Booze Fairies Flit Across America
January 1, 2021 2:17 PM Subscribe
Neighbors have been donning wings and tutus to deliver adult beverages and other goodies. New York Times: "This year, women around the country have staked out each other’s homes in the name of a quest that gained popularity during the pandemic: raising spirits by giving spirits, anonymously. Booze fairies, as they’re called, bring together the childhood thrill of ding-dong ditch with a side of Secret Santa and a dash of adult beverages. Sometimes, they wear wings and a tutu."
"Booze fairies operate on a “pay it forward” philosophy. Participants share their addresses (and alcohol preferences) with volunteer group leaders, who then assign them to various other fairies. Each gift basket comes with a new address to deliver to, and thus a fairy is born. Those who are only out for free drinks get their wings clipped quickly.
“This has 100 percent restored my faith in humanity,” she said. “It’s the sense of not being alone, of knowing someone out there cares about you and will do whatever it takes to put a smile on your face.”
"Booze fairies operate on a “pay it forward” philosophy. Participants share their addresses (and alcohol preferences) with volunteer group leaders, who then assign them to various other fairies. Each gift basket comes with a new address to deliver to, and thus a fairy is born. Those who are only out for free drinks get their wings clipped quickly.
“This has 100 percent restored my faith in humanity,” she said. “It’s the sense of not being alone, of knowing someone out there cares about you and will do whatever it takes to put a smile on your face.”
Nothing sets my teeth on edge like the faux-cutesy phrase “adult beverage.” If someone means alcoholic, they should say alcoholic. I’m an adult, and if I drink a damn Yoo-hoo it’s a damn adult beverage.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:41 PM on January 1, 2021 [59 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:41 PM on January 1, 2021 [59 favorites]
A friend looped me into something similar, through Facebook - and as I really don't use Facebook it didn't work for me. I 'sent' a $50 bourbon, and got nothing back along the chain. Probably my fault somehow, but hopefully the person who got my contribution enjoyed it.
posted by jazon at 2:49 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by jazon at 2:49 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I’m an adult, and if I drink a damn Yoo-hoo it’s a damn adult beverage.
I assume they mean "illegal to be drinking it under age 21" when they say adult beverage, but I get your point. That said, I just marathoned a TV show called "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" in which the boss character (a dude who lives like he's in another century in some respects, he's really old fashioned) drinks You-Hoo and it's a running joke about how he seems to treat it sometimes like most people would treat alcohol, i.e. something bad happens and he needs a Yoo-Hoo NOW. He chugs one dramatically when bad news comes in like most of us would chug our emergency booze stash. So this comment amused me.
I'd probably sign up for a booze fairy thing, except (a) it sounds expensive and (b) it sounds like I'd have to participate in Facebook in order to do it. But that said, I'm really amused at how people dress up in fairy wings and turned it more into a gift basket activity.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:18 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
I assume they mean "illegal to be drinking it under age 21" when they say adult beverage, but I get your point. That said, I just marathoned a TV show called "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" in which the boss character (a dude who lives like he's in another century in some respects, he's really old fashioned) drinks You-Hoo and it's a running joke about how he seems to treat it sometimes like most people would treat alcohol, i.e. something bad happens and he needs a Yoo-Hoo NOW. He chugs one dramatically when bad news comes in like most of us would chug our emergency booze stash. So this comment amused me.
I'd probably sign up for a booze fairy thing, except (a) it sounds expensive and (b) it sounds like I'd have to participate in Facebook in order to do it. But that said, I'm really amused at how people dress up in fairy wings and turned it more into a gift basket activity.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:18 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
I guess every generation rediscovers chain letters.
And just like always, sucks for the last "links".
posted by sideshow at 5:50 PM on January 1, 2021 [10 favorites]
And just like always, sucks for the last "links".
posted by sideshow at 5:50 PM on January 1, 2021 [10 favorites]
if I drink a damn Yoo-hoo it’s a damn adult beverage.
