Parent to Parent: No 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.

Since fighting a stomach bug that took out my family for over six weeks (the downside of a large family!), we’ve substantially reduced and or cut out sugar and artificial colors.  So for Easter this year I have been looking for some fun non-candy, to be honest, non-food ideas for the kids Easter baskets. We don’t do huge baskets, but we do like to have a few things in their basket when they get up.

We asked the experts, other parents, what they do for their kids Easter basket and added some of our favorites from Easters past.

Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas

• New toothbrushes
  Our favorite is the GUM Crayola Toothbrush that has a suction on the bottom so it stands upright on the counter.
• Toys to celebrate spring! Check out the line of Melissa and Doug Sunny Patch Kids, you could skip the basket and get a cute gardening bag filled with everything they need to help your garden grow! Or do a creepy crawly theme with a Bug House and bug catching supplies.
• Sidewalk chalk and bubbles are always a hit. Our kids go through huge amounts of sidewalk chalk so we get a big box and divide it between their baskets.  Other ideas from reader Pam: kites and hula hoops.
• I love reader Jenny’s idea to put new pajamas at the bottom of the basket instead of grass. With a cat who eats the grass, it’s a perfect idea for our family! This time of year my favorite is the Carters 4-piece pajama set   so they can transition to spring weather.
• Girly girls will love getting some kid bling in their basket, I usually get a necklace and or bow from Groop Dealz for my two girls. The Target Dollar Spot and The Children’s Place usually have a good selection too if you are out of time for shipping.
• Books and stickers are always wanted in our house. Currently my 7 year old is devouring the Billie B. Brown series and my son is into true-life tales. I also love Usborne Books for the little ones, especially these non-character coring books. We have 1000 Things to Color that we keep in the car and all the kids love these sticker books.
• Since we travel for Easter I also like to grab Melissa and Doug water books for the car ride. They are so great even my big kids get enamored with them.
• Hallmark IttyBittys – My husband fears they are the next coming of the Beanie Baby, but my kids (and I!) can’t get enough of these super cute little guys.  The toughest part may be deciding which ones to get!

What are your favorite non food gifts to put in Easter baskets?

Find even more Easter Basket ideas as well as recipes and events at Easter in Lake County.

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