Have you been boo-ed? If so, you might be terribly overwhelmed right now trying to figure out what to do next. Do you one-up the neighbor that boo-ed you and try to make the ultimate boo basket for the next boo? Do you step it down a notch? Or do you stop the cycle all together? Guess what? This process doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can find simple ideas for a You’ve Been Boo-ed Basket! I have a bunch of fun ideas for you right here.
First, I need to tell you about my own experience being boo-ed.
Why I Have a Love/ Hate Relationship with The You’ve Been Boo-ed Movement
Um, do I even really need to explain my feelings to my long time readers? Probably not. If you’ve been here long, you know that I’m a cheap minimalist who also happens to be an environmentalist. If I had more energy (and less kids), I’d be a zero waster to minimize my ecological footprint. To say I don’t like “stuff” is an understatement.
Related Post: 4 Reasons Why I Became a Minimalist
So you can imagine how frustrated I get when my kids get stupid little trinkets. Yes, I feel like a mean mom writing this, but seriously, I hate all those little pieces of junk that come in birthday party treat bags that the kids ultimately forget about and break 30 minutes later. I hate that money and resources are wasted on this crap that ends up in a landfill. I also hate that it teaches our kids to find happiness in material possessions instead of finding happiness in activities.
Related Post: How Minimalism Can Save You Money
While I feel strongly about this, I don’t project those feelings onto my kids. When they receive items like this I let them enjoy the moment. I let them play with them for the small amount of time that they choose to give to those trinkets then I toss them in the trash if broken or stash them in treat bag for Christmas stockings or to pass on to other kids.
My kids may not know that I hate these useless items, but they do know that I refuse to spend my money on them. There are some principals we have in life, and this is one of mine. I strongly refuse to spend our money on crap that ends up in a landfill.
This is where my love for the You’ve Been Boo-ed Basket comes in. Since I refuse to buy my kids this kind of junk, they absolutely love it when they get it! We were boo-ed this year with probably $10-20 worth of Dollar Tree or Target Dollar Spot items. To the neighbor or friend who boo-ed us, thank you! Seriously. My kids had the time of their lives with it, and they especially loved the opportunity to “Boo” two other neighbors. I don’t want this rant to be seen as me not enjoying our boo basket. We truly did enjoy it!
To me, the most joyful part of receiving the “You’ve Been Boo-ed” gift is passing it on to another neighbor or friend. However, when talking to a few other moms, I realized that I wasn’t alone when it came to my anxiety over passing on the Boo Basket. So many of us have no idea what to put in a you’ve been boo-ed basket that aligns with our simple living ideals.
That got me thinking, surely I’m not alone! If three of the moms I talked to in the last week had this same thought, you just might too! So at the end of this post I’ve listed some cheap and easy ideas for you to put into a you’ve been boo-ed basket. First, I have some FAQ about “You’ve Been Boo-ed” to help you understand what I’m talking about in this post.
What Does “You’ve Been Boo-ed” Mean?
“You’ve been boo-ed” means that someone has brought a special surprise to your house and boo-ed you! It’s supposed to be a surprise as to who boo-ed you. After you have been boo-ed you keep the tradition going by boo-ing two other neighbors or friends. It’s like a chain letter, but better.
How Do You Boo Someone?
Anyone can start it! You don’t have to be boo-ed first. This year I saw a ton of ready made “You’ve Been Boo’ed” items at Target and Walmart. I saw kits that included all the instructions to start. If you don’t want to buy one, and really you shouldn’t, you can find a ton of You’ve Been Boo-ed printables online. If I were more on top of my blogging game, I’d make up a super cute printable for you, but why reinvent the wheel? Just Google “You’ve Been Boo-ed Printables”. You’ll find a ton of great stuff!
What is a Boo Bag? What is a Boo Basket?
A boo bag or a boo basket is anything you make it! In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a bag or a basket. This cheapskate right here used a boxes from Target that were only $1 each. I would have preferred tins that could be used over and over again, but figured a box that could be recycled was better than plastic or yet another plastic pumpkin!
What to Put in a You’ve Been Boo-ed Basket
Here’s where things get a little complicated. You can put anything you want in a boo basket. However, modern mom culture is all about one up-ing each other and spending money we don’t have (or shouldn’t spend) to impress each other.
I’m super lucky to have amazing mom friends who don’t buy into this culture. No one one ups each other and none of us spend money unwisely to impress the other ones. I honestly think this is because my friends are super cool people who are genuinely happy with who they are as people and don’t feel the need to do this kind of crap.
That’s how I want you to feel too. You should feel worthy enjoy to just be yourself and do whatever you want with the boo basket. Don’t feel the pressure to make the ultimate boo basket. I’ve seen the Pinterest posts and that pressure is out there on social media. Don’t let it influence you. You can put together a super simple boo basket on a budget. The next section has my favorite ideas for simple boo basket ideas on a budget.
Simple “You’ve Been Boo-ed” Basket Ideas on a Budget
- Bake cookies, cupcakes, or other spooky baked goods
- Buy a package of Halloween cookies (Trader Joe’s has a ton) and put them into individual bags
- Buy 2 Halloween themed donuts from Dunkin Donuts
- Make a classic Halloween popcorn hand with a spider ring (remember those things made from clear gloves? We loved those things as kids)
- Buy two small pumpkins (usually under $1) and supply some paint so kids can paint their own pumpkins
- Recycle the candy you already have in the house. Let’s be real, moms, you know your kids are already getting it from all sorts of places as soon as October begins.
How we Boo-ed two neighbors for a grand total of $5
We made boxed cookies and put them into these cute little boxes from Target. The cookie mix was around $3 and the boxes were $1 each.
I could have saved even more money by baking the cookies from scratch, but that would have been really scary. We all know that baking isn’t my strong suit.
So there you have it! You can get in on the “You’ve Been Boo-ed” festivities even if you don’t want to spend a lot of money or buy a bunch of trinkets.
Please know that it’s completely okay to just say no and let the tradition die with you. No one is judging you for it! As moms, we have enough going on. There shouldn’t be pressure to make copies of the You’ve Been Boo-ed sign and put together two gifts to pass onto neighbors. It’s a fun tradition, but it isn’t one that should stress you out or make you spend money you don’t want to spend.
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