Easter means family gatherings, egg hunts, and Easter baskets full of chocolate bunnies and jelly beans!
But candy isn’t the only thing your kids will enjoy in their Easter baskets this Easter.
- Colored eggs are a basic! Kids enjoy coloring hard-boiled eggs and they’ll enjoy seeing the eggs they made in their baskets, too.
- Art supplies now come in egg shapes. You can find crayons and sidewalk chalk shaped just like Easter eggs, and they come in bright colors, too.
- Silly Putty is a classic that many young children have never seen, and it’s shaped like an egg.
- Egg-shaped rhythm instruments are easy to find, or you can make them with plastic Easter eggs. For the littlest babies, shake them near the baby and she’ll turn her head to find the sound. Older kids can shake them to accompany their favorite songs or set the beat for a family dance party.
- Speaking of eggs, those plastic eggs can be filled with candy, but they can also be filled with nuts, dried fruit, trail mix, baby carrots and individual containers of hummus, or hair barrettes and toy cars.
- There are many wonderful Easter-themed books, from Guess How Much I Love You to The Velveteen Rabbit and Bunnicula. Any book with a bunny counts!
- Stuffed animals, including rabbits, ducks, and lambs, are great for young children’s Easter baskets.
- Toy farm animal figures are perfect for Easter baskets, too.
- Bunnies say “Easter” and bunny-shaped graham crackers or cheese crackers are a popular less-sugary alternative to chocolate rabbits.
- Easter-themed stickers are fun for all ages.
- Eggs and bunnies are ideal for Easter, but once you’ve got a few of those iconic shapes in place, any bright colored goodies can add to the fun. Pouches of bright-colored fruit and vegetable baby food, pastel lip balm and hand sanitizer, or toys in spring shades work well.
- Use some of that Easter basket space for breakfast! Individual servings of fruit, cereal, or yogurt can nestle in with hard-boiled eggs and a fun juice box.
Tuck in a little candy if that’s your family’s tradition, and your kids won’t miss the excess!