Life
I’ll never forget the look on my son’s face last year when he came home from school to find a bag of Halloween goodies for him on our front porch. Filled with glowsticks, a skeleton straw, and a handful of creepy candies, we had no idea who it was from. The note left with the little bag just said “You’ve Been Booed!” We found out later it was a Boo Basket, a Halloween trend designed to let kids spread the spirit of the season with their friends. What are Boo Baskets? They just might be the next Halloween tradition.
Think of a Boo Basket like an Easter basket, but with a Halloween theme. And rather than gifting Boo Baskets to your children, your children secretly gift them to their friends, as Make It Grateful explained. This is done by leaving a Boo Basket on a doorstep or in a mailbox for the buddy to find. Then the child who finds the Boo Basket is instructed to keep the spooky fun going by gifting a Boo Basket to another pal. Each Boo Basket should contain a letter with something that reads like his:
- Enjoy your treats!
- Hang the “We’ve Been Booed” sign on your door!.
- Put together a Boo Basket for a neighbor (include treats and extra Boo Printables) within two days. Be sneaky!
You can make your own letter or use the helpful template on Alice & Lois
Once you have a few of those printed out, you can build your Boo Baskets. Candy is a must, but it’s also fun to mix up the contents with some other frightful products.
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1
"You've Been Booed!" Bag
Leave it to Target to have a perfectly on theme gift bag. This “You’ve Been Booed” option says it all. And at nearly 10 inches high by 8 inches wide, it's the ideal size to store all of your goodies.
2
Glow Stick Bracelets
Whether you’re trick-or-treating or not, these glowstick bracelets are a great way to keep track of your kids at night. Especially if they’re wearing dark costumes.
3
Ghost and Bat Veggie Chips
Hey, not every kid loves candy, nor does every parent want their child snarfing up sugar just weeks before Halloween. Include some Ghost and Bat veggie chips for a relatively healthy snack alternative.
4
Ghost and Goblins Pencil Assortment
Take note, children. You will always need a handwriting utensil. So why not include a cute but creepy pencil?
5
Creepy Finger Puppets
If your Boo Basket recipient is in elementary school, they’ll still get a kick out of a finger puppet like these from Walmart. The fun characters easily fit on little fingers for optimum pretend time.
6
Gummy Skulls
You have to have some candy in the Boo Basket or you'll likely face a zombie uprising, and these Gummy Skulls provide just the right yuck factor.
7
Severed Finger Lollipops
Depending on how gruesome you want to get, you could always visit Etsy vendor sweetniks and order some of these eerily accurate severed finger lollipops.
8
Skull Cup
Everyone gets thirsty. Just ask a vampire. So keep your Boo Basket recipient well hydrated with a little skull cup.
9
Toddler Halloween Coloring Book
Throw an activity in your Boo Basket, for instance this Halloween coloring book. You could add a little pack of crayons too, maybe in yellow, black, and orange to stay on theme.
10
Glow in the Dark Vampire Teeth
These hilarious teeth light up in the dark, making them a great Boo Basket addition (or just something to keep on hand when you want to scare the wits out of your partner).
11
Annie’s Bunnies & Bats Gummies
Keep the treats organic with Annie’s spin on Halloween. One box contains 15 pouches, so your own ghoul or boy can snack on the leftovers.
12
Halloween Novelty Eyewear
At just a $1, how can you pass up a pair of these ridiculous eyeglasses?
13
Halloween Stamps
Support the US Postal Service while throwing a fun item in your Boo Basket with these Halloween stamps. Who knows, maybe they could encourage kids to find a pen pal.
14
Halloween Bubbles
Topped with a ghost, a black cat, and a pumpkin, these tiny bubbles don’t take up too much space, but they promise hours of fun.
15
Sticky Jack-o-Lanterns
Remember these things? You launch them across the room and they stick to the windows or walls. Good times.
16
Monster Face Notepads
To go with their spooky pencils, pop a monster face notepad in a Boo Basket for drawing and writing activities.
17
Monster Stickers
They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they're sticky, too. With a werewolf, ghost, vampire, pumpkin, and Frankenstein on the roll, these are bound to end up stuck to something they should be. What’s not to love about these stickers?
18
Halloween Paddle Balls
Help kids burn off some of that sugar with an invigorating game of paddle ball. The solo toy comes in designs of a spider, a ghost, and one with a pumpkin.
19
Bouncy Glow-In-The-Dark Eyeballs
See what I’m trying to do here? Eye have a feeling kids would love these. Wink wink. Too many optical puns? Eye’ll see myself out.
