Sunday is May Day! So spend some time today creating this Printable May Day Basket craft with your kiddos. This fun craft is simple to do and it’s sure to put a smile on someone’s face. Don’t celebrate May Day? Make one for Mom for Mother’s Day!
Printable May Day Basket Craft
Do you celebrate May Day? To be honest, I have some vague memories of doing a few May Day crafts as a child, but I don’t remember much about it. As an adult, I never really celebrated or even gave a moments thought to May Day.
That was until a few years ago when we woke up to find a beautiful, hand-made paper basket hanging from our door, filled with small treats and flowers. It had been left by a new family friend.
She was a HUGE fan of May Day and celebrated it each and every year.
Each year she would gather the kids around the table and pull out all the craft supplies. They’d listen to music and talk while creating several cone-shaped May Day baskets to hand out to their friends and neighbors.
After making enough baskets, they’d fill them with flowers from their garden (and sometimes extra little treats like candy or stickers for the kiddos).
When May 1st came along, my friend and her kids would all gather in the car and drive around the neighborhood, taking turns at leaving the basket hanging from the doorknobs of friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
Many years ago, as a new friend, we were gifted with one of those amazing, hand-made baskets and I’ve loved the idea of May Day ever since.
To be honest, after finding the basket on our door, with a little hand-written note that said “Happy May Day,” I did have to pull up Google and look into the history of May Day because I simply could not remember it.
May Day isn’t celebrated as much now as it used to be, but the history of it is pretty interesting and worth looking into. For us, it’s a celebration of spring and an excuse to show loved ones that we are thinking of them.
Whether you’ve been celebrating May Day for years or you want to start now, grab this free May Day basket printable!
May Day Basket Craft
You’ll need the free printable template (found at the end of this post), scissors, glue, and something to fill it with – whether that be flowers from your garden, chocolates, home-made goodies, or even just a hand-written note.
I printed my template out using regular 11 x 8.5″ computer paper. After printing out your template, carefully cut out the basket and the long strip, which will be used as the baskets handle.
Carefully roll your basket piece into a cone shape and secure with tape and glue.
Depending on your printer settings, you may need to cut off a little more from the sides of your basket. So if you’re having trouble folding your basket into a cone, just trim a little from the edges before gluing.
Next, grab the long strip and put a little bit of glue on both ends. Attach your strip to the inside of the basket to form a loop, as shown.
Allow your basket to dry and then begin filling it!
We filled ours with flowers from our garden and I love how it looks!
When you’re happy with your finished May Day basket, it’s time to gift it. You can choose to leave a little note with it that says “Happy May Day, From XXXX” or keep it anonymous and try not to get caught when dropping it off. It’s really up to you.
Years ago, when our friends gifted us with our first May Day basket, they didn’t leave a note. As I wasn’t familiar with May Day, I ended up taking to Facebook to ask who had left them at my door and why. It didn’t take long to narrow down the WHO, based on mutual connections who had also received a basket. Of course, after figuring out who it was she told us all about her families May Day traditions.
Gift Your Basket
It’s a fun tradition that isn’t practiced too much these days. But it’s sure to bring a smile to the faces of your loved ones, especially now with everything going on in our world due to the Coronovirus.
If you’re not a fan of May Day or simply don’t have plans to participate, be sure to save this printable anyways. It makes a great Mother’s Day gift too!
Ready to make your own cone-shaped paper flower basket? Click the button below to get the free printable!
[…] This Printable May Day Basket is one of ours. We had so much fun putting these together and picking out flowers to fill them with. We can’t wait to leave them hanging from the doorknobs of our neighbors, friends, and loved ones! Grab the instructions and the free printable here – Printables4Mom May Day Basket […]