Easter Baskets for Toddlers

My children cannot have food dyes (it drastically affects their moods) so I try to get very little candy too. I've gotten them egg shaped sidewalk chalk, bubbles and many other little things from the dollar section at Target and the dollar store. There actually are a lot of choices!

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My children cannot have food dyes (it drastically affects their moods) so I try to get very little candy too. I've gotten them egg shaped sidewalk chalk, bubbles and many other little things from the dollar section at Target and the dollar store. There actually are a lot of choices!

Little People, small board books, snacks (like small individual bags of Goldfish, Cheerios, Gerber Graduates snacks), sidewalk chalk.

I think there's nothing wrong with a few small pieces of chocolate as it's not an every day thing and makes Easter a special time. But you can use fruit snacks and things like that, inside some plastic eggs. Kids love opening up plastic eggs to see what's inside! Little toys like Hot Wheels, bubbles, etc, are fun little things to find in a basket, and also some small cardboard books or small dolls. Being 14 months they don't need much. And you can do an egg hunt by using plastic eggs and hide them in the open fill with one animal cracker or fruit snack in each and take fun pictures of them finding them! Stickers can be used too, or just one M&M or one Skittle in each egg. It's once a year and can be fun that way.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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My mother-in-law sends a basket every year. She usually has a small stuffed animal (beanie baby size), some cookies (may or may not fit your theme), and a small board book along with the usual candy and grass.

I think the ball idea from Donna was a good one, too. You can get bouncy balls from Old Navy for $0.25, and they entertain kids forever!

I would put in some small toys like may be ones she can use in the bathtub. Another thing you could do is put in some snacks like the gerber ones that dissolve in the mouth when you chew them. A lot of litle kids like the plastic easter eggs that you can open up. Go to the store and start looking with a few ideas in mind then I am sure you will figure out what else you want to do when you are looking.

We never really do sweets. We will give them some sort of treat such a fruit snacks or fun shaped crackers, etc Here are some of the things we have done over the past five years.... coloring books, crayons, bubbles,sun hat, shovels, buckets, sandals, t-shirts, eggs filled with stickers, or other fun spring related items. This year since we are going to FL at the beginning of May they will each get a swim suit, sunglasses, sandals, and a book..... possibly a new spring/summer outfit if I can catch some good sales!
There are so many fun things you can do w/out filling the basket with sweets! Have fun :)

sidewalk chalk, bubbles, other things you can do outdoors with her.

We too try to decrease the amount of sweets given to our kids. When it comes to food we put in goldfish, Teddy Grahame, etc. As for the basket we bought a big bucket to use as stoage in the garage. We filled it with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, books, a swing, and sand box toys. Basically, I try to anticipate toys needed for the spring/summer. As for eggs, we hide plastic eggs. Inside we put pennies, nicekels and dimes.

what i do for my kids is get them things that they like, i dont do candy for my kids and they are 7, 4, and 18mths. for my little one i will do fruit snacks, puffs, biter biscuits, sippy cup, book, etc. my 4 year old i will do a barbie, movie, fruit snack, book, etc. my oldest one i wll do fruit snacks, movie, maybe a ds game, i do stuff that will last. hope this helps!

We've done egg hunts with the kid since right around that age. Early on we just filled the plastic eggs with Cheerios, Gerber puffs, teddy grahams, etc. For basket fillers, you've already got lots of great suggestions, and honestly you can get some chalk, bubbles, ball, coloring books, etc. without spending a fortune. This year I think I may put in a swimsuit for each kid (which I would be buying them eventually anyway) and some sunglasses since I think we're all ready for warmer weather. We definitely don't end up spending a ton or buying elaborate gifts, but just a few special things. Just have fun with it!

We really try not to buy too much stuff for our kids. I would rather they have a chocolate bunny, a few jelly beans and popcorn in plastic baggies tied with a bright ribbon. If you start with gifts now, you will have to keep up the tradition until he leaves home. Hiding plastic eggs, filled with money or nuts or anything, are great because you can reuse them every year. In fact, after my kids have found all the eggs, they love to hide them for us to find.

How about a brand new toothbrush?! An easter storybook? A Bible?

How about dried fruit? Stickers? I agree that books are a great gift too! What kid doesn't love books? Have you heard of Barefoot Books yet? They have some amazing new bigger board books (they call them lap books) and I love them! There's a new one that is perfect for spring/ Easter called Who's in the Garden?, and then I also love Listen Listen, which is a book about the seasons. You can find them at www.ReadandGrow.com. My son has loved these books since he was a year old. :) The Sing-a-Longs are always a hit too.

T.

I do not give my kids many sweets at all but on Eater I can't resist giving them a small chocolate bunny because it was always my fave when I was little. But to fill the rest I do kites, music and cute books or art supplies. Last year they got children's Bibles with lots of pictures which they LOVE. A small stuffed animal is always loved well. I also get them small things from the $1 bins at Michaels. A cute pencil and pad of paper or a ball make them so happy! Or those glow sticks to play with at night. Happy on the budget too. A craft is fun gift or coloring books or finger paints.This year they are getting small (inexpensive) cross necklaces that they can wear to church and the usual book and music. I do the same thing for stockings at Christmas - as a child mine was always filled with sweets but I give mine one sweet and keep the rest to inexpensive fun things like art supplies and music that are always useful anyway and still fun for them to unwrap. I can handle one sugar rush but weeks - no!

My kids have always gotten a stuffed animal and a book, and now the older ones will have a few treats and a book since they are not so much into the stuffed animals. I do include a small treat though it does not have to be candy. I found bunny shaped animal crackers at a store last year. This year I will be including a small ball in my 2 yr old's basket along with a book.

When my boys were this age I used a plastic bucket and put in beach toys, new swim suit, tee shirts, socks with pictures of their favorite characters on them. I would be cautious about puting jewelery in, there have been several incidents in the past 6 months of metal jewelery made in China that contained cadmium. Cadmium causes cander and is more dangerous than the cases where they put lead in jewelery. Cadmium and lead have not been found in plastic jewelery.

Remember taht children at this age get overwhelemed by too much stuff, so don't feel the need to go crazy!

I buy those Play-Doh eggs and my son gets some of those and some filled with small candy treats. I like to have some with candy because it is a special day and not an everyday thing but he loves Play-Doh so that just kind of rounds it out. We also give a special toy to him at Easter which is part of his basket as well. At 14 months there's no need to go overboard with candy & eggs anyway.

I always do a few little treats with some little toys/things to do outside - bubbles are always a big hit, balls, sand box toys, sidewalk chalk, maybe a new outfit... For a 14 mo I would go with bubbles (maybe one of those machines that do it so you don't get too sick of it) and sand toys, maybe a big brightly colored ball. I have a friend that wanted to hide eggs but didn't want her son to have candy, so she bought new socks and put a pair of socks in each egg. Now her son is 3 and loves getting new socks in his eggs :)

Hi, Erica:
How about a ball in the basket?
D.