a simple craft :: may day baskets

It’s hard to believe that we are already at the end of April! But, if the saying is true, then I’m ready to say “Good-bye, April Showers! Hello, May Flowers!!” And what better way to welcome May and its beautiful flowers than with an adorable May Day flower basket for your neighbors!

May Day, celebrated across the globe, is celebrated here in the US on May 1 when people leave small baskets filled with flowers or treats on someone’s doorstep. Some people also include the tradition of ringing the neighbor’s door bell and running away but, if the person receiving the basket catches you, then they’ll be expecting a kiss. We like to stick to just surprising our neighbors with flowers and treats!

The best part about May Day, for us, is that it’s a super easy way to brighten up our neighbors’ day! Baskets are really easy to make (you can even make them over the weekend) and, if you don’t have flowers in your yard to use, you can pick up a large bundle of flowers from your local market and split them amongst your baskets.

So, let’s get to those baskets!

This is a fun basket I made with my kids from empty juice containers with foam paper, construction paper, and stickers!

Step 1: Cut your empty juice container just below the halfway mark, rinse and dry.

Step 2: Cut a 1 inch thick strip of foam paper for the “handle”. Attach the “handle” by stapling it onto the container.

Step 3: Using some Elmer’s glue, cover the outside of the container with construction paper, scrapbooking paper or wrapping paper to make it pretty. Decorate with stickers or little notes.

Step 4: Fill with cut flowers or a plant! We actually filled ours with potting soil and seeds so our neighbors will get to watch their flowers grow over the Spring.

Here are three other adorable May Day basket ideas from around the web:

Left: Use an old (or new) umbrella (kids’ umbrellas would work great!) and long stemmed flowers or greens. Upper Right: Recycle a tin can like this one from Chasing Fireflies. Bottom Right: Give “sweet treats” in lieu of flowers with this cone-basket from Alphamom.

Will you be celebrating May Day on Wednesday? What sort of flower or sweet treats will you be leaving on your neighbor’s doorstep?