstep! So my oldest went back to knock again while the little guy and I waited by the side of the house. Third time was the charm! She came to the door again and this time she saw the loot bag and the note. The little one was giggling so hard that I thought we were going to get caught! Actually, we did get busted – by the dog! LOL! When she opened the door the second time, their toy poodle bolted outside and immediately saw our shadows lurking by the side of the house. At first I was a little nervous since I didn’t know how the dog would react to us. But it just came over to jump on us in a friendly way before it ran back inside. Someday I have to tell her what a lousy guard dog she has!
Happy Boo’ing!
Staging works too! Sometimes that’s what it takes to make the best of a difficult situation. My kids really don’t care about getting boo’d. For them the fun part is sneaking around in the dark trying not to get caught. They would gladly do that for hours if we let them!
Kecia, thanks so much for your post. Booing is a really cute idea but kids do get left out. My three kids can’t wait for it to happen. Unfortunately, for the past two years, we’ve been overlooked in our plan. Our plan is new and we are the only house on our road (which is down a steep hill). We don’t even get many trick-or-treaters who don’t want to walk back up that same hill (I can’t say I blame them). But my three kids (ages 10, 8 and 6) really get sad. I decided this year I would “stage” my own boo and ring the bell late at night while my husband “acts” surprised at the door with the kids. Then I drew a ghost for the window to hang up. Again, a cute idea but when kids’ feelings get hurt because they never get booed, it is so upsetting.
I have just been boo’d how is booing people at 8:49 p.m Know I have to boo’d someone wonder who is it going to be it mit be tonight or tommorow night or the next night who is going to know?
Oops — I think I meant for my message to be addressed to HopeAnne, not Valerie. Sorry!
Valerie, for this reason, I am VERY ANTI “BOO” *sign*. I don’t mind the kids “boo”-ing, but I will not allow them to put “boo” signs that they receive on our door, and when we deliver our “boo” treats, we don’t include a door sign.
How does the poor kid who never gets a “boo” feel, driving/walking around and seeing all of the other kids with “boo” signs on their doors? It makes me sad even to think about it.
OMGosh, Robin! I bet you’re laughing about it now :D. Poor kiddos!
We got caught!! Unfortunately our neighbor is a Sheriff and he was quick to respond to our other neighbor’s cry for lurking people! Good thing he came minus a weapon!!
Scared the crap out of the kids though!
OMG! Poor kiddos! (((HUGS)))
Is it okay to Boo your own kids? I don’t think that we are getting boo’ed this year and my kids are getting really sad about it. Should I just do it to them and act like it was a surprise?
Me and my mom have done this since i was 2! but its stopped for awhile but i just made cupcakes and someones going to be boo’d tonight
In our neighborhood it’s called the “Hobgoblin”. It’s been going on for maybe 5 years or so I think. We were hobgoblined last night lol.
I spoke too soon! We just got a doorbell ring and a paper bag full of goodies on the front porch (flashlights, trivia cards, a squeezy ball with eyeballs, lip gloss, candy galore….).
I guess there’s nothing here I can pass on, the kids have laid claim to every item, lol.
I’ll set DH on the boo’ing project tomorrow, he loves doing it 😉
A few days later we ended up getting boo’ed. What I did was just redeliver the loot to another house. That way I didn’t have to make and spend anymore money on bags.
I’m feeling kind of left out so far this year…some of our neighbors have their boo signs prominently on the door and we haven’t been boo’d yet. Then again, we’d have to go buy some bags to use. One year we got a nifty plastic bucket that is so perfect for dryer lint containment that I couldn’t bear to pass it on as a boo container!
Heather, that’s what happens when Boo’ing gets taken over by grown-ups. It becomes a big production and then it just becomes another chore. It’s supposed to be FUN! Kids don’t even care about the loot. They just want to run around in the dark, ringing doorbells and hiding! 😀
Ann, you could absolutely do this in an apt complex or building. Go for it! Your kids will have a blast!
This sounds like a lot of fun! Maybe next year we’ll do something like this, although I’m not too sure how a lot of the neighbors without kids would feel about it… =)
I was feeling grumpy that we never do stuff like this but then I bet we could just switch out “apartment” for “house” and a few other words and get the complex doing it…
Oh wow, lovin, those are great Boo bags! We usually get Boo’d every year, but not this year–whew. Booing in our neighborhood is an expensive venture involving much more than candy goodie bags–there are always pumpkin buckets filled to the brim with lighted minipumpkins plus assorted other similar items.
Wow! You went all out and it looks great! You can Boo my house anytime you want. 🙂 We just throw some odds and ends into a sack of Saran wrap with a twist tie! LOL!
We started this game in our neighborhood this year.
It was pretty funny watching my kids sneak to my neighbor’s house while Mom was at the bus stop and her husband was home-OUTSIDE.
My kids managed to put the loot on their steps and get away without being caught!
I had never heard of this until this year. It’s an awesome idea.
I like your way of doing it. I just delivered the goodies during the day when everyone was away at work. Maybe when my kids get older we can do it your way at night. Sounds so much more fun!
Here are some pictures of my “Boo’ing” treats, bags, and signs 🙂 It is going over really well in my neighborhod. All of the 30 houses(well except a few party poopers) on our street and cul-de-sac have been boo’ed and are proudly displaying their “Boo’ed” signs on their door.
http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=589290&postcount=14