Ideas on How to Connect with Your Neighbors this Halloween
Do you know your neighbors? If so, you’re among a vanishing few in the U.S. that actually know their neighbors. We long for connection but live in a society where it’s become the norm to park in your garage and close the door as soon as you step out of your car. In our culture, we’re so busy that we spend little time outdoors in our neighborhood and it seems that gone are the days when kids ran up and down the block together riding bikes, climbing trees, and creating fun games like we did in our youth. Most of us would love to really know the people that live around us like the good ol’ days. I know we sure do! Good thing Halloween is just around the corner, providing an opportunity for connection.
Halloween is a great time to connect with your neighbors. What other holiday gets the whole neighborhood outside & welcomes you to knock on your neighbor’s door? No other! Here are a few ideas to help in connecting with the families in your neighborhood.
Create a Neighborhood Photobooth
We’re really excited about this one and plan to set up a photobooth for families in our neighborhood. You can keep it simple or go all out. Just grab a bench or some hay bales, add a few pumpkins, and invite families to take photos in front of the set up.
Outdoor Movie
We recently bought a projector and inflatable screen to take advantage of the cool weather this fall with outdoor movies but you can easily set up an outdoor movie with a projector and white sheet hung on the fence or strung up between two trees. As families trick or treat at your house, let them know you’ll have a movie in the front yard starting at sunset. Provide popcorn and encourage everyone to enjoy some of the candy they gathered while trick-or-treating.
Reverse trick or treating
We love this idea and it’s pretty simple. Take the kids reverse trick-or-treating on Halloween or the weekend after. Make little sacks of candy for each neighbor and take them door to door.
Start a neighborhood “Boo!”
This tradition is so fun. Leave a “Boo” poem, sign, a small gift, and instructions on your neighbor’s doorstep and let them carry on the “Boo” to the next neighbor. We love this idea because it not only helps you connect with your neighbor but encourages your neighbors to connect with each other, too. Read more on how this works, here.