Friendly Cat Printables for Party Favors and Boo Bags

This shop, Black Cat Halloween Bags, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, MARS Incorporated. All opinions are mine alone. #BOOItForward #CollectiveBias

Trick Or Treating where I grew up was a ritual like no other I’ve found. When *I* was a kid (said in my best, wise old lady voice), we had to WORK for OUR treats.

When I graduated college and moved to Chicagoland, I remember being a bit appalled at how the kids acted on beggar’s night. They walked up to the door, held their bags open and looked at me expectantly.

Sure, they were dressed up in their adorable little costumes, but make no mistake: these kids were slackers.

I’d ask them, “What’s your trick?” And they and their parents would look at me quizzically, like I was the crazy lady on the block.

See, back when I was a kid in central Iowa, we kids would spend the week before Halloween searching for the BEST joke so we could be prepared for Beggar’s Night. If you had no joke and no costume, you would be DENIED, or at the very least, tsked for not doing your job right.

AKA: Trick FOR treat. Quid pro quo.

I tried to get my kids to single-handedly carry out the tradition  out here, but it was a no-go.  My neighbors were confused at why they were being told jokes. They didn’t quite  appreciate the tradition. I get it.

So, this year we’re trying a new angle: we’re Boo’ing it forward. Surprising neighbors and friends with little treats and goodies on their doorstep.

Forget the traditional and tired oranges, browns and greens of Halloween, and the spooky ghosts and goblins that just aren’t for everyone. We decided to stand out by creating classy and chic Black Cat Halloween Bags.

To make them, start with some simple, inexpensive craft essentials: pink and black paper favor bags, glitter paper, and self stick letters. Oh, and a feather boa.

Next, print out my free friendly black cat printable. You can use this as-is, or you can trace it onto some fun, sparkly craft paper like I did. (Psst…keep reading to download this free printable.)

I also made some extra cat ears based on this template. I used self-stick craft paper, so I just stuck the cats on my pink bags.

For the black bags, I attached some mini craft clips to the back of the glitter ears.

You could stop right there, but I wanted to add a fun black cat tail in the form of fun pencil toppers.

I just cut sections of the feather boa, and, using washi tape, attached them to the pencils.

How fun is that?

Next up: filling the bags. We added our favorite MARS® Candy, American Greetings stickers and cards, and also included a free “You’ve Been BOO’d” card we found online.

 

When the bags were filled and finished, they looked like this.

These Boo bags are anything but basic.

Here’s a closer look. You could either tuck the pencil inside of a standard gift bag.

Or tape it to the outside of your bag.

Either way, these bags are sure to fill your recipients with the spirit of Halloween tricking AND treating.

Now it’s your turn. Will you join me in BOO’ing It Forward this Halloween? Download your free  printable here to make your Black Cat Halloween bags, and share the love with your neighbors and friends.

>>Download Your Black Cat Printable Here<<

You can find everything you need, including this exclusive MARS® Spider-Man Chocolate/Sugar Variety Bag at Walmart (you can shop the image below!). And while you’re at it, get the Spider-Man Homecoming DVD & Blu-Ray on October 17th at Walmart.

Looking for more awesome BOO it Forward ideas? You’ll find loads of fab ideas and printables here. Now, let’s do Some Friendly Neighborhood BOO’ing!