Rebecca King — NorthJersey.com
Surprise baskets of booze have been showing up on the doorsteps of homes throughout Lincoln Park.
The reason? A visit from a “booze fairy” – a kind of adult tooth fairy that leaves alcohol and other treats instead of money, no tooth-loss necessary.
Booze Fairy groups have also been popping up across New Jersey as a way to spread cheer and break up the monotony of quarantine. Booze Fairy groups have existed since the early 2000s, but are now gaining popularity as the pandemic drags on.
Jaime Laubshire, a mother of five, and Jenni Perry, mother of two, organized the Lincoln Park Booze Fairy group.
Laubshire got the idea from another Facebook group she saw and reached out to Perry, the administrator of the Lincoln Park Moms Facebook page, to help spread the word.
“There was a lot of debate in Lincoln Park about what was going on with the schools,” said Laubshire. “People were fighting over whether it was a good idea to send the kids back or not. I thought we needed something to unite everyone and bring the moms together.”
In the month of July, about 190 Booze Fairy baskets were made and delivered in Lincoln Park.
Here’s how it works: folks join a Booze Fairy Facebook group in their area. Some are hyperlocal, some are for the entire state. They leave their name and someone from the group will choose to “dust” them (AKA leave them a basket full of booze).
The “dusted” will send their address to the “fairy,” who will drop off a package full of goodies on their front step. The person who receives the package is then asked to pay it forward. In some groups, they give a basket to their “fairy” in a swap system. In others, that person picks another person in the group to “dust” and on and on until everyone gets a basket.
One group called “NJ Fairy Booze Basket Swapp” on Facebook regularly posts call outs for “Ocean County Swappers” and “Swappers in Asbury and Neptune.” People interested in swapping in those areas comment below and meet fellow fairies to bring baskets to.
The Lincoln Park group doesn’t swap, but rather pays the good deed forward by dropping off a basket to another person in the group. Moms in the group also posted their favorite snacks and drinks of choice (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) to help guide their fairies.
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“I encouraged people to reach out to someone they argued with or someone they didn’t know and ‘dust’ them,” said Laubshire.
Laubshire made one basket loaded with iced tea and lemonade instead of alcohol for a friend who doesn’t drink. For a mom who was pregnant, she made a spa-themed basket with “all fun pampering products that you might not treat yourself to.”
“I had more fun shopping than I did receiving,” Laubshire said. “It gave me something to do. The kids would help, and we’d run around leaving the baskets on people’s doorsteps.”
Perry’s favorite basket she saw on the Facebook group was football-themed and included a shirt that said: “I’m Day Drinking Because 2020 Sucks.”
Besides the booze (White Claws and bottles of rose were popular), many of the Lincoln park baskets included inspirational signs, bubbles and other activities to keep the kids busy, and candles.
Perry included an encouraging “best wishes” card for a mom who was getting a medical procedure done.
“Moms are very underappreciated. So, we’re taking care of each other with these baskets,” said Perry.
In the future, Perry and Laubshire hope to continue Booze Fairy with themed months (football and back-to-school baskets in September, Halloween baskets in October) and special birthday surprises.
“Especially with everything everyone’s going through right now,” said Perry, “It’s nice to receive something and feel a bit special.”