I think we can all agree that some holidays have gotten a little out of hand with the advent of Pinterest. Easter is no exception. When I was a kid, my basket was filled with candy and a bathing suit at my dad’s house and candy and a toy at my mom’s house. One of the perks of being from divorced parents is that the Easter bunny and Santa bring you two times the amount of gifts. Regardless, my loot was pretty simple. I strive for the same with my kids but, and maybe because I am part of the Pinterest generation, I like to change it up just a bit. I don’t want to do a basket filled to brim with candy and junk for two reasons: first, my kids have small appetites and even smaller sweet tooths so it would be me eating ALL the candy; secondly, too much candy is just not good for them. We’ve already told you how to fill a basket NOLA style.
Now, here is a list of atypical Easter basket items sure to please your toddler, your wallet and your conscience:
- Water toy – Sprinkler, water gun, toys for the beach. Now that the weather is warming up, you will spend plenty of time outdoors. Throw something in there for some summertime fun. I got the bucket, shovel and watering can for $1 each at Target.
- Bathing suit – Not messing with tradition here. I got mine on Zulily for under $20 each.
- Character water bottle or cup – Picked up these Dr. Seuss squirt bottles for $1 each at Target.
- Interactive Toy – Games, puzzle, coloring book and crayons. Again, the Target $1 bins are incredible.
- DVD – Check the discount bins at Target, Wal-Mart, and BestBuy for DVDs of your child’s favorite television show or movie. I found these at Target for $5 each.
- Book – The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Quiet Bunny are two of my favorites.
- Gummy snacks – Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks are organic, delicious and their bunny shape is perfect for Easter. I got the plum organic brand for my 13 month old who has not fully mastered the art of chewing.
- Healthy yet delicious treats – We chose Pirate’s Booty, pureed fruit pouches, raisins and cookies.
- Candy – Of course, every child needs a little.
All in all I spent under $35 on each kid’s basket. You can definitely do a unique Easter basket for relatively little cost.
What do you put in your kid’s Easter basket?
Great ideas!
We add glow sticks, hotwheels, Legos, Hexbugs, puzzles, coloring books, crayons,bubbles, and games. We do very little candy in our baskets
We’re doing a beach/summer theme with Addie’s Easter basket this year…and I guess we should throw in a very small bit of candy too. 😉
This year I also added flip flops (since we’ll be at the beach), a beach ball, The Jungle Book and some of the $3 toys from Target (cell phone, camera, etc). I always buy way in advance, forget what I have and then overbuy!
I actually surf the target dollar spot all year round specifically for easter basket goodies. This year, since we are going to Disney not too long after, Andrew’s is “disney” themed with a stuffed Mickey (that I got during christmas at Disney Store on sale), some mcqueen swim trunks, mickey mouse stuff from the $1 spot at Target, some shirts for disney, and he is getting some other sweet treats he loves in there like jelly beans, fruit snacks, and some raisins. 🙂