May Baskets
Do you remember the tradition of giving may baskets. This may just be an old-fashioned mid-west thing, but as a child, we used to make may baskets out of paper cups and fill them with candy and May flowers. Then we would deliver the baskets to our friends. The trick was to not get caught delivering the basket. So we quickly ran to the door, rang the bell, and ran back to the car. You see, if you got caught, you could get kissed!! Often, when we arrived home from delivering our baskets, there would be a couple of baskets on our own front porch.
My mother has continued this tradition by delivering may baskets to the elderly in her community and to her grandchildren. This year, I decided to ressurect this tradition with my children. We are new to our community, and are working on forging relationships with our neighbors and friends, and what better way do that than with treats. So, last weekend, my kids sat at the kitchen table with paper cups, colorful napkins, markers, scissors, and glue and created some may baskets. Sunday was a beautiful day, and many of our neighbors were outside, so we delivered our baskets a couple of days early. I’m still not sure if these neighbors are aware of the tradition, but they were pleased to get the treats! But in the end, I think my kids had more fun than anyone.