Last year was our first fall in our house and we were introduced to such a fun Halloween neighborhood tradition! One early October evening there was a knock on our door. It was dark and Ryan and I looked at each other as if silently asking “should we answer it?” After quiet contemplation, Ryan arose, went to the door and opened it. And there it was. BOO! Haha I know, so dramatic right?! What we found was our very first Boo Basket. We eagerly looked through the contents, curious for an explanation, and discovered we had been boo’d!
The premise reminds me of when we would do Secret Santa at my school. Simply gather some fun Halloween themed goodies and leave them on 2 neighbor’s doors with a door sign and instruction poem included in the basket (I’m sharing my printables with you below!) Then ring and run!
Here’s how you can make your own Boo baskets if you’d like to start this fun Halloween tradition!
Printable You’ve Been Boo’d poem
You can print 2 of these to include in the 2 baskets (click poem for printable).
We’ve Been Boo’d Sign/Door Hanger
Supplies
Makes 2 signs
- Printable We’ve Been Boo’d sign
- 1 – 8 ½” x 11″ piece of orange card stock or construction paper (regular paper is just fine too, it’s the gesture that counts!)
- 1 – 12″ x 12″ black scrapbook paper or card stock (I found these with a nice subtle textured pattern at Michael’s)
- Hole punch
- Scissors
- Craft adhesive
or tape
- Black and orange twine (I found this is the Target dollar bin!)
- Halloween themed ribbon (this one is from Michael’s)
Directions
Print out the We’ve Been Boo’d signs on the orange card stock (get the free printable here!). Cut in half.
Cut the black card stock in half.
Punch 2 holes in the top of the orange sign. We’ll punch the rest of the holes later.
Using tape or craft adhesive, secure the sign onto the black paper as shown below.
Once attached, punch holes along the sides and bottom of the sign. I drew lines across the back of the sign so I could line up the holes evenly (I don’t have that innate “just eyeball it” skill!)
I punched the holes on top of the orange card stock first because the hole punch isn’t long enough to reach those spots once attached. In order to weave the twine through those holes, gently push through the black card stock in those spots with an x-acto knife or sharp knife tip and twirl around to open up the top holes.
Weave twine in and out of the holes.
Tie twine in a knot on the back of the sign to secure. Trim excess.
Punch 2 holes at the top of the black card stock to weave the door hanger bow through.
Weave ribbon through the 2 holes on the top and tie into a bow to hang from door handle. Last year I also saw a few of the signs in the neighborhood hanging in the side windows of the front door (a good option for those without porches to protect your sign from rain).
The Goodies!
Now for the fun part! I found the majority of the goodies for our Boo baskets in the dollar bins from Target and at Dollar Tree (I got the stuff about 2 weeks ago, right when they put out the Halloween goods). This year we’re going to Boo 2 different neighbors than we did last year; 1 house is empty nesters and the other a family of 4, so I bought totally different things for each basket.
Family Boo Basket
I got this cute little spiderweb basket at Dollar Tree, it’s perfect!
The family that we will be boo-ing has 2 little boys, so I stocked up on stickers, glow wands, glow fingers, glow bracelet (basically anything that glows), pumpkin straws, a pumpkin cup, and a note pad, cookies and pumpkin scented candle for the grown ups of the house. 😉
Adult Boo Basket
I got this pumpkin bowl at Dollar Tree as well.
The other neighbors we’re boo-ing just finished building a beautiful bar in their home, so I found all of these fun Halloween themed drink supplies. A spooky silicone ice cube tray, Halloween beer koozies, Halloween beer, wine and beverage labels, straws, Halloween bev naps and a pumpkin scented candle were perfect for their basket.
And then these glasses! How cute! “I’m Here for the Boos!” Have I ever mentioned I’m obsessed with puns? It’s a thing I have. 😉
Once you have your baskets ready, get your running shoes on… aaaand go! Ring, run and BOO!
It’s so fun to see the signs appearing throughout the neighborhood through the month! Since the original Boo-master of our neighborhood moved, I plan to kick this off early in our neighborhood so that everyone has the opportunity to get Boo’d by Halloween! 🙂
Do you have have any fun Halloween or fall traditions you enjoy?
Thanks for stopping by and have a great hump day!
Brenda L. Cavallero says
How do I print the “We’ve Been Boo’d” sign without having a white background?
Lydia says
Hi Brenda! You could print it on a colored paper if you don’t want the white. Enjoy!
Wanda Baker says
A friend did this to me a couple years ago for Christmas and it was so much fun to pass it on! Love this…definitely going to share! Hello from Bakersbeans (momwhoneedswine on twitter)!
Rica@ Yoga Mat Monkey says
How cute is this! Love it 🙂
Delia says
What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing we may have to try this sometime.
Lydia says
Let me know how it goes! 😉
Danica R (@MemoirsOfAMommy) says
Nice!!
Daphne says
This is so cute! Did your neighbors ever figure out it was your family? I’ve never done this but it sounds so fun!
Lydia says
Thanks! One person did, only because she reads the blog. 😉 I swore her to secrecy so I don’t think our other victims figured it out haha!
Elaine @ OMG Lifestyle Blog says
I love seeing kids doing crafts instead of all electronic games! Such a cute idea!
Lydia says
Thanks Elaine, it’s been fun!
angie says
love this super cute and fun holiday surprise for friends and family truly love it
come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Lydia says
Thanks Angie! Btw, I can’t wait to try your taco seasoning, it sounds delish!
Tianna says
what a cute idea! I love this adorable craft 🙂 thanks for sharing!
stop by and chat with me 🙂 http://storybookapothecary.com
Lydia says
Thanks Tianna! I’ll stop by! 😉
Amber says
Great idea! Very clever and entertaining!
Lydia says
Thanks Amber, wish I could take credit for the idea, but it is absolutely entertaining!
whitney says
Thanks so much for brightening the world with this infectious and loving gesture. Hope everyone makes this tradition go viral!
Lydia says
Wouldn’t that be fantastic Whitney?!