When I was a kid, my family celebrated May Day. May Day is a celebration of the beginning of Spring and is remembered on the 1st day of May. It is customary on May Day to anonymously leave a small basket of flowers on a neighbor’s doorknob. We had a couple of widows who lived on our street that we often remembered on holidays. My mother helped me prepare the small paper woven gift baskets with flowers. Mom would walk with me to their driveway, I would sneak up to their door, leave the gift basket and flowers on the doorknob, and we’d sneak away.
As an adult, I’ve used this idea in my neighborhood as a means to meet and get to know my neighbors. On most holidays, I’ll prepare a small gift bag with holiday-appropriate candy or small gifts and leave it on my neighbors’ doorknobs. If they are home, I will knock on the door and say hello and we’ll chat for a few minutes. I also include a note in the gift bag with my name, my husband’s name and our phone numbers. I remind our neighbors that our phone numbers are in the bag in case we can ever do anything for them. As time has passed, our conversations have moved passed names and the weather and on to important events happening in their lives. This super simple action has made a huge difference in the relationships I have with my neighbors!
