May Day is coming up on May 1st and this seems like the perfect year to pick up this tradition (to spread some cheer!) if you haven’t done it in years past. It’s fun, it spreads joy and it is ‘social distancing’ friendly.
We’ve laid out some ideas below — so now is the time to start creating those ‘May Day Baskets’. We started by making a list of friends and classmates and I had some supplies already at home, but needed to order a few (can I get an amen for curbside pickup?!).
Creating the Basket:
- Brown Bags
- Toss your goodies into a brown paper bag, tie with a pretty ribbon or decorate it and leave it on the doorstep.
- Plastic Cups
- Poke a hole on each side, thread a wire through and call it a done deal.
- Woven Paper Basket
- This takes me back in the day! A simple basket made from weaving construction paper strips together is always a hit (and fun to make).
- Tin Cans
- Dig through your recycling pile and find some tin cans. Use hot glue to attach a ribbon handle to the inside of the can.
- Paper Plates
- Fold a paper plate in half, staple the side edges closed and you have a quick and easy container for your flowers.
- Paper Cones
- One of the most common May Day Basket ideas is to roll a piece of paper into a cone shape and attach a handle with brads or glue. These hang perfectly on door knobs.
- Baskets
- Line it with some pretty tissue paper if you want to add some color.
- Mason Jars
- Wrap the jar with ribbon and these will hang perfectly from doorknobs.
- Leftover Party Hats
- Use the cone-shaped hat as your basket and the chin strap to hang it from the knob.
- Beach Bucket
- These are great – because they can be used over and over and already have a handle attached!
Contents:
Typically May Day baskets have flowers in them – whether they are fresh flowers, hand-crafted flowers or dandelions (beauty is in the eye of the beholder here!). But sometimes it’s fun to splurge a little on close friends – so here are other ideas of what you could put in your May Day basket this year!
- Flowers
- Seed Packets – spring is the perfect time to be planting flowers!
- Candy Bouquets
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Bubbles
- Stickers
- Pens, Pencils, Markers
- Deck of Cards (or UNO)
- Books
- Kindness Rocks
- Homemade Art + Cards
The idea is to hang the basket on the door knob, ring the doorbell and run before they answer and see you. If you get caught, the recipient will give you a kiss in exchange for the treat… although this year – blowing a kiss from 20 feet away might be better.
My kids haven’t celebrated May Day in the past, but these days we are looking for any fun activity and the bonus is that this one also spreads cheer to others! We would love to hear what you put in your baskets — and feel free to use our free printable!
