The Easter bunny doesn’t have to fill every egg with chocolate, marshmallows, and jelly beans. It’s true. Peter Cottontail doesn’t have to go hopping down the candy aisle at the grocery store in order to fill your child’s Easter baskets this year. If your pantry looks anything like mine, you may still have leftover Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day candy….The last thing my kids need is more! So, I am thinking outside the “peep” this morning, and giving you a list of Easter basket “fixings” that are an alternative to candy!
In the Eggs
- Stickers
- Bath sponge capsules (my kids LOVE these!)
- Glow sticks
- Glow in the dark stars (my kids are getting these this year for their ceilings!)
- homemade play dough (Try my Kool-Aid play dough that doesn’t require cream of tartar!)
- art supplies! (buy bags of googly eyes, sequins, foam shapes, glitter, pipe cleaners….tons of fun!)
- pieces to a larger puzzle (Buy a larger puzzle and put several pieces in each egg. When your child finds all the eggs, they will have all the pieces of their new puzzle! You can put the box in their basket!)
- Chuck E Cheese tokens
- coins
- play jewelry (rings, rainbow heart bracelets, plastic necklaces, etc.)
- Legos! Put several pieces from a larger set of Legos in multiple eggs!
- Polly Pocket/Barbie accessories
In the Basket
- Books!!!
- sidewalk chalk
- bubbles, bubble wands, no-spill buckets, bubble accessories
- frisbees, kites, balls, “outside” games and toys (Wal-mart and Target typically have a TON of outdoor toys out this time of year!)
- buckets, shovels, sand toys
- spiral notebook, journal, drawing tablet
- flash cards, activity books, workbooks (My kids LOVE “school” stuff, and our Dollar Tree has a HUGE selection!You can also find these in the dollar section at Target most of the time.)
- “Character” clothes (This is the time to buy those “character” shirts that kids love. Kids are typically pretty happy to get a shirt or jammies with their favorite tv “friend” on them!)
- cd’s, DVD’s, computer games
- passes to their favorite local attraction (Or a little “coupon book” of outings they’d like ie- “Good for one trip to Papa’s Ice Cream Parlor!” etc. )
- bath toys
- bubble bath, body wash, kid shampoo, sponge or bath “puffy”, “magic” washcloths
- apron, cooking utensils, cake mix with frosting, muffin mix with pan, etc.
- Hot wheels, small tonka trucks, trains, extra track pieces, car mat
- Flip flops
“Basket” Alternatives
- Sand bucket
- Play wheelbarrow
- Jewelry box
- treasure chest (You can often even find these at a craft store!)
- Car carrier/case
- Flower pot
Have fun filling up those Easter baskets this week! There are so many alternatives to candy! Keep our kids just a little bit healthier and give them treats that last!
*I received free product from Oriental Trading. Opinions and ideas my own.
Great ideas….wonder why I feel like they were directed at your Mother???? I did get some great ideas though!
Love these ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Great ideas! I always do a piggy bank in the Easter Basket with a few pieces of candy and then we do an Easter Egg hunt at my parents house and use spare change in the plastic eggs. It teaches the girls about saving money too!
Good ideas! We can only handle so much holiday candy around here! My sister and I were reminiscing the other day about how much more ‘stuff’ our kids have compared to what our parents got us when we were kids- no easter basket full of goodies, no valentine goodies (aside from school), no st. patricks day secret leprechaun, etc. I want my kids to have fun stuff, but sometimes I feel like we’re going a bit over board!