By Abbie Coleman, Editor of MMB Magazine
I’m Abbie, editor of MMB Magazine and Ey-Up Kids, as well as a working single mum of two. MMB has always been about real life — work, family, money, careers and all the other things we somehow squeeze into the same 24 hours. I love making occasions special for my children, but I’m also firmly in the camp of not turning every nice idea we see online into another financial obligation for parents.
Yes, I make boo baskets. No, I don’t spend hundreds on them.
I’m going to admit something. I love all the seasonal stuff. Give me pumpkins on the doorstep, cosy blankets, Halloween movies and ridiculous amounts of autumn décor and I’m happy.
What I don’t love is the creeping feeling that parents are now expected to spend money every six weeks. And suddenly a year that used to have one expensive festive season seems to have about seven.
So when I talk about boo baskets, I am absolutely not suggesting you need to rush out and spend a small fortune filling one.
You don’t. But if you like the idea, they can actually become a really lovely little family tradition without costing much at all.
The first thing I did was buy my children a basket each that we reuse. Those baskets become Easter baskets, boo baskets and Christmas baskets.
We decorate them differently depending on the season, often using things we already have in the craft drawer. That’s part of the fun for us as a family, and it’s low cost.
My other trick is that a lot of what I put inside isn’t new. If we have a Halloween book (Get one from the library for the season or a spooky jigsaw from the library or charity shops or Vinted, fleece blanket that only really gets used in October, I pack it away when Halloween is finished.
It doesn’t stay in the toy box getting lost or forgotten. It gets washed, tidied up, put away and brought back out next year.
And genuinely, children love seeing those things again. It becomes part of the tradition.
We do this with Halloween games too. Orchard Toys are always particularly good for younger children. Play them through October, make sure all the pieces are there, then put them away until next year.
You can gradually add one or two things each Halloween rather than starting again from scratch. If you want to buy something new, brilliant.
If you don’t, equally brilliant. A boo basket could contain pyjamas they needed anyway, a Halloween book, a packet of craft supplies, popcorn for a film night and a £1 bag of sweets.
It does not have to resemble something an influencer has spent £187 putting together for Instagram.
Below I’ve pulled together some of the nicest Halloween and boo basket ideas I’ve found this year, with options across different budgets.
Choose what works for your family, reuse what you’ve already got and, most importantly, don’t let another supposedly fun family tradition become something that makes you feel under financial pressure.
Some of the items included were received as PR gifts, but we have only included the ones we use and would recommend.
Table of Contents
Eugy 3D Bat Model £9.00
If you haven’t already tried one of these then what better time. A great little craft. We always pop in a Boo basket or Christmas basket as great little fillers.
The model is made from environmentally friendly, biodegradable card with natural eco-friendly ink and non-toxic glue. Simply glue the pieces together in numerical sequence to put your character together. It will take approximately 10 to 20 minutes
Snootz Sir Lickalot Ride On £39.99
These are just amazing! They even come with their own downloadbale adoption certifcate.
The 4 wheels glide easily, and the exciting 360-degree spinning wheel action just makes this the ride-on to have for your little one.
Helping develop balance, coordination and motor skills while keeping toddlers moving and engaged. It has some fab interactive character sounds; just add 3 x LR44 batteries
Halloween Bingo £6.00
Halloween Bingo Mini Game – a perfect little treat for children aged 3–6 years, its easy to play and lots of fun and giggles along the way. Players take turns picking a card from the deck and, if the spooky item matches one on their Bingo board, they can cover it with a trick or treat counter. The race is then on to fill the board – with the first player to cover all their Halloween items and shout “TRICK OR TREAT!” crowned the winner!
Sylvanian Families Pumpkin Carriage Playset £34.99
They are Eliza’s favourite The pumpkin-shaped carriage features a glowing-eye effect and opens to reveal a hidden Halloween room inside, perfect for creating miniature trick-or-treat tales and spooky stories.
It includes Gloria the Midnight Cat Baby and Kai the Deer Cradled Baby, plus two adorable ghost cloaks to transform the babies into little Halloween characters ready for a night of frightfully cute fun.
Fuggler Deluxe Puppertronic £59.99
Looking for something seriously strange this spooky season? Meet the Fuggler Deluxe Puppetronics, the hilariously hideous interactive characters ready to cause absolute chaos this Halloween. Packed with 60+ outrageous sounds, including giggles, burps and, of course, farts, these weird and wonderful creatures feature everything Fuggler fans love. From their unsettling human-like teeth and mystery budgy smugglers to their iconic butt-on-hole details. Even better? Bring all four characters together and they’ll recognise and interact with each other in their very own “Fugglish” language, creating even more ridiculous mayhem.
Buy Fuggler Deluxe from Amazon Argos, Very.
Halloween Lotto £6.00
Who will be the first to fill their haunted house? Orchard toys are always a hit both in entertainment value and play.
This spine-tingling lotto game invites little ones to choose one of four haunted houses before racing to find and match all the creepy characters hiding inside.
With four haunted house playing boards and 20 spooky character cards, it puts memory and matching skills to the test while delivering plenty of Halloween fun for the whole family.
Buy Halloween Lotto from Orchard Toys
Connetix Halloween Pumpkin Pack £15.00
We adore these; the hours of play with Connetix are unrivalled. So why not add it to your kit, or buy it as your first introduction to the hours of play with Connetix.
Featuring standard squares, right angle and equilateral triangles, rhombuses and a trapezoid in bold Halloween hues of bright orange, eerie purple and ghoulish green, this pack invites children to build their very own pumpkin-inspired creation
Sylvanian Families Baby Halloween Collection £39.99
These are beyond adorable for the spooky season. Why not add to your Sylvanian Family with these spooky little creatures?
From a tiny witch and ghost to a bat, cloak and even an adorable jack-o’-lantern bucket costume, every baby has their own frightfully cute Halloween look.
My Mini Baby Pumpkin Patch, £9.99, ages 3+
Meet the cutest, autumn-ready mini babies with My Mini Baby Pumpkin Patch Series 1. Blind boxes seem to be the theme of the year with kids, so why not pop one of these in their Boo basket? There are 6 limited-edition Pumpkin Patch babies and their unique accessories to find.
Buy Mini Baby Pumpkin Patch from Smyths, The Entertainer, Amazon
Littlest Pet Shop Boos & Bows
This limited-edition Halloween-themed Littlest Pet Shop blind bag series features six spooky bobble-head pets to collect, a great Boo Basket edition that doesn’t break the bank. Creepy but still super cute, characters include a Vampire Fox, a Bumblebee Golden Retriever and a Bat Squirrel, each with a unique costume or accessory such as flexible capes or detachable wings.
Fuggler Baddies, £9.99, ages 4+
Meet the Fugglers Baddies – the ultimate collection of bold, stylish, and unapologetically chaotic companions. Each Baddie Fugg features stitched rebels and a range of wild designs that blur the line between cute and creepy in the most unforgettable way. Complete with human-like teeth and Butt-on Hole, collect them all for a wild and weird collection. You decide whether these chaotic creatures are a trick or treat
Buy Fuggler Baddies, £9.99, ages 4+, available The Entertainer
Pluffle® Twist Glow-in-the-Dark 3+ £12.99
Perfect for tactile learning and creative play, Pluffle® Twist Glow in the Dark is the mesmerising feelgood fluffy stuff that glows in the dark. Flip the new sturdy, resealable packaging and pour out your Pluffle®. Give it a squish and watch the mesmerising, lava-like flowing action. Then turn off the lights and watch it glow in the dark, spooky!