Easter is one of our family’s favorite holidays. My husband even loves it more than Christmas! Every year, we celebrate by attending church on Sunday morning and meeting up with extended family in the afternoon.
Personally, I absolutely love any reason to do something special for our kids. Obviously, this isn’t what Easter or Christmas or any holiday is truly about. However, I fully believe that the heart behind these celebrations can be reflected in the way we show unconditional love to our kids!
That being said, one of my favorite parts of Easter is surprising them with an Easter basket in the morning.
Our family is unique, in that we were raising teenagers before we had our babies! So, we’ve had to be creative early on in making Easter special for them.
Here are some suggestions for Easter basket items, whether your kids are two or sixteen!
Candy and Snacks: Movie-theater style candy boxes or king-sized candy bars for your teens, small lollipops or fruit snacks for your toddler! We also usually throw in peeps (love them or hate them, they’re a classic) and our teenager’s favorite bag of chips (think Hot Cheetos, Takis, Doritos). For babies, a teething toy or snack puffs are great options!
Books: Our girls loved reading novels such as Harry Potter or the Hunger Games, so we typically would include an age-appropriate novel for them! Also, we have done planners, journals, or notebooks as well. Comic books or magazines are a good option for teens who aren’t big readers! For toddlers, we typically keep the books Easter-themed (as they are easier to find for the littles). Touch & Feel books, books with sound effects, or the classics (Peter Rabbit, Runaway Bunny, Guess How Much I Love You) are usually our go-tos! Last year, we included a book called, “God Gave Us Easter!” We loved it so much that this year we are following suit with “God Gave Us You!” for our two-year-old, and “God Found Us You!” for our eight-month-old.
Art: This is the category that we typically include the most of. For our littles, we throw in crayons and a coloring book (both can be bought at the dollar store). Our toddler loves the “magic marker” kind of booklets (think Color Wonder, SurprizeInk, etc), where the colors of the marker only show up on the specially designed paper. There are usually travel-sized ones in the Dollar Spot at Target! This year, we put a Moana one in his Easter basket. Also, the paint-with-water activity books and sticker books are really fun for littles! For teens, this can include nice writing markers, a calligraphy pen, sketchbook, paintbrushes, an adult coloring book, or even nail polish or makeup!
Other Ideas for Toddlers: Race cars, stuffed animals, bubble bath, bubbles, playdough, slinky’s, bouncy balls, little dolls, doll clothes, play kitchen accessories, beach toys, sippy cup or water bottle.
Other Ideas for Teens: Fun socks, graphic tees, movie tickets, small gift cards, bath bombs, stuffed animals, snapback hats and beanies, lotion, headphones, portable phone charger, phone case, DVDs, CDs, body spray, deodorant, water bottle, hair ties, hairbrush, hair gel, fidget spinner, popsocket.
Do you usually do an Easter basket for your kids? I’d love to hear your ideas!
We usually do bubbles. Last year I included a coloring book, crayons and a sample pack of play dough. I like the idea of actual books too. A friend commented on my share that she did swimsuits, flip flops and other spring/summer options!
I LOVE that idea!!!
We love the $1 spot at target! I put in goldfish crackers and some cookies. For some crawlers, I get puffs, or teething crackers
YES!! The dollar spot is where it’s at!