Why Your Neighborhood Needs a Sip and Stroll This Halloween

I can never move out of my neighborhood — I love it too much. It’s not huge, it’s tucked in the middle of nowhere, and my neighbors are hands down the best. Even though I love where I live year-round, my favorite time is Halloween. Why? Every year our neighborhood has a sip and stroll on Halloween night.

What is a Sip and Stroll?

Basically, whoever wants to participate signs up to provide a drink or snack at their house. We have a Facebook neighborhood group where everyone will share if they plan to participate. Our neighborhood does a loose “schedule” of times with the addresses of participating houses. Though, if I’m being honest, that schedule tends to go out the window. While the kids go house to house trick or treating, the adults get to imbibe, too.

What sorts of things should you provide if you want to join in?

You can go as fancy or simple as you want, adult-only or family-friendly. Remember, there are several houses participating, so you only need to do mini versions of drinks and snacks, and you don’t have to prepare a ton. The goal is mingling with neighbors, not feeding a crowd.

Snack Ideas

S’mores

Nachos

Hotdogs and chili

Mini crawfish pies

Alcohol-soaked gummy bears

Popcorn

Drink Ideas

Jell-o shots

Seltzers

Shots of anything — Rumchata, fireball, rum (to add with soda)

Sodas / Waters

*One year a neighbor made mini hand grenades

Why does your neighborhood need a Sip and Stroll?

I’m an introvert, through and through. However, a sip and stroll is the one night I can interact with my neighbors in a casual setting. Either I’m passing out candy in my driveway, or I’m walking around with my kid and stopping at houses to grab a bite or drink.

You’re not hanging at a person’s house for a long time, but you get to put a face with the house. You can introduce yourself and your family — they might have kids the same age as yours and you didn’t even realize it! A couple of years ago, my son found out one of his classmates lived right down the street. We didn’t know because he didn’t ride the bus.

I think one thing that makes my neighborhood great is the fact that we all look out for each other. That sense of community takes time and effort, and I believe something fun like a Sip and Stroll is a great start to bringing your neighborhood together.

Jaime Mackey
Originally from Florida, Jaime has lived in Southern Louisiana for most of her life (so, that makes her a local, right?). She currently resides on the Northshore with her husband and son and teaches high school English. An enneagram 5, you'll most likely find her doing hot yoga solo, on her phone researching a random topic or sitting in the comfort of her home with coffee and a book within an arm's reach.

3 COMMENTS

  1. How many participants would you say for a successful event? Do you service drink in little dixie cup size or those little plastic containers like Costco uses for tasting? Timewise 1.5 to 2 hours

    • We had maybe 8-10 houses participate last year and I’d say it was successful! I did Jell-O shots and my neighbor made mini crawfish pies…just enough for a quick bite.

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