What to Put in a Boo Basket: 25 Ideas Kids Will Love

Boo Baskets might just be one of our favourite new Halloween traditions. 🎃

A basket filled with little Halloween surprises, secretly left for someone you love? We’re in.

If you’ve seen them popping up everywhere and wondered what to put in a Boo Basket for kids, the good news is there really are no rules. You can make yours big or little, filled with treats or completely candy-free, perfectly styled or thrown together with things you know your child will love.

The best Boo Baskets aren’t necessarily the fullest ones. They’re the ones that make an ordinary October morning feel just a little bit magical.

So, find a basket and let’s fill it.

What Is a Boo Basket?

A Boo Basket is a Halloween gift basket filled with small treats, toys and activities, usually given to children during October or in the lead-up to Halloween.

Think of it as a Halloween version of an Easter basket.

Some families give Boo Baskets on October 1 to welcome the start of Halloween month. Others leave them mysteriously outside bedroom doors, on the doorstep or somewhere unexpected for children to discover.

And if you’d rather not take the credit yourself?

We happen to know a few residents of Holiday Hollow who could be responsible. 🌙✨

What Should You Put in a Boo Basket?

There’s no official Boo Basket rulebook.

A simple formula we love is:

Something to cuddle + something to wear + something to do + something to read + something to eat.

Then add one tiny bit of Halloween magic.

Here are 25 ideas to get you started.

1. A Halloween Doll or Plush Friend

Start with one special Halloween friend to sit in the middle of the basket.

A doll or soft toy can become much more than something they unwrap. It can join in with Halloween adventures, come trick-or-treating and be tucked into bed when the night is over.

Our Holiday Hollow Boo Bunch was created for just this kind of Halloween magic, with witches, werewolves and not-so-spooky friends made for imaginative play.

Six plush dolls dressed in Halloween costumes are arranged on a purple felt landscape with a dark blue sky backdrop, gold stars, a crescent moon, and a bare tree.

2. Halloween Pyjamas

Nothing says October quite like new Halloween PJs.

Add them to the basket folded underneath everything else, then put them straight on for a cosy Halloween night at home.

3. A Halloween Book

Choose a Halloween story that matches your child’s age and appetite for spookiness.

For younger children, we love funny witches, friendly monsters, pumpkins and magical stories that feel exciting without being frightening.

Bring the same books out each October and they might just become part of your family’s Halloween tradition.

4. A Mini Halloween Toy

A Boo Basket doesn’t need to contain a big present.

A tiny doll, little plush friend, figurine or bag charm gives them something special to discover without making the basket enormous.

5. A Trick-or-Treat Basket

Put a basket inside a basket. Why not?

A special trick-or-treat bucket or bag can be used on Halloween night, then packed away and brought back out next year.

6. A Witch’s Hat

Every dress-up box needs one.

Add a simple witch’s hat, cape, cat ears or another easy Halloween accessory they can put on immediately.

No scary costume required.

A plush witch doll wearing a black pointed hat and starry dress sits on purple fabric hills under a dark blue backdrop with paper stars and bare tree branches.

7. Halloween Socks

Tiny, useful and very easy to squeeze into a Boo Basket.

Look for pumpkins, black cats, moons, stars or friendly ghosts.

8. Halloween Stickers

A very good sticker sheet can provide a surprising amount of entertainment.

Use them for decorating pumpkins, making Halloween cards or transforming an ordinary notebook into something suitably spooky.

9. A Halloween Colouring Book

Add a colouring book with crayons or pencils for an easy afternoon Halloween activity.

Look for cute rather than scary illustrations if you’re making a Boo Basket for toddlers or preschoolers.

10. Glow-in-the-Dark Stars

A little packet of glow-in-the-dark stars turns bedtime into Halloween magic.

Stick them somewhere unexpected, turn out the lights and wait for them to discover the surprise.

11. A Glow-in-the-Dark Toy

There is something particularly exciting about a toy that changes when the lights go out.

Some of the Holiday Hollow Boo Bunch have their own glow-in-the-dark surprises, from tiny fangs and eyes to witchy outfits that reveal their magic after dark. ✨

12. A Pumpkin Decorating Kit

Add stickers, washable paint, markers or craft supplies and let them create their own pumpkin masterpiece.

For toddlers and younger children, this is an easy alternative to pumpkin carving.

13. A Halloween Craft

Think paper bats, little ghosts, pom-pom spiders or make-your-own witch hats.

