Mary Baskets

Page 69 in "Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church"

Catherine Fournier and Peter Fournier

Families use baskets in many ways. In addition to laundry baskets and grocery baskets, we often carry gifts to a friend in a basket, collect Valentine cards in a basket, present Easter eggs in a basket, and arrange flowers in a basket. In our family, we distribute slips of paper with the gifts of the Holy Spirit written on them for Epiphany or Pentecost, or names of family members for an Advent "secret friend", from baskets. 

An old May 1st tradition saw homemade paper baskets filled with flowers or treats and left on the doorsteps of friends or neighbors. Though people may look a bit askance at something left on their doorstep today (and it's a shame we live in a time when it is necessary to be wary), the tradition could certainly be modified to allow one to distribute baskets to classmates or relatives. 

Children love to make baskets. These "Mary Baskets" are especially cute and easy to make. 

• 2 decorative paper plates, about 10 inches in diameter 
• Scrap paper, cut to a 4-inch square 
• 8 feet of 1/4-inch wide ribbon, in a color that coordinates with the paper plate; cut into 4 even pieces 
• Scissors 
• Hole punch 
• Pencil and ruler 
• Stapler 

1. 1. Trace the 4-inch square pattern onto the middle of the bottom of the decorative plate.
2. 2. Imagine the plate as a tic-tac-toe board, with the 4-inch square as the middle square. Cut out the outside comers of the tic-tac-toe board (along the dotted lines shown on the diagram). This will leave you with a cross shape.
3. 3. Punch out three holes on each of the cut edges of the cross, about 1/4 inch from the edge, as shown in the diagram.
4. 4. Lay the ruler along the fold line (this provides a firm edge to fold against), and fold up the sides of the cross with the decorative side out, to make the sides of the basket. The 4-inch square you traced thus becomes the inside bottom of the basket.
5. 5. Lace the ribbon through the holes, as if lacing a pair of running shoes, and tie it at the top with a pretty bow.
6. 6. Cut a strip across the middle of the second plate about 11/2 inches wide. Staple it to the sides of the basket to form the basket's handle. For an extra decorative touch, punch two holes in the middle of the handle, then thread and tie more ribbon through them.