Easter Baskets: less sweets more fun!

Spring has sprung and many of us are getting ready for Easter. Traditional Easter baskets bring to mind loads of sweet treats, chocolatey goodness, and sugar highs.

We love sweets in my family, but decided to cut back on sugar this year. It's good for them and good for me, as I certainly do not need a basket of sugar calling my name!

Over the years I have introduced more and more functional items in my kids Easter baskets. Adding a new favorite toy or book, with a sprinkling of their favorite sweet treats can be a great personalized way to make Easter baskets for kids. Here are some more fun ways to lower the amount of sugar in your baskets while making the baskets fun.

Toys:  Fun smaller ideas for an Easter basket include matchbox cars, bubbles, stuffed animals and jump ropes. New crayons, markers, and coloring books take up space, but are things that kids can always use.  We also like crafts and sensory items like, slime and play dough.

Outdoor Fun:  The perfect time of year to stock up on outdoor play things is Spring!  It is usually around this time of year that we are enjoying longer and warmer days, which means more outside play. To fill a basket, consider sidewalk chalk, squirt guns and bubbles. 

Bath time: I like to include hair ties, bows, and fun hair clips in my girls' baskets. Last year, we found bath bombs that exploded in the bath to reveal mini dinosaurs.  New brushes are always a hit in our house. One addition this year is the T is for Tame detangling brush that comes in and egg shape with different pastel colors - perfect for Easter baskets. Al

Necessities: Character toothbrushes, colorful body wash or a fun shampoo are great basket fillers. Headphones and