What is a morning basket and why you need one
*This post contains affiliate links.*
As a kid, I loved doing the newspaper’s crosswords every morning before heading to school. It was part of my morning basket, and I did not even know it. Everyone’s go-to morning entertainement seems to be on their mobile phone. There are much better ways to get your brain going after waking up, and not waste time watching mindless videos for an hour… Between funny videos, depressing news, and podcasts, I find we are relying on our phones too much for entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good podcast and a funny meme as much as the next gal, but I do feel we need to delay looking at the screen in the morning.
I also live with my partner and his father, who is in his late 70s. He likes to play card games on his tablet and computer, but I would like to give him other options to keep his brain active.
While looking for ideas and information online, I’ve learned that, originally, a morning basket is a homeschooling concept. I’ve seen some people use it for organizational purposes. If they have a busy life, for example, they put their day planners in the basket to review in the morning and know what they need to tackle on the day of.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any ideas from other posts online to help inspire me while building the basket I wanted to use for a different purpose. Perhaps you are in the same boat (or basket?) as me, and need help creating your morning basket too!
A few tips
- Making it pretty makes it more likely for me and the others in my household to grab something in it. I got a nice basket from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aH74tI
- Don’t forget to include colouring pencils for colouring books, as well as pen or pencils for crosswords and other games.
- Label it with a clip-on label so everyone knows what it is.
- Add variety. I know I don’t always feel like doing crosswords so other options are a must.
- Place it in an obvious place like the dining table or countertop where you eat breakfast. Alternatively, you could place it somewhere you walk by every morning. I will place it on the table before I go to bed, so it is there in the morning for me to grab something out of.
What to put in your morning basket
Here are a few ideas of what you can put in your basket. Only include things you enjoy doing otherwise it would be a waste of money and space to put those things in. I know I like crosswords so I’ve included those. My partner enjoys true crime TV shows so I figured he might like the criminal mind puzzles. I’ve included the Amazon link to what I’ve purchased and other things you might like.
There are also a ton of games available for children if you have kiddos. Make sure to include one of two options for them, too.
KIDS
- Brain games for kids https://amzn.to/3W0Qm3J
- Riddles for kids https://amzn.to/3U77Usz
ADULTS
- Sudoku https://amzn.to/4b0dXpK
- Crosswords https://amzn.to/3W9pD5n
- Word searches https://amzn.to/3xDt2z8
- Murdle books https://amzn.to/3vLR8XW
- Scavenger puzzles (Find items) https://amzn.to/3vOV3mO
- Coloring books https://amzn.to/442xy6m
- Coloring by number https://amzn.to/3UnAcAg
- Colouring pencils https://amzn.to/447RULA
- Easy reads (see below)
- Notebooks for lists, if needed. (The dollar store is likely your best bet.)
Easy reads
Here are a few options. I will add more as I come across other titles.
- Archie comic books, if you were a fan.
- Stephen Hawkings: Brief answers to the big questions
- Simon Blackburn: The big questions (philosophy but it is easy to read, promised!)
- Daphne Miller: Farmacology
So there you have it! Easy peasy way to get your morning routine back on track and away from your phone with a simple morning basket.
I hope you enjoy making your own and using it every day! I would love to hear about what you have put in yours!
(I also have a list of product recommendations available on my PRODUCTS page. )