DIY Halloween Treat Basket for Babies

This Halloween Trick or Treat basket is simple, adorable, and the perfect size for pre-toddlers and older babies.

Today I want to share with you a project I feel proud of. For the first time in a really long time, I was totally inspired to create something without any outside influence. It’s not unusual for me to only recreate things in my own way. It was such a pleasant surprise when this idea came to me organically. Yay!

I had been looking high and low for a small Halloween candy basket for my daughter. She is one and will be trick-or-treating for the very first time! But I couldn’t seem to find anything that didn’t hold an obscene amount of candy. I mean what little kid needs THAT much candy? and why can’t I find any smaller buckets? and why are they so freaking big?! My search for a premade basket proved to be futile. I knew what I had to do.

I had to make my own! 🦄💁

Seriously, I am so excited to share with you this little DIY Halloween treat basket tutorial.

Here is how you can recreate something similar to this DIY Halloween candy basket for your little one!

I had planned on making a cute sewn treat basket like these ones here:

Unfortunately, I’m busy chasing this baby and there are a million other things to do than just daydreaming about Halloween projects. Things like the ever-growing laundry mountain or changing another diaper. And if we are being totally honest with each other, Halloween has crept up on me. How is October over already?! 😱

One glorious evening alone, whilst roaming Michael’s I found this adorable little holiday basket.

It instantly dawned on me that they were the perfect size for a 1-year-old to carry without too much trouble. Exactly what I was looking for! It is important to me that she carries her own treat bag from the very beginning. In our home, we make it a priority to promote independence. This little red holiday basket absolutely had the potential to be a stylish trick-or-treat basket.

Inspiration had struck me! Gosh, I love that feeling so stinking much! 🙌 😍

This small holiday basket would be transformed into an adorable DIY Halloween treat basket for trick-or-treating! So Excited!

I had visions of an orange basket with a smiling jack-o-lantern face – perfect to go with my little lorelei-O-lantern! With a 40% off coupon in hand, the little holiday basket came home with me, and then it was time to get to work!

Luckily, the handle was already black and worked perfectly for Halloween. Thankfully, that was one part that didn’t need paint. However, I did run into some trouble trying to remove the holiday embellishment. I saw that it was attached with hot glue and was almost certain it would gently pull off. That method worked until it didn’t. 😬🙈 I ended up being way too excited and broke part of the basket weave. Oops 🤷

At this point, I knew I would no longer be satisfied with the broken basket being exposed. The idea of painting a jack-O-lantern on the front was out the window. 😖 #RecoveringPerfectionist

Onward to plan B!

I quickly looked around my house for whatever Halloween inspiration I could find. Immediately I saw my glass apothecary jars filled with candy corn and glitter spiders. A glitter spider! It would be the perfect thing to cover up my mistake and probably look even better! I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason! I grabbed the best-looking spider out of the jar and set it aside.

When making your own candy basket, I suggest the first thing you do is paint the basket whatever color you choose, Obvi. I chose to spray paint the basket orange but there are so many other fun options! This would also look absolutely darling in purple or green as well.

I knew I wanted a full coverage look so I opted to use spray paint instead of painting with a brush. I literally do not have the patience to paint by hand. Some people enjoy painting with a brush and if you do, I say go for it! You’ll have a much wider selection of colors available to you.

While shopping at Lowes I picked up some of this Valspar Color Radiance Spray Paint in the color “Flamenco Pink”. Even though it was technically called pink, it looked a little peachy orange to me. Plus, the color selection available to me was pretty limited. My choices were either this or fluorescent orange. Honestly, I’m very pleased with the way this color turned out. This shade is a modern and chic twist on Halloween orange!

Now that we have our paint, it’s time to recolor this little gem!

I taped up my handle with painter’s tape. Due to poor planning, I happened to run out. I used duct tape to cover the few areas that were left exposed. You should probably just use painter’s tape, but in a pinch, it’s okay to improvise! 😉

I then put it on an old towel on the garage floor and began spray painting the basket. DO NOT DO THIS. I seriously ruined our garage floor because it bled through the towel. I should have used a spray paint shelter, it is definitely on my wishlist! 💓 This post by Prodigal Pieces shows how amazing having one is!

A total of 4 coats were needed to get the coverage I was looking for. It was also necessary to spray the inside of the basket. I wanted to make sure that it was orange from all angles. After allowing the painted basket to dry overnight, I removed the tape from the handle the next morning.

Next up, grab your glue gun!

Using Hot glue, attach whatever embellishment you choose! Some fun ideas include giant googly eyes or rubber snakes, or even rhinestones to the front! I chose to use this black glitter spider I bought from the dollar tree. As a result of my earlier mistake, I hot glued the spider at a slight angle.

I LOVE this so much! 😍😍😍

This Halloween Trick or Treat basket is simple, adorable, and the perfect size for toddlers and older babies. I hope this project inspires you to do something similar for your little one or even adapt it for older children!

Let me know what you think of this fun and easy Halloween treats basket in the comments below! 😘

So now it’s your turn! If you try this, tag me at @goldengluegun

 

If you are looking for some costume inspiration, here is a simple DIY cat ear tutorial using faux fur and felt! These ears can be attached to a traditional headband or a stretch headband for a baby.