I don't believe there's a man, woman, or child alive today who doesn't enjoy a lovely beverage.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:36 PM on January 1, 2021 [4 favorites]
I don't believe there's a man, woman, or child alive today who doesn't enjoy a lovely beverage.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:36 PM on January 1, 2021 [4 favorites]
Maybe I am a bad person, but those "pay it forward" things like in drive through lines give me the heebie jeebies. I just want to pay for my own order, not have to be involved in some complicated chain letter thing that feels like enforced "fun".
From the article, this is more of a closed group thing where everyone has signed up for it and is on board, which is way better and sounds like actual fun.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:04 PM on January 1, 2021 [23 favorites]
From the article, this is more of a closed group thing where everyone has signed up for it and is on board, which is way better and sounds like actual fun.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:04 PM on January 1, 2021 [23 favorites]
We used the term "Adult Beverage" to denote alcohol on our posters in college for our fraternity parties. We wanted people to know that it was not a dry party. Also, that we were providing the beverages, not a BYOB. Also used the term "the Usual Beverage" to mean beer. It worked, but that was the 80s. Most things alcohol or drug related worked.
posted by AugustWest at 7:12 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by AugustWest at 7:12 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
This was a thing early on in the pandemic by me. My SO gave and received several bottles of wine and snacks, personal care items, etc in her basket. It seemed to be mostly a thing that women were doing for each other. There were several abortive attempts to get something similar going for men but nothing ever came of it, and then a month or so after the first wine fairies appeared from out of nowhere, they all disappeared just as quickly.
posted by KingEdRa at 8:01 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by KingEdRa at 8:01 PM on January 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
Anyone got a phenethylamine fairy? Would also be willing to accept a tryptamine fairy, except that I suppose they should be coming to me rather than the other way 'round. Intrusive little buggers.
posted by aramaic at 8:44 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 8:44 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
If it's really replicating ding-dong ditch, the only bottle they'd leave would be Jeppson's Malört.
posted by scruss at 8:59 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by scruss at 8:59 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
The Booze Fairy, otherwise known (outside Celtic mythology) as The Demon Drink
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 11:03 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 11:03 PM on January 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
On the mostly male side of things, my homebrew club has been supporting our local breweries by arranging a weekly happy hour. Each week, we choose a different brewery and put together a mixed 4 pack of beers. Club members pay for their pack, we make a bulk purchase from the brewery and then distribute the packs across LA. On Friday, we all jump up on Zoom and talk with one of the brewers while tasting the beers over a couple of hours. Lots of specific questions about the brews and their processes/recipes, etc. It's been fun and so far since the last week of April we've bought over 1500 packs of beer for more than $24K going to our local establishments.
Doing that for all but 4 Fridays during the pandemic has been keeping me semi-tethered to the real world as it is.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:15 PM on January 1, 2021 [33 favorites]
Doing that for all but 4 Fridays during the pandemic has been keeping me semi-tethered to the real world as it is.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:15 PM on January 1, 2021 [33 favorites]
I was trying to think of the North American Male version of this. But I'm having a hard time imagining some dude tiptoeing up to his buddy's porch to leave a case of beer and some steaks, giggling to himself with glee and whispering "omigod, Dave is gonna FREAK OUT, teehee".
But maybe I have the wrong friends.
I did have a little daydream, when things were first really looking dire, of starting a micro pirate radio station, posting just a frequency and a voicemail number around the neighborhood. Maybe a little box for people to anonymously leave their own 30 minutes or less dj sessions, and what time slot they wanted. Like a Little Free Library for radio.
Ok nameless neighbors, last night someone sent in a flash drive titled 10am - Boogie Down Brunch; let's see what's on it together.
posted by bartleby at 12:48 AM on January 2, 2021 [9 favorites]
But maybe I have the wrong friends.
I did have a little daydream, when things were first really looking dire, of starting a micro pirate radio station, posting just a frequency and a voicemail number around the neighborhood. Maybe a little box for people to anonymously leave their own 30 minutes or less dj sessions, and what time slot they wanted. Like a Little Free Library for radio.
