It's Halloween. Have you been Boo"d? Is this crazy chain letter/gift thing sweeping through your neighborhood faster than a lice epidemic in a small school? Boos have been surprising folks in my neighborhood for four years now. Kind of like a horror movie series, the first one was good, the second all right, but every sequel thereafter just slips down a little further.

For those of you unfamiliar with the entire Boo initiative, I’ll share a quick summary. One neighbor starts the chain by secretly delivering a Halloween goodie bag to a fellow neighbor. This isn’t just candy. The bag holds a treasure of goodies for the whole family - good stuff like Halloween toys and pumpkin scented candles. Accompanying the bag is a poem instructing the recipients to do the same thing for two more neighbors within 48 hours. The recipients also put a Boo sign on their door letting the world know they have already been Boo’d. The goal is to create a sense of community in the neighborhood. The reality is an old fashioned chain letter on steroids.

I will be the first person to tell you that nothing is better than a surprise gift. When my husband gives me flowers for no special reason, I am in a good mood for a week (assuming PMS isn’t on the horizon). The problem is the chain part. I hate the pressure that in 48 hours I have to put together and deliver an equally special Halloween treat.

In general, I am not a fan of chain letters. I hit delete on every chain e-mail I receive. Believe it or not, I have yet to be struck by lightning. Unlike a simple chain letter, someone went to a great deal of time and expense to deliver our Boo. Plus, the mystery giver is definitely someone I know and like very much. Knowing these facts, I can’t ignore passing along such kindness.

Therein lies the dilemma. Should I stick to my chain letter morals and break the chain? Or should I play along remembering that my kids love getting Boo’d and I really like my neighbors? For the past four years, I played along. I played along so much that I specifically shopped for Boo gifts a year in advance. I hit the after Halloween sales and tucked away my treasures to be ready for the 48-hour time limit the following year.

This year, I didn’t play along. I played it different.

I was lamenting to my husband about what to do. I wanted to pass along the gift, but didn’t want to pass along the chain. My husband, always the one to think outside the box, came up with the perfect solution. I didn’t Boo two neighbors. I didn’t even Boo two people I knew. Instead, I put together two bags of goodies and left out the chain letter part. With the girls in tow, I drove to the subsidized apartment complex right near my house. We circled around until we found two apartments where we thought kids lived (bikes and toys outside). I dropped our Boo bags at the front doors and we drove away smiling.

My solution definitely broke the Boo chain, but I passed along the kindness that was Boo’d to us. I apologize if I ticked off any Boo fans, but it solved my dilemma. Plus, from the number of Boo signs popping up in our neighborhood, the chain is plenty strong without me.

Gigi appears Fridays on TriangleMom2Mom. To read more about Gigi, go to her blog Stroller Lane.