Make Halloween Gift Baskets

Halloween pumpkins make great Halloween gift baskets. Whether the pumpkin is a real pumpkin that you carved yourself or a plastic pumpkin with a handle, what matters is that you gave someone a Halloween gift basket they'll absolutely love!

Real pumpkins as gift containers

• Cut top off pumpkin, take out innards.

• Line pumpkin with foil and fill with candy treats, or line and insert a flower such as a mum plant. Leave mum in pot, just place inside pumpkin and tie on ribbon and bow.

• Grow your own pumpkins. While still small, carve the word "Boo!" into the pumpkin, being careful just to break the skin but not dig into the meat of the pumpkin. As the pumpkin grows, the letters will scar over and grow along with the pumpkin. Using the blunt tip of your fingernail, works well. You want the letters to be thick rather than fine, so a fingertip or spoon handle is perfect for writing a message.

• Spice up the pot of flowers with a cutout of a witch, using black construction paper, and the cutout of a full moon, using yellow construction paper. Tape the witch and full moon to individual wooden skewers and then insert them into the pot of flowers. It will appear as though the wicked witch is flying across the sky in the light of a full moon.

Wicker basket painted black or orange or a large orange or black bowl

• Several bags of candy for Trick-or-Treaters

• candle

• Two eye masks

For another fun idea, try a Witch's cauldron on for size. This is a great gift to give to the couple who stays home to pass out candy. Give the gift early so the cook in the house has a chance to make the chili. There is nothing like enjoying a bowl of spicy hot chili as you sit on the front porch and watch the ghosts float past on Halloween night.

Cauldron filled with fixin's for an outdoor feast

• All the mixings for chili (minus meat)

• Crackers

• Two bowls and spoons

• Fresh or dried hot peppers

Why not use a broom? I know a broom doesn't look like a gift basket, but...

In this case, I've cast a spell on the broom to make it believe it's a basket of sorts. If it doesn't know the difference.

Broom gift basket

• Handle painted in orange and black stripes

• Dustpan filled with candy Slip a large baggie over the dustpan and tie a ribbon around it.

• Using another ribbon, tie the dustpan to the handle .

Witch hat

• Fill hat with bags of candy

• Tie orange ribbon around base of hat

• Add plastic orange flower for decoration

• Buy orange tights and tie dye them (black) so they're striped or purchase striped socks

With these gifts, the Halloween fun is just beginning!