Ok nameless neighbors, last night someone sent in a flash drive titled 10am - Boogie Down Brunch; let's see what's on it together.
posted by bartleby at 12:48 AM on January 2, 2021 [9 favorites]
Look some of us enjoy an illicit bowl of Porn Flakes, Froot Noods or Fucky Charms
posted by oulipian at 6:28 AM on January 2, 2021 [20 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 6:28 AM on January 2, 2021 [20 favorites]
Maybe I am a bad person, but those "pay it forward" things like in drive through lines give me the heebie jeebies. I just want to pay for my own order, not have to be involved in some complicated chain letter thing that feels like enforced "fun".
What I do is stop the chain by tipping the cost of my meal.
posted by muddgirl at 7:55 AM on January 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
What I do is stop the chain by tipping the cost of my meal.
posted by muddgirl at 7:55 AM on January 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
Yes I am a spoilsport.
posted by muddgirl at 7:56 AM on January 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 7:56 AM on January 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
So if you do this with your neighbours on your block, is it block chain?
posted by mazola at 8:09 AM on January 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by mazola at 8:09 AM on January 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
What I do is stop the chain by tipping the cost of my meal.
This is great, I'll be using this if it comes up...what would that be, lawful good? Not a spoilsport, though; I expect that the employees appreciate a large tip much more than witnessing another pay-it-forward line.
The 'booze fairies' thing is funny and fun, but in the context of the essays I've been reading lately, about a lot of people starting to be honest about problematic daily alcohol consumption during the pandemic, it's maybe a little less carefree? Many people are newly discovering for themselves that alcohol can be a dangerous choice of soft intoxicant--especially in our current shelter-in-place mode--so there is some concern there. (Absent a problem with alcohol, this sounds pretty fun though, and of course I'm at least a little hypocritical because I think 'weed fairies' would be great and super fun, but I generally think that cannabis is a much safer and less harmful choice of soft intoxicant for a wide variety of reasons.)
But maybe it's just my deeply ingrained sense of propriety (thanks, deep South culture of shame!) and on some level I just think that one's vices should only be personally driven. Or maybe it's because I grew up in Cajun culture, where out-of-control drinking and intoxication is normalized and very communally reinforced, and I have an instinctive reaction to any version of that behavior as slippery-slope. Or maybe it's just because one of my childhood best friends recently succeeded at drinking himself to death at age 48. I've just seen alcohol wreck too many people--as I'm sure we all have, unfortunately--to have a carefree reaction to this whole booze fairy thing.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:29 AM on January 2, 2021 [12 favorites]
This is great, I'll be using this if it comes up...what would that be, lawful good? Not a spoilsport, though; I expect that the employees appreciate a large tip much more than witnessing another pay-it-forward line.
The 'booze fairies' thing is funny and fun, but in the context of the essays I've been reading lately, about a lot of people starting to be honest about problematic daily alcohol consumption during the pandemic, it's maybe a little less carefree? Many people are newly discovering for themselves that alcohol can be a dangerous choice of soft intoxicant--especially in our current shelter-in-place mode--so there is some concern there. (Absent a problem with alcohol, this sounds pretty fun though, and of course I'm at least a little hypocritical because I think 'weed fairies' would be great and super fun, but I generally think that cannabis is a much safer and less harmful choice of soft intoxicant for a wide variety of reasons.)
But maybe it's just my deeply ingrained sense of propriety (thanks, deep South culture of shame!) and on some level I just think that one's vices should only be personally driven. Or maybe it's because I grew up in Cajun culture, where out-of-control drinking and intoxication is normalized and very communally reinforced, and I have an instinctive reaction to any version of that behavior as slippery-slope. Or maybe it's just because one of my childhood best friends recently succeeded at drinking himself to death at age 48. I've just seen alcohol wreck too many people--as I'm sure we all have, unfortunately--to have a carefree reaction to this whole booze fairy thing.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:29 AM on January 2, 2021 [12 favorites]
So if you do this with your neighbours on your block, is it block chain?
Assuming you're leaving them a chunk of cinderblock, yes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:37 AM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
Assuming you're leaving them a chunk of cinderblock, yes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:37 AM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's just because one of my childhood best friends recently succeeded at drinking himself to death at age 48.
For me, it's deeply ingrained (for the same reasons) not to drink alone, only socially. As a consequence I have drunk way less than I would have pre-pandemic. Also, having kids at home made it so we have much less time, and booze would just make us more tired for the next day on the endless treadmill.
posted by benzenedream at 12:15 PM on January 2, 2021
For me, it's deeply ingrained (for the same reasons) not to drink alone, only socially. As a consequence I have drunk way less than I would have pre-pandemic. Also, having kids at home made it so we have much less time, and booze would just make us more tired for the next day on the endless treadmill.
posted by benzenedream at 12:15 PM on January 2, 2021
> Maybe I am a bad person, but those "pay it forward" things like in drive through lines give me the heebie jeebies. I just want to pay for my own order, not have to be involved in some complicated chain letter thing that feels like enforced "fun".
I join you in being a bad person. If one person does it spontaneously for another stranger who they see is having a rough day: awww, sweet! If a line of people driving through a fast-food restaurant are just paying a different amount than what they would usually pay: meh.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:53 PM on January 2, 2021 [7 favorites]
I join you in being a bad person. If one person does it spontaneously for another stranger who they see is having a rough day: awww, sweet! If a line of people driving through a fast-food restaurant are just paying a different amount than what they would usually pay: meh.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:53 PM on January 2, 2021 [7 favorites]
Look some of us enjoy an illicit bowl of Porn Flakes, Froot Noods or Fucky Charms
But only if they’re out of Count Cockula.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:00 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
But only if they’re out of Count Cockula.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:00 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
I like to watch people eat Count Cuckula.
posted by benzenedream at 3:25 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 3:25 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
Maybe I am a bad person, but those "pay it forward" things like in drive through lines give me the heebie jeebies. I just want to pay for my own order, not have to be involved in some complicated chain letter thing that feels like enforced "fun".
I hate these things and the people who work in Drive-thrus hate them more. From their point of view, 20 people go through and 20 orders are paid for, it just makes their job way more complicated. If you want to be charitable give to an actual charity, or tip the poor drive-thru employee like muddgirl.
I'm fully capable of paying for my own coffee and don't want to participate in an awkward party game with people I don't know.
Maybe I'm just bitter because nobody has donned a tutu and wings and brought me cask-strength Scotch, though.
posted by mmoncur at 10:08 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
I hate these things and the people who work in Drive-thrus hate them more. From their point of view, 20 people go through and 20 orders are paid for, it just makes their job way more complicated. If you want to be charitable give to an actual charity, or tip the poor drive-thru employee like muddgirl.
I'm fully capable of paying for my own coffee and don't want to participate in an awkward party game with people I don't know.
Maybe I'm just bitter because nobody has donned a tutu and wings and brought me cask-strength Scotch, though.
posted by mmoncur at 10:08 PM on January 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
Am I correct in assuming these Facebook groups and whatnot are populated pretty much exclusively by white ladies? The article isn't very clear. I am having a hard time imagining a black man sneaking into a Nashville gated community with bags full of liquor.
posted by dmh at 10:56 PM on January 2, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by dmh at 10:56 PM on January 2, 2021 [7 favorites]
Not that I can confirm or deny it, but I would be pretty sure that is the case.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:13 PM on January 4, 2021
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:13 PM on January 4, 2021
Many people are newly discovering for themselves that alcohol can be a dangerous choice of soft intoxicant--especially in our current shelter-in-place mode--so there is some concern there.
FWIW, the sales figures don't seem to be showing noticeably increased levels of consumption, at least in the wine industry. SF Chronicle: Pandemic drinking did not save the wine industry's slowing sales, new data shows
posted by Lexica at 1:12 PM on January 6, 2021
FWIW, the sales figures don't seem to be showing noticeably increased levels of consumption, at least in the wine industry. SF Chronicle: Pandemic drinking did not save the wine industry's slowing sales, new data shows
posted by Lexica at 1:12 PM on January 6, 2021
> I think 'weed fairies' would be great and super fun
This one looks like fun.
posted by homunculus at 7:03 PM on January 12, 2021
This one looks like fun.
posted by homunculus at 7:03 PM on January 12, 2021
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