An Introduction to the Boo Basket Trend (and Why You Don’t Need to Create One)
I was first introduced to the phrase “boo bin” in September when I saw women I knew sharing posts on their Instagram stories complaining, “I wish someone would make me a boo bin.” I’m extremely annoyed by the over-commercialization of fall, and I tend to envy anyone who wants to rush through the last weeks of summer to get to “sweater weather” or “cozy season” or whatever, so I knew right away that it wasn’t going to happen. I liked something. But it followed me everywhere. Boo baskets started popping up on TikTok and Reels—and of course, people I know in real life started talking about getting them.
If you haven’t yet been caught up in the “boo bin” craze, let me be your guide.
What is a boo-boo?
According to my research, which I did mostly against my will as this trend popped up on my phone multiple times, a basket means different things to different people, but all the options are essentially the same: it’s a basket full of seasonal gifts. , like an Easter basket, but for Halloween. The situations in which you can give or receive such a basket are varied. Parents on Reddit are complaining that they are expected to create such a basket for their children after spending so much money on candy, hay rides, pumpkin patches, costumes, etc. romance and should be full of seasonal offerings. that the other person likes, such as certain candies, Halloween-themed blankets or candles, and the like. Take it? “Boo” has a double meaning. So I thought Halloween couldn’t get more cheesy.
I was raised as an only child, one of those “miracle babies” who lived in an incubator for the first few months of their lives, so my childhood was one of those where I was constantly given gifts for no reason at all. I was spoiled to the point of absurdity. You won’t believe what I got for Easter, Christmas or my birthday, but even my parents never made me a basket of things. However, the way people talk about boo bins now, you’d think it’s been a well-known tradition for decades. Gift givers search the internet for tips on what to include in their gifts, talking about them as if they are a completely normal part of Halloween that everyone is familiar with. There are currently over 82,000 videos tagged #boobasket on TikTok. At first I was worried that I had some sort of cultural blind spot. They may have always existed and are a standard part of celebrating the holiday. But no. I checked Google Trends . This has only been happening for two years.
Do you need to make a waste basket?
What I’m trying to say is that no, you don’t need to make a boo bin, but I don’t want to get you in trouble. I may be a hater of epic proportions, but I know that people who say they want to give a Halloween gift are sincere, so if your girlfriend is hinting or your child says he needs a gift for a friend, I’m not necessarily advocating causing any damage to relationships based on anti-consumer principles. I’m also seeing rumors of Boo Boo Baskets turning into another one of those suburban gift circles, like things where if you get one, there’s a note attached to it saying you should give it to someone something else. I remember my mom being into this kind of stuff when I was younger; the ladies in the church would not take kindly to it if she broke the chain. She always paid it forward, and I don’t know if it was because she liked doing it or because she didn’t want to jeopardize public order.
So if you find it easy to come up with something and don’t want to know what will happen if you don’t, go for it. Personally, I’m against it. Halloween is just a holiday, not a holiday of gift-giving, and the actual holiday of gift-giving is two months away, so save your money! I watched dozens of videos about making boo bins. I’ve seen people like Stanley cups, UGG boots, porcelain mugs, high-end candles, and even iPhones. For Halloween. Halloween! If you need to make a used bin or just want to do it, don’t waste it. What are you going to do this Christmas to top it? I’m scared to imagine. Instead, choose snacks that the other person likes, maybe some cute seasonal decor from the dollar section at Target, or something nicer, within reason.
If you don’t want to look cheap or like you’ve made a phone call, try a themed basket. Coffee beans and pumpkin-flavored syrup , a seasonal mug , and some cafe-style cookies aren’t very expensive and can still make a cohesive gift.
On the other hand, you can ignore it completely. This is a new thing. it’s not traditional, and it’s not as much a matter of life and death as people on the Internet make it out to be. Give preference to something else, such as taking your loved one to the fall fair or picking apples. We don’t have to follow every trend just because algorithms shove it in our faces.