April showers bring May...baskets!

I realized around Cruz's bedtime last night that today is May Day and that the day would indeed not be complete without May baskets for Cruz and his friends at daycare.  I have fond memories of filling simple plastic cups with puff corn and chocolate, securing little pipe cleaner handles, and setting them on the doorsteps of our neighbors when I was little.  I also have fond memories of the May Day celebration in my hometown.  Each class at school would take part with a little skit or song, all building to the fifth grade year and your turn to dance with a partner around the May Pole.  It's funny, but I remember waiting and waiting to be in fifth grade, anticipating my (boy) dance partner, and perfecting the simple routine of weaving in and out of the white plastic pole propped in the middle of Main Street.  My teachers must have known just how excited I was because I was paired with Jason, the greasy haired, smelly boy with the largest probability of not showing up for my long anticipated dance.   


And of course, he didn't show up.  I cried.  But fortunately, my
first cousin Ryan's partner was awol, too, so the two of us ended up dancing together.  We danced in the middle of our Main Street, and together weaved the perfect satin braid down the May pole.  

I digress.  

These paper cups were super simple to make.  I scored 1/2-off sheets of 12x12 paper at Hobby Lobby last night, and had lots of fun picking out sheets with pretty pastels and fun prints.  Then, with nothing but the paper and some scotch tape, I worked them into cones by taking the two bottom corners and sort of rolling them together until they were fairly tight at the bottom.  I wound a piece of tape around the bottom, secured a couple pieces inside, and stapled cute ribbon handles using leftover ribbon I had at my house.  Finally, I cut the tops off, leaving plenty of room for a little hand to reach toward the bottom for a piece of melt-in-your-mouth puff corn.

I filled them with toddler treats: puff corn and goldfish, teddy grahams, and a few m and ms, and snuck them in to Cruz's friends during play time.  Someday, Cruz can help me with the filling and decorating, but this year, he'd just eat too much.

There they are.  Cute, simple May baskets to welcome spring and the beginnings of summer.  Hoping the 'showers' that seemed to fill much of our April results in some pretty blooms this month.
 

  
Happy May Day to you and yours.