You’re here either because you’ve already heard of this game and want to start it yourself, or because you’ve been Booed yourself! Either way, I can help.
If you’ve never heard of it before, you may be surprised to know that Booing has been around since the early 80s! You might already know it as Spooking, Ghosting (not the bad kind), or Hobgobling instead.
Essentially, it’s a simple Halloween game – or a Pay It Forward scheme, if you will – that has to start with someone. If you want to be the first in your neighborhood, I’ve got all the print out pages and templates you could possibly need! But if you’ve just found out that YOU’VE been Booed and want to learn more, I’ll start with the basics to get you up to speed.
What does it mean if “you’ve been Booed”?
The intention behind being Booed is simple: someone has chosen you to be the recipient of their Halloween treats. That’s it! Sure, they probably hope you’ll continue the fun and choose someone else to Boo, but no one will force you to do so.
If you simply don’t want to participate in these shenanigans, just enjoy the treats you were given without feeling pressure to do the same to anyone else. You should, however, put a “We’ve Been Booed!” sign on your front door, doorknob, or front window. This way other neighbors will know you’ve already received some gifts and will deliver the next round to someone else.
The person who Booed you should have included a sign to make this easy for you! But if they didn’t, a simple handwritten note in a bold marker taped to your front door will do fine.
What are the rules of being Booed?
Interested in playing along? I love that! Booing is so much fun and brings a smile to those you surprise with it.
Here are the unofficial “rules” of starting the You’ve Been Booed chain!
Keep Your Gifts
If you’re doing this because you were Booed first, feel free to keep and enjoy ALL the goodies that were delivered to you. However, if there is something in your gift basket you think someone else would enjoy more, you can pass it along. You can also re-gift items to cut down on your own costs while still filling a basket full of treats.
Hang a Sign on Your Door
Hang the “We’ve Been Booed!” sign you should’ve received somewhere easily visible by your neighbors so you aren’t gifted twice. If you’re the first person starting this in your neighborhood, don’t do this part! You deserve the opportunity to have this good deed come full circle back to you.
However, you should prepare some printouts to include with your gift basket. At minimum, this should include a “We’ve Been Booed” sign for your neighbor’s door and a “You’ve Been Booed” sheet to let the recipient know what’s going on and what they should do next. But don’t worry, the free printables you can request below will cover all of this for you (and they’re super cute)!
I highly recommend including multiple copies of each of these to make it easier for your intended victims recipients to pass the fun along. Alternatively, you can leave a note asking your recipient to make photocopies of the ones you included to give to the next person.
Make a Boo Basket
In a reasonable time frame (within a couple of days of being Booed), gather up or make some of your own Halloween-themed treats to fill a small bucket or gift basket. You can reuse the bucket your gifts came in!
DIY gifts should be limited to crafts, knitting, and other non-consumables. You should assume any edible homemade goods will end up in the trash, since the neighbors you give them to won’t know who they came from.
But feel free to include any pre-packaged cupcakes, snacks, and Halloween candy! Check out your local dollar stores for other fun knick-knacks and decor you could include in your Boo basket.
Drop Your Gifts in Secret
Now is the one time “ding dong ditch” is perfectly acceptable! Under cover of darkness (if possible), deliver your goodies to an un-Booed neighbor’s front porch, knock or ring their doorbell, and run away as fast as you can! If they have a doorbell camera, you’ll have to get creative to hide your identity.
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Gift Ideas for Your Boo Basket
Not sure what to put in your Boo bucket? No worries! I’ve got lots of ideas for you, including consumable treats and holiday-themed items most people would enjoy.
Candy
Sure, it’s the season of too much candy, but consider that most Halloween candy is obtained by children. The adult recipients of your Boo basket may greatly appreciate having some sweets of their own to stash away!
Seasonal Snacks
Check the Little Debbie aisle of your grocery store. You’re likely to find Fall Party Cakes and Pumpkin Spice Rolls. Most grocery stores will also make their own cupcakes, cake slices, and cookies to fit the holiday theme! As long as they have a clear seal to prove they aren’t tampered with, this is perfectly acceptable as a Boo gift.
Homemade Projects
Whether your hidden talent is crocheting, knitting, needlepoint, pottery, or something else, put it to good use for the occasion! Creating a Halloween-themed craft project for your Boo basket will save you money on store-bought items as well as add sentimental value to the gift for the time taken to make it.
Holiday Activity
If you don’t like the idea of leaving premade food in the gift basket, consider a monster-themed cupcake kit instead! For neighbors with young children, this provides them with a fun family activity. Themed Perler bead kits also make a unique and affordable gift.
Cold Weather Essentials
A warm, soft blanket is easy (and cheap) to come by these days. If you need a larger item to help “fill out” the basket before putting in small items, this is the perfect thing! A cute pillow or delectable scented candle could even complete the set.
Offbeat Halloween Decorations
If you know your neighbor’s motto is “the spookier, the better,” include a massive, hairy faux tarantula in your Boo basket! Not sure if they appreciate that brand of scary? Try an unusual decor item with a Halloween touch, like this stuffed green balloon dog with a bat on its side!
Other Fun Gifts
Need more ideas? Here are some of my favorite finds from Amazon!
Free Printable Sign and Instructions
There are two essential printouts you need to include with your Boo basket: a page explaining what the mysterious gift basket is for (and what to do next), and a sign of some sort for the recipient to hang on their front door or window.
I’m providing these two things to my readers completely FREE! They are designed to print up to a full 8.5×11 sheet in size, but you can shrink them down to print at any smaller size you prefer.
The instruction sheet includes a cute little poem I wrote to make it clear that the basket is full of harmless goodies gifted anonymously for the fun of it!
Additional “You’ve Been Booed” Printables
In addition to the sheets I’m giving away above, I’ve created an entire coordinating collection of printables to help you make the most of your happy little prank!
I have these matching items available, all editable to fit your specific needs:
- “We’ve Been Booed!” door sign
- “We’ve Been Booed!” door hanger
- “You’ve Been Booed!” instruction sheet with poem
- “You’ve Been Booed!” gift tags in two sizes
- “You’ve Been Booed!” pennants to make a double-sided flag
- “You’ve Been Booed!” foldover tags that perfectly fit Great Value square snack bags
If you don’t need to edit anything, you’ll also find some convenient PNG files of the door hanger, gift tag, and pennants to use with Cricut’s Print-Then-Cut feature (or similar cutting machine and software)!
All of this is available in my shop.
More Halloween Fun
Check out my other pages for fun Halloween ideas you can do with your kids!
