Parent to Parent: Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas

The best advice comes from someone who has walked in your shoes before. Even as a “veteran” mom, I love hearing how other parents do things and handle certain situations with their kids. Parent to Parent is where we ask other parents how they deal with a situation and share the answers with you. It takes a village, so leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments. Today’s topic is non-candy Easter Basket ideas.

I am one who loves a little candy in an Easter basket. I mean, what is a basket without a chocolate Easter bunny? Or a Cadbury Egg?? Or those amazing Reese’s peanut butter eggs??? Where were we? Oh yes, but you need other goodies to fill all that space.

Pro tip: get a smaller basket.

So I asked some of my favorite parents for tips on what they put in their kids Easter baskets that is not of the confectionery kind.

Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas

• “I like using Easter for spring/outdoor stuff, I would stock my kids up with chalk, bubbles, misc other outdoor balls games, sand toys etc. I’ve done books, baseball or Pokemon cards, Mad Libs, art supplies.” Lisa, three sons ages 14, 13 and 9
• “Gift cards. Sandals for summer and a new swimsuit.” Dawn, son age 19
• “Money in Easter eggs–coins. Gift cards for shakes/smoothies/Starbucks. Mechanical pencils are popular here–the fun kind!” Jennifer, two children ages 14 and 12.
• “I like to put in the clones fave things……so we have individual superhero stuff, sports stuff, books, art stuff and possibly chocolate.” Sidney, twin sons ages 11
• “We still do Easter baskets, just do teenage stuff instead of lots of candy — books, mechanical pencils, pens, earbuds, post-its. We also hide the eggs with $1. ” Roxanne, two children ages 18 and 16
• “Bubbles and a small puzzle. We’ve been doing beach for spring break so a sand bucket and toys make a good one. ” Denise, two daughters ages 5 and 8.
• “I have used organizer baskets that color coordinate with their room and one year used new garbage cans that had the spinner lids, with the idea that it would encourage them to throw away their garbage. I put in soft socks, lotions, nail polish, jewelry and a summer shirt, sunglasses.” Lisa, three children ages 20, 17 and 13
• “Chalk, homemade play dough (no gluten!), coloring books, tattoos, stickers, small video games/movies (the cheap ones!), movie gift certificates, etc.” Michelle, two children ages 11 and 13
• “Mini Lego kits or blind bags, Pokémon cards, and always a stuffed Easter bunny.” Pamela, two children ages 9 and 4
• “Coloring books and crayons.” Kelly, two grown children and one granddaughter, age 7 months
• “Little notebooks, and colored pens. Old school buttons, the teacher’s store has really cool “little stuff” like this flashlight thingie that displays animals and other subjects on walls.” Elizabeth, three children ages 10, 8 and 5
• “Movie tickets, target gift card, stickers. Baseball cards, Pokemon cards.” Jan, three grown children, and six grandchildren ranging in age from 4 to 10
• “Instead of candy, I use Annie’s cheddar bunnies & fruit snacks, also quarters and $1 coins. One year I flipped umbrellas upside down & filled that instead of a basket.” Elizabeth, three children ages 4, 6 and 15.
• “Baseball cards, comic books, mini Lego figurines.” Connie, two boys ages 16 and 20
• “Shoes!” Steph, two children ages 10 and 8
• “The scavenger hunt at the end IS the basket!” Linda, two daughters ages 3 and 1.

What do you put in your children’s’ Easter baskets? 

Find more Easter Basket ideas at Easter in Lake County.

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