You've been BOOED!! 🎃

When trick or treating, has anyone ever said, “Trick please!” Of course not! We would all rather give a treat instead of being tricked. Well, tell that to 2020. Those 2’s may look like ears, but believe me when I tell you, all 2020 has heard is, “TRICK!!!!”

Our family decided enough is enough. It was time to speak up and say. “TREAT!!!!” 

On a tight budget, we wanted to find ways we could treat our neighbors. My wife got the idea to buy simple jac-o-lantern buckets, fill them with candy, and bless the families in our neighborhood with something good. 

When our two boys woke from their afternoon nap, their faces filled with excitement as they saw the dining room table. There they saw Reeses, Almond Joys, Lemonheads, Gummies, Fiber One Brownies….yes, Fiber One Brownies. Like I said, it was a tight budget hahaha! 

My youngest, James, kicked his legs in excitement as he was ushered into the dining room by mommy. My oldest, Noah, nearly fell twice as a raced behind them colliding into the walls with excitement and anticipation. 

With James in his high chair and Noah now on top of the table (thanks to his squirrel-like ability to climb), we were all eager to get started. 

James kindly took the role of placing candy in the bucket while Noah was eager to add the confetti filler. 

Just imagine the scene. Confetti and candy flying into the air. It was like being 8 years old again standing in the cold at the Christmas Parade watching Santa Claus throw candy from his sleigh. My memories were now pouring into the present…what a treat. 

After we all helped to get the buckets filled, we placed a few papers inside. 

One paper said "You've been BOOed" like the picture above.

We kept one sign inside the bucket so the neighbor can pass it along. Also inside the bucket was the "We have been BOOed" sign. On the outside of the bucket we put the extra copy of the "You've been BOOed" sign signed with our family name.

Another paper said “We have been BOOed!” Our hope was that when our neighbors received their treats, they would post this paper outside their door so other families would already know that had been blessed by neighbors and friends. 

Then, we wrapped them in clear paper and tied a beautiful green ribbon around each one. I even did the fun curly thing with the ribbon! We were able to make 3 big buckets! We thought we only had enough candy for barely two, so to make three was quite a treat. 

Then the fun began, DELIVERY TIME! 

We put James in the front seat of our two-seated children’s bike and loaded the second seat and rear basket with our 3 big jac-o-lantern baskets full of treats. 

Before we left our driveway, Noah started to complain because he wanted to sit in our van and pretend he was driving (a little thing we do after our walks). It took some encouragement to get him to join the family, but I must say he turned it around fast and was willing to wait for his fun in the car. 

It was such a treat for mommy and me to see our little Noah make a good choice and put others before himself. 

We started with the neighbor who lives beside us. They have 3 kids! That was A LOT of Fiber One Brownies haha. We gave the first bucket to Noah and explained that we would slowly creep to the front door (or as well call it, a porta in portuguese) and leave the basket for the neighbors to find. He then picked up his bucket and proudly walked with me to our neighbor’s front door.

As we gently placed the bucket down and giddily ran away towards mommy and James, little Noah became hooked! The excitement of creeping towards the door and running away was intoxicating for him! What a treat it was to see him get so excited about this little project. 

After that, there was no stopping him. I took over the bike with little James while Noah and mommy headed to the next two houses. James was missing a sock at the time, but he wasn’t missing out on the fun. He was kicking with excitement as we made our way to the next house. 

Noah wanted to make sure the buckets got to their respected homes safely so he decided to tote them himself. Trampling through yards and sneaking behind trees, he and mommy began to make their way to the next two neighbor’s houses. 

The got spotted by the second neighbor, but she smiled and waved at Noah as he carried out his little duties (not to be confused with doodies hahaha). 

After the last house had received their jac-o-lantern baskets full of treats, we celebrated with a high-5 and enjoyed a sweet conversation with one of our neighbors who lived down the road. 

Before heading into the garage to end our adventure, Noah got to play driver for a while in the car. Smiling, waving and making car noises were are all a part of the fun. 

We were able to pass out three big treats to families in our neighborhood, but we came to find out there were actually four big treats. 

The fourth big treat was the one given to us. No, it was not a jac-o-lantern full of candy. It was the treat of seeing our two little boys be so excited to give something to others and not expect anything in return.  

Actually when I look back, the whole adventure was full of little treats here and there.  

Our family would like to encourage you to participate in this activity with your children. 

Acts 20:35 says, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Take your children on this AMAZING experience where they can learn the value of this simple message. 

And who knows, your family might just find some treats along the way. 

Love, 

The Walker Family

You are more than welcome to use our signs below. Just do a simple left click on the pictures, save them on your computer and print as many you need! Also, if you do this sweet activity with your family, we'd love to see! Tag us on instagram @saltandlightbtq or on our Facebook Page: Salt and Light Btq

Don't forget to check our sweet Halloween Collection for the little ones here.