You can buy a craft kit or simply gather supplies you already have at home and pop them into a little bag.

14. Temporary Tattoos

Pumpkins on elbows. Cats on knees. Tiny ghosts absolutely everywhere.

Halloween temporary tattoos are inexpensive, easy to add and very likely to be used immediately.

15. A Favourite Sweet

It is Halloween, after all. 🍭

Pop in one or two favourite sweets rather than filling the entire basket with candy.

There will be plenty of time for that on Halloween night.

16. Halloween Biscuits

Add a pumpkin, moon, cat or ghost-shaped biscuit to the basket.

Even better, include cookie cutters and make them together.

17. A Hot Chocolate Kit

Hot chocolate, mini marshmallows and a favourite cup make a sweet addition to a cosy Halloween Boo Basket.

Save it for a Halloween movie night.

18. A Little Black Cat

Black cats and Halloween belong together.

A tiny cat plush, toy or charm makes a particularly sweet addition to a not-so-spooky Boo Basket

Two plush cat toys posed against a warm brown backdrop: one black cat sitting on a crescent moon and one orange tabby cat perched on a tree branch. Small gold stars decorate the scene.

19. A Friendly Witch

Forget the scary witches.

Choose one with a big personality, a funny story and perhaps a little magic of her own.

Mabel Moon spends Halloween disguised as a trick-or-treater, while Willa the Switch Witch has a rather important job to do once all that trick-or-treating is over.

Which brings us to...

20. Something From the Switch Witch

Leave a little surprise that can become part of your family’s Halloween night tradition.

After trick-or-treating, children choose some of their leftover candy to leave out for Willa the Switch Witch.

While everyone sleeps, Willa tiptoes from doorstep to doorstep and swaps the sweets for a little surprise.

A perfectly sensible swap, according to Willa. 🍬

21. A Halloween Puzzle

A small puzzle is perfect for quieter October afternoons.

Choose pumpkins, animals or magical characters for younger children who aren’t ready for anything too spooky.

22. A Make-Your-Own Potion Kit

Gather some little jars, bowls and child-safe ingredients and let your little witch get mixing.

Water, flower petals, leaves and biodegradable glitter can become all sorts of mysterious potions with the right imagination.

23. A Halloween Treasure Hunt

The gift doesn’t actually have to fit inside the basket.

Put the first clue inside and send them searching around the house for the next one.

The final clue might even lead back to the Boo Basket itself.

24. A Ticket for a Halloween Adventure

Make a little homemade ticket for something you can do together.

Pumpkin picking. A Halloween picnic. Baking pumpkin cookies. A neighbourhood walk to look at decorations. A Halloween movie night.

Sometimes anticipation is half the present.

25. One Special Thing They’ll Keep

Finally, add one thing that can become theirs.

A Halloween doll. A favourite character. A book. A basket. A little witch or werewolf who magically reappears each October.

Because the sweetest Halloween traditions are often the ones that grow slowly.

One little friend this year. Another story next year. The same basket appearing outside their bedroom door every October.

Before you know it, it’s simply what your family does.

Boo Basket Ideas by Age

If you’re wondering what to put in a Boo Basket for a toddler, keep things simple. Try a soft Halloween toy, board book, pyjamas, stickers and one little treat.

For preschoolers aged 3 to 5, add more imaginative play. Dress-up accessories, dolls, craft activities, magnetic toys and glow-in-the-dark surprises are particularly fun.

For older kids, think collectibles, books, craft kits, baking activities and experiences you can do together.

The basket doesn’t need to get bigger as they get older. It just needs to feel like them.

How to Make a Boo Basket Without Candy

A candy-free Boo Basket can be just as exciting.

Instead of sweets, try:

A Halloween plush or doll

Halloween pyjamas

A book

Stickers or temporary tattoos

A craft activity

Dress-up accessories

Colouring supplies

A puzzle

A trick-or-treat bag

A little collectible toy

Choose three or four rather than trying to include everything.

When Should You Give Kids a Boo Basket?

There’s no right answer.

Give it on October 1 to welcome Halloween month, a week before Halloween to build excitement or on Halloween morning before the trick-or-treating begins.

Or leave it somewhere unexpected and say absolutely nothing.

After all, if a basket filled with Halloween surprises mysteriously appeared overnight, who’s to say it wasn’t the Boo Bunch?

A little mystery makes everything more magical. 🎃🌙✨

Step inside Holiday Hollow and find the perfect little friend for their Boo Basket.