Tuesday Tutorial – How To Host A BOO It Forward Party

I have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BOOItForward #CollectiveBias

Have you ever been BOO’d? We haven’t…although we’ve been flocked by a yard full of flamingoes on several occasions and ding-dong-dashed by a countless number of my kids’ friends.

This year, I’m BOOing it forward and creating a BOO Party Kit for a special family.  What is a BOO Party Kit you might ask? It is a fun way to surprise friends or neighbors and create quality family time getting everyone into the Halloween spirit!  That’s right…I’m passing on my party crazy to others.

Our party kit has everything you need to provide a fun time of decorating Halloween cookies! Walmart is a great one-stop shop for all the goodies in our party kit bag; I found this great bin that I layered fun tissue paper and added in:

a plastic tablecloth (why should cleanup spoil the fun?)    sugar cookies
frosting in dip cups                                                                     sprinkles
napkins and plates                                                                      paper straws
8 oz Sunkist® and A&W Halloween cans                              large popsicle sticks for spreading frosting
bite sized candy like SNICKERS®, TWIX®, etc.

• Repackaging store bought goodies makes a party kit feel even more personal.  I may have bought my cookies but repackaging them in favor bags and tied with a ribbon gives them the ‘fresh from the oven’ feel.  Well, in my mind anyways.
• I purchased a Monster Stash bag that has 315 pieces of candy so there is plenty of candy to create several kits.  Rebag portions in clear bags and tie with a ribbon or twist tie.
• Did you know that 7UP®,  A&W and Sunkist® come in special 8 oz Halloween cans? They are perfect for keeping soda consumption low…especially with all the other sweets!

There are free downloads you can use to finish off your BOO party kit…
1.  Print out the free BOOing cards, found here.
2.  Cut out the “We’ve been BOO’d sign.
3.  Fold the “You’ve been BOO’d” greeting card (page 2) and tape openings together.
4.  Include the card and sign when gifting BOO party kits .

This was so much fun to put together that I decided to spread the love and create a BOO It Forward Party! Invite friends over to create their own party kits with cookies, frosting, soda and candy and BOO it forward to others in their neighborhood.  With a spooky buffet of treats and supplies, it will be a fun afternoon of friends and good fellowship; doing something fun for others is always a good thing.

My secret to easy party decorating? Reusable partyware! If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know I say that every time.  I have a variety of tissue decorations and Chinese paper lanterns in a variety of colors and patterns.  No running to the store for balloons that you have to fight into the car.

Fabrics come in so many colors and patterns; I used a swath of lace for my backdrop and burlap for my table cover.  And yes, they can be stored and used again!

Buying bins can get a little pricey if you are buying for a group; a great alternative is using inexpensive gift bags.

Repurpose vessels from around your home for all your goodies;  vases, bowls and cake stands create visual interest on your table and helps keep all the sweets organized.

Don’t forget to pull out your creepy crawlies to give your table a spooky feel!  For a different look to mine, I spray painted them white.

I used numbered tags so guests would know what order to stack the goodies in the bags.

Keep your guests in the Halloween spirit going with cupcakes and a float bar complete with vanilla ice cream and Sunkist® and A&W soda.  Create fun garnishes with paper straws and candy skewers.  Simply skewer your favorite candies like gummy worms and eyeballs and ghost Peeps.

Need even more inspiration? Check out these other great BOO Kit ideas; I’d love to hear about who you are BOO’ing this year to celebrate Halloween!