“Boozing” Is the Fun of Halloween “Booing” with an Adult Twist

You might have heard of “booing” your neighbors. It’s often a kid-centric thing, where people leave candy and Halloween trinkets with kids. Well, “Boozing” is the adult version if your idea of Halloween is less Red Vines and more red wine.

A few years ago, on the walk back from booing a few of our neighbors, my daughter mused, “You know, growing up means getting left out of a lot of these traditions. We just Booed a bunch of kids, but what about the adults?”

I joked that maybe we should drop off some wine and call it “Boozing.” Well, it turns out I wasn’t the first person to make that joke—Boozing was already a well-tread tradition. So, how does it work? Just like the candy-focused tradition of Booing someone, you leave your alcohol treat with a special note.

You start with the booze. If you’re looking for an easy pick, check your local liquor store for seasonal spiced wines. But hey, let your heart be your booze guide! I love “boozing” bottles of spiced wine but it’s also a great time of year for pumpkin ales, hard ciders, or fall-themed cocktail mixers.

Next, you wrap it up. Because I usually “booze” people with spiced wine from a local vineyard, I focus on wine bottles when it comes to wrapping stuff up. It’s easy to wrap the bottle in some craft paper, slap some Halloween stamps on it, and really up your Boozing presentation game—which is what I did in the photo above. (If you’re curious where I put the printout with the bottle wraps, I just roll it around the bottle before I wrap it in the paper.)

Or if that sounds like a wee bit too much work, you can always grab this pack of black wine bottle bags and maybe scrawl some pithy Halloween boozing quotes on them with a metallic Sharpie like “Don’t Drink and Fly,” and “Trick or Tequila.”

Finally, slip a printout in the bag so the recipient knows what’s up (and for good measure, include a few extra printouts so they can easily “booze” another neighbor). You can find a variety of “Boooozed” printouts online, but I still use this super-cool retro version by artist Derek Yaniger.

Your friends and neighbors get a little treat, they put the “We’ve Been Booozed!” sign in the window, and hopefully they pay it forward and slip a six-pack of hard cider onto a neighbor’s back porch.

And if you’re in the mood for more perfectly-Halloweeny drinks to enjoy, do check out our favorite creepy cocktails or these delicious fall cocktails.

And, for a real show stopper to roll out at your Halloween party, these “smoking” dry ice drinks are absolutely mesmerizing.