“Being BOOed” is coming to a neighborhood near you! This fairly new family-friendly Halloween tradition that consists of secretly leaving a BOO poem, a small gift basket full of treats and a BOO! sign with instructions on a neighbor's doorstep - spooky-good fun that everyone’s sure to enjoy. This game is most popular amongst children in the neighborhood who enjoy playing the game with friends, and enjoy the mischievous twist of surprising their pals.
Once you have been BOOed, you leave the sign up that states “We’ve Been BOOed!” Typically, this will also be included your gift basket, attached to the poem. For many, this is where the fun really begins. After you’ve been BOOed, it’s time to “pay it forward”, and pick one or two of your unsuspecting neighbors to BOO, and keep the game going all the way through Halloween! Although you do not have to participate, it is a fun and festive way to show some love to those around you, and indulge in the spirit of the season!
You can fill your gift basket with whatever goodies you’d like including cookies, candy, toys, games, fruit, stickers, and so on - when it comes to Halloween treats, the options are almost endless! Some even use homemade goodies to fill baskets left for friends and neighbors.
You can print a copy of the BOO Poem at BeenBooed.com, a BOOing enthusiast website that was created by a family who was BOOed one Halloween, and wanted to help spread the fun! When they were unable to find the poem and ghost all on one printout so in 2009, they created the site - making it easier than ever before to keep the tradition going! There are plenty of options on the site, including a full-color version, a black and white version, and an “outline” version of the BOO Poem and Sign.
Although this game is quite new to most Long Islanders, according to Been Booed, the BOOing tradition has actually been around for over 20 years! Technology has made it much more simple to BOO someone, and social media sharing has helped to bring much more attention to the BOOing craze. The ease of printing poems and easy online sharing has helped the game become more popular and widespread in recent years.
After you receive your ghost, you’ll want to make sure you put it on your door so you don’t get BOOed a second time. As the popularity of this Halloween tradition continues to grow, and neighbors continue to BOO neighbors, it’s inevitable that your whole town will be BOOed, and eventually all of Long Island!
[Source: Been BOOed]
Photo Courtesy of the Been Booed Facebook Page.