May Day Baskets!

By: Emily Heaston

Here in Iowa, we carry on the sweet tradition of surprising neighbors and friends with May Day baskets! I remember the excitement of trying to catch our little neighbor buddies as they left goodies on our front porch and ran off, and it’s so fun now to watch my kids eagerly deliver treats up and down our block!

My very favorite May Day memory is from 2012. Our first baby, Clare, was 8 months old and Tim walked in the door after work carrying a little May Day basket for her! He had stopped at Target and bought a whole pack of cups, just to use one to make Clare her very first May Day basket. I remember he had put a little freezer-teething toy and her favorite baby food pouches in it for her, too!

It had been years since I’d made or received a May Basket, but I’m so glad that Tim remembered to pass this tradition on with our kids! With May Day just around the corner, I wanted to share some simple ideas for celebrating spring on your block!

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Here’s what you’ll need:

• Plastic or paper cups–I love these Up&Up™ Disposable Snack Bowls that I used last year!
• Pipe Cleaners or Licorice to create a handle for your baskets.
• Popcorn–buy a bag or pop your own! May Day baskets don’t have to be complicated to be fun! My kids LOVE Pirate’s Booty, so if nothing else, you could just stick a Happy May Day note on a bag, then ‘ring and run’! These snack bags of Pirate’s Booty are always a hit when my kids receive them on Halloween too!
• Individually wrapped candies–May Day baskets do tend to get knocked over in the excitement of trying to ‘ding and ditch,’ so this makes refilling a toppled basket easier! We usually include Dum Dums, Skittles & Starburst, or Smarties.
• Fun-size Play-Doh–My kids love picking out special colors to give to each neighbor!
• What do you put in your May Day baskets?

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I can’t do a May Day post without including a picture of the special May Day flowers Tim and I received last year from our dear friends, Ben & Brianna! Have you ever seen such beautiful flowers?!

Happy May Day!