Turning Halloween Night into Meet-Your-Neighbor Night

Tell me if you can relate. You're at the park with your kid and another mom or dad you don't know shows up.

You notice their stroller. Same one you had.

Their clothes - super cute.

You know they live in the neighborhood because they walked -- so did you.

You hear them tell their kid to stop acting like a psychopath (or insert something more polite parents say here) -- You say that all the time!

You basically follow each other around the park as your kids make friends with each other but all you can muster is a smile or a snicker at the interaction between your kids. You know you should strike up a conversation but it's just...hard.

So you go home, not knowing anything more about your neighbor, kicking yourself for not being brave enough to really introduce yourself and cursing your millennial tendency to recluse into your phone instead of actually talking to a human.

I'm probably giving myself away here -- I tend to have a hard time breaking the ice in situations like the one I just described. It makes me feel super awkward like Paul Rudd in I Love You Man.

We're lucky to have become close friends with the neighbors across the street who have two sons about Julep and Charlie's ages, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to meet more of my neighborhood! So don't get me wrong -- as awkward as I feel, I would still love one day to have block parties full of friends and neighbors we've gotten to know over the years. I've decided that this Halloween is the perfect opportunity to not look like a total weirdo when striking up a conversation with a total stranger, which I'm going to force myself to do, with a little ice breaking assistance from good ole' free booze.

I've got three simple tricks for treating the grown-ups on Halloween, all with the end-goal of meeting neighbors you'd like to get to know a little better. Here they are.

1. Set a budget.

Breaking the ice doesn't have to mean breaking the bank. I spent around $30 on a 6-pack of assorted beers, 6 mini bottles of wine, and grown-up friendly candies. That got me enough supplies to connect with, at the very least, 6 couples, or up to 12 individuals by treating them to drinks and snacks. That's a lot of bang for my buck! You don't have to go overboard. You're not buying booze for the whole neighborhood. Feel free to keep some of your own drinks on-hand in the refrigerator because nothing would be more awkward for your guest than drinking alone.

2. Be intentional.

Like I said, you aren't going to hand a beer to every single adult that comes to your door. That would get super expensive and not intentional. But if you strike up a conversation with someone and you're hitting it off, or if the parent from the park in my example earlier shows up to your door, or if you've seen someone a hundred times on your street and thought "I should really go say hi to that person", offer them a beverage!

3. Be inviting.

If it's not too cold, stay outside on the front porch or in the yard to create a more inviting atmosphere. Hiding behind your front door isn't exactly the most welcoming posture. Don't worry, kids can still say "Trick or Treat" without ringing your door bell. They still get candy, it's not like you're robbing them of an experience.

4. Entertain the kids

Make it easy for your new friends to linger by having safe, fun things for your kids to do together, nearby. This can be as simple as having corn hole boards set out or basketball/football/frisbee available for them to play. You'll both be able to keep an eye on your kids and continue your conversation while hopefully delaying a child's request to hit the next house for a few minutes.

Now, for the details. Here's what I bought to serve on Halloween and how I plan to serve it.

Drinks:

1 assorted 6-pack of beer. I made sure to grab a good mix of Octoberfests, IPAs, stouts and ales.

I just added the beers to a metal drink bucket full of ice. On Halloween night, I'd keep the bucket close to your seat so people don't think they can just help themselves.

I also got 6 mini bottles of wine. These were $1 each - it's not great wine, but I doubt anyone will complain about free wine on Halloween. I bought 2 Pinot Noir, 2 Pinot Grigio, 1 Cabernet, and 1 Reisling

You might throw in a La Croix or two, just in case someone's pregnant or not drinking.

Grab the free downloadable printable for my mini wine bottle hangers HERE!

Snacks:

I created mini snack packs using clear treat bags and a tasting of the following:

Pumpkin pie almonds

Pumpkin spice coffee chocolates

Cheddar and caramel mixed popcorn

Have fun and Happy Halloween!