Getting 'Boo'd' Turns Me Into the Halloween Grinch

Why this newer holiday tradition is more burdensome than bewitching.

There’s a lot to love about Halloween: helping my kids pick out the perfect costumes , having my favorite candy (peanut butter cups!) around for the entire month of October and beyond, seeing all the other kiddos dressed up, and marveling over the festive and sometimes gory home decor throughout the neighborhood.

I’ve even come around to enjoying trunk-or-treats , which I used to think took away from the big day—but I now realize they are another opportunity to get the most out of the costumes I spend all that money on !

But there's one Halloween tradition that turns me into the Grinch a few months early.

When I hear our doorbell ring (a little too late) at night in mid-to-late-October, I find myself sighing with involuntary exasperation. We’ve been boo'd. Oh, joy.

What Does It Mean to Get Boo'd?

For the uninitiated, getting boo'd involves another kid in the neighborhood ... or a friend... dropping off a basket or bucket filled with candy and toys, like window clings, playdough, masks, pens, and glow sticks.

Sure, my children are delighted to dig through the spooky loot, but I’m too focused on the printout included with their bounty. That piece of paper instructs us to pay it forward and boo someone else, all in secret of course.

It sounds fun, sure, and I have nothing against spreading holiday cheer to other children, but in my mind, having to put together a boo basket is just another task to complete from my Halloween to-do list, which is already endless.

I have class parties to volunteer at, those last costume elements to search for, and pumpkins to carve . But now, I’m heading over to the Dollar Store to try and create a boo bucket to compete with what my kids received that evening.

By the way—I really wish I’d been able to get them to bed before they inhaled Pixie Stix and Frankenstein Peeps and proceeded to jump on my couch for another half hour before I could get them to settle down.

The Boo Basket Pressure Is Real

The thing is, chores like this make me super anxious. I’ll go into the store and overthink every item I’m considering popping into the boo basket. Am I making it cute enough ? Do kids still like Smarties? Are there small children in the house who might eat these bat and witch stickers? Is this jack-o-lantern puzzle too cheap-looking? Sigh .

When I do finally manage to get out of the store, still doubting whether candy necklaces are nostalgic or lame, it’s time to identify a family to boo. My kids will have lengthy debates over who has too long of a driveway to get away with the secret deed, and who’s already been boo'd. Then, around the time I’d rather be tucking in my littles, we’re piling into the car, ready to get our boo on.

We pull it off! And I’m ready to move on from this Halloween duty from hell. Until the next day, when my kids come home from school and tell me the neighbors we boo'd knew it was us, and they’re upset because it was supposed to be a covert operation.

Well, at least the booing burden is behind us, right? That is until the doorbell rings again a few nights later, and we start the whole nonsensical boo-basket business all over. Double sigh . Or, more like double trouble, toil, and more trouble than I’m even close to being in the mood for. Again.

Here’s wishing you don’t get cursed with a boo basket—unless I’m the only Halloween Grinch this October.

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