Boo Basket a Fun Halloween Tradition
Looking for a fun Halloween tradition? Try the Boo Basket!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It happens in the fall; which means sweater weather. It is a great excuse to get outside with your kids and meet your neighbors. I am a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child and Halloween gives us the opportunity to get out, see our neighbors, make connections, and share smiles. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Our neighborhood is rich in tradition with Easter Egg Hunts and Luminary Night leading up to Christmas. We had Halloween parades during the pandemic and we BOO each other.
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We BOO and it’s cool. It started for us about 13 years ago when my daughter was a toddler and my son was just born. Every year, in the weeks leading up to Halloween, we would find a gift left on our front porch. The gift came in a Halloween themed bag or bucket and included a couple dollars worth of cute Halloween themed items that made my daughter smile.
Passing the Boo Basket Torch
Now that my kiddos are older, the torch has been passed along to my family to start this tradition every October. The my teenagers and I have so much fun thinking of which family we will choose to start the chain of kindness. We love finding cute little items for the kids in that family, package them in a Halloween bucket and include a note explaining what to do.
How to Fill Your Boo Basket
Filling your Boo Bucket takes very little effort. Next time you are at the dollar store, drug store, or grocery store pick up a few cheap Halloween themed items that fit the age range of the kids in the family you are Booing. I stay away from candy because of concerns for food allergies and some parents just don’t want their kids eating it. Here is some inspo:
Directions for Your Boo Basket
- Buy a Halloween-themed vessel
- Fill it with a few cute Halloween-y items that are chosen for the family you are Booing.
- Include a letter explaining how to play
- Include a Ghost image that the family can post in their window so others know they’ve already been Booed.
- Be sneaky and leave the Boo Basket on the porch of the family you are Booing.
- Ring the doorbell and RUN!
Boo Basket Printables
There are several online options for you to print, or you can create your own; just make sure you include all the pertinent information. Here are some cute ones you can print for free:
8 School Lunch Hacks You and Your Kids Will Love
It’s back to school time! And with it comes so much stress and so many expenses! (This list will help you save money.) Check out these school lunch hacks your kids will love, and you’ll love to make!
So. Much. Stress.
I’ve learned to compartmentalize my issues so I tackle just one at a time. It helps me from becoming overwhelmed. Helps. And I can use all the help I can get. (Like these great items every mom needs for back to school!)
One thing that used to really give me anxiety is packing my kids’ lunch. When my daughter was in kindergarten, she wouldn’t eat a sandwich. (I mean, really? No peanut butter and jelly, no turkey and cheese, not even grilled cheese!) That was a challenge I tackled, and feel I won. Both she and my son were known for their fun little “bento box” lunches that included kabobs and deconstructed sandwiches.
You do what you have to do.
Thank GOD for the internet. I was on every mom blog, Instagram, and TikTok I could find to figure out how to be creative with healthy foods for the kids. Okay, relatively healthy foods. They are kids. My goal was to get a fruit and or vegetable in them at lunch. I knew the carbohydrates and proteins would be a little easier.
Don’t break the bank.
But here’s the thing. You know as well as I do that eating healthy foods that are fun and enticing to kids can be easy if you’re willing to pay an arm and a leg for them. It’s a real shame that junk food is so much more accessible and more cost-effective than real food. But our kids have enough hurdles to overcome, especially at the beginning of the school year. So, let’s take this one for them.
Don’t reinvent the wheel.
And getting creative with your kids’ school lunches doesn’t have to take up all your time and energy, either. Don’t reinvent the wheel. There are others who came before you (who somehow have time to create snazzy social media posts) who really want to help. Use their ideas and let’s do what’s best for our kids.
School Lunch Hacks Your Kids Will Love:
