30 Best Spooky Basket Ideas for Your "Boo," Your Friends and Your Kids
No doorbell-ringing is needed to get these treats.
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You didn't even realize it when it happened, but a formal note has informed you that you've been "booed." Now what?
If you haven't had the honor yet, getting booed is not actually a bad thing: It means a friend, neighbor or loved one made up a basket of Halloween treats for you — also known as boo baskets or spooky baskets — and now you have to pass on the joy and make one for someone else. Even if you haven't been booed already, you might want to kick off the tradition yourself in your neighborhood. Putting together a spooky basket is so much fun, you might even want to make them for your kids — like an Easter basket with a cooler, more goth vibe.
Whoever your intended target is, the best spooky basket ideas are packages that fit the Halloween theme, but are also full of little things that can surprise and delight the recipient. Fill spooky basket for kids with Halloween candy, Halloween toys and Halloween books, plus fun things like socks, bubbles and goodie-bag items and watch how excited they'll get. (And, unlike with trick-or-treating, they might actually remember to say, "Thank you.") With adults, think of more gourmet goodies, DIY Halloween decorations, seasonal coffee and tea or even beer and shot glasses. Wrap it up with a cute tag, and everyone will want to be your boo.
Bat and Witch Spooky Basket
The canvas baskets seen here actually from Amazon — no Cricut necessary! With that taken care of, you can skip right to the good part, like filling it with treats like boo straws and kids' books.
B-O-O Spooky Basket
If you head to Rebecca Propes's website, you can download the B-O-O templates for the gift tags, along with other matching printables. She used them to decorate individual jars filled with candy, which adds a nice touch since the jars can be re-used after Halloween.
Witch's Broom Spooky Basket
This idea really thinks outside the basket: It uses a brown paper lunch bag cut to look like the bristles of a witch's broom! There's even a stick handle.
Ghostbusters Spooky Basket
When you need a spooky basket in the neighborhood ... who you gonna call? Lindsay of Artsy Fartsy Mama even wrapped the fun-sized candy in Ghostbusters-themed wrappers (which you can download from her site). Don't forget the ecto-plasm leaking out of the top of the bag!
Gourmet Spooky Basket
This basket is filled with tasty treats, including DIY, homemade "mummies in a blanket" — see the Pretty Real Blog for how to make them (but spoiler alert, it involves croissant dough). It's a nice, savory alternative to the Halloween sweets!
Warm and Cozy Spooky Basket
Settle in for a comfy autumn night with the contents of this basket, which include a "warm & cozy" mug, along with pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin biscotti. The tags are even attached with orange and white baker's twine.
Double Spooky Basket
With siblings, you can have fun making coordinating spooky baskets with similar-but-not-matching items, like these Boo and Ghouls Rule banners.
Teen Spooky Basket
Teenagers may think they're too old for trick-or-treating, but they still want Halloween treats. Not only are these filled with candy, they have teen necessities like fast-food gift cards, scary books, USB chargers and travel-sized beauty/grooming items.
If there's a coffee drinker in your house, they'll want nothing more than this personalized spooky basket, featuring a ready-for-Halloween Starbucks cold cup. It also comes with two pairs of Halloween socks and candy in a mason jar.
Spooky Toddler Purse
You don't have to use a pumpkin or a Halloween bucket for your spooky basket. You can find something they'll re-use, like a stylish pink jelly bag. If you really want it to fit the holiday, you can always add a detail like a wooden ghost tag that can be removed later
Spooky Jelly Purse
On stay on-theme and go for the jelly bag in black. They're just the right size for fitting a few treats without going overboard.
Cute Spooky Baskets
These baskets are full of classic Halloween elements, like ghosts, black cats, skulls and pumpkins, but they're far from frightening. The stars of the show are the Halloween reusable drink tumblers.
Witch Leg Spooky Basket
Did a witch take a dive into this spooky basket? From the pop-pom hat and the one leg sticking out, it looks like the answer is yes! It gives off real Wizard of Oz vibes.
Unicorn Spooky Basket
How cool is it that the pumpkin on this basket is wearing its own unicorn mask? Look inside, and you'll see plenty of other unicorn-themed treats, including headbands with color-changing sequins.
Cute Witch Spooky Basket
In addition to a cute witch plush, this basket also has activities that will last them until it's time to go trick-or-treating, like a Halloween sticker activity book.
You've Been Booed Spooky Basket
In some neighborhoods and friend groups, it's a tradition to make a spooky basket to send on to others with a note that says, "You've been booed." This one, in a galvanized pail, comes with printable instructions about how to pass it on.
Movie Night Spooky Basket
A family-friendly Halloween movie, some popcorn, some candy and a fun drink — all the ingredients you need for a perfect night in can be found in one basket.
Wire Spooky Basket
A wire basket is another perfect vessel for your spooky basket, especially because it can hold so much! You can also easily re-purpose them when you're done.
Baby Spooky Basket
With a Halloween teether, kids' book, girlish doll and wooden ghosts this basket is perfect for a first Halloween. Just add some pumpkin puffs, some pouches and some pumpkin booties, and you've got yourself a happy baby!
Best Gift Baskets With Style Halloween Gift Basket
IF DIY isn't your thing, you can always buy a spooky basket. This one is a splurge, but comes with seven boxes of candy, four different types of cookies and assorted truffles, among other goodies, and there's no rule saying you can't buy it for yourself.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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