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Baking cookies for the neighbors: good idea? or no?
I don't really know any of our neighbors.
The people next door to us we are friendly with, mostly because of their proximity, and that we both have dogs. They've instigated more conversations since we've had DD.
The couple across the street are elderly and I know the wife has struggled with cancer the past few years. I have rarely seen the wife at all, and the husband I've only seen when he gets the mail or bring the garbage cans in. We've said "hello" once in 3 years.
The couple catty-corner from us DH is friendly with, and talks to the husband a lot. The wife came over a couple times after DD was born, and brought a gift. We wave as we pass each other on the street. That's it.
I was thinking this year for Christmas I would bake cookies, and take each of them a batch, in the decorative treat tins.
Kind of a nieghborly gesture, and maybe to help break the ice a little bit more.
Part of me thinks this is cute. Part of me thinks this is stupid.
WDYT?
Re: Baking cookies for the neighbors: good idea? or no?
I think its a cute idea. If I had more time this holiday season I'd probably make cookies for the neighbors. I think that everyone will be really suprised and will really like the gesture. One of the neighbors down the street baked us a coffee cake when we first moved in and I loved it! I thought it was so sweet of her.
I think it would be a nice gesture, if it's something you would like to do for the holidays!
But, like PP said, don't be too upset if they don't return the gesture. My neighbors are all really nice, but they're all considerably older than DH and I - and I usually just wave hello when I'm outside or see them. So it might not break the ice - but I think if you want to, you should definitely do it.
We just moved in to our neighborhood so I was thinking of doing something like cookies too, but I was afraid people wouldn't respond to it. I have met a few of the neighbors, but all we did was say hi and introduce ourselves, beyond that only a few of them even bother to wave. It's so different for me from growing up in the country where everyone knew everyone and there would be acres in between us but you would still talk to them all the time!
So... if you get a good response from the cookies, please share and maybe I will follow your footsteps!
I plan on baking cookies for the neighbors who have gone out of their way to help us (eg, collect our mail and paper when she thought we out for a few days). But for the ones I never talk to? Nope...
I don't know if that helps or not, but that's my plan.
I agree with the poster that said if they wanted to be friendly, they would be...
1) I think it's not a terrible idea. If you want to - do it.
2) I've had MEGA drama lately with my neighbors. We got to be REALLY close after only having lived in our house a year and it blew up in my face. So just beware that you may not WANT to be close with your neighbors...because if things go south, you still have to live next to them.
<a href="http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b260/KelsieAustin/?action=view
This has be curious about what happen between neighbors.
If someone gets offended that you baked them cookies, then you didn't really want to know them anyway, did you?
If it makes you happy to do it, and you aren't expecting anything from them in return, then I'd do it. If for no other reason than that it lets THEM know that YOU are friendly and willing to be friendly towards them. I think people get much more comfortable once the ice is broken. Just don't automatically expect them to be friendly back. (I'd also put a disclaimer on with a list of ingredients so those with allergies aren't worried.) They may not need to talk to you every day, or even wave at you every month, but you do want to be able to go knock on their door and say 'hey, i locked myself out with my phone inside the house, can i use your phone to call my husband?' if you've got a baby in tow and it's 20 degrees outside.
I will say that I would focus on HOLIDAY cookies - snowflakes, bells, trees on tins - and not religious tins. Your neighbors may be different religions than you and religious tins may turn them off of being conversational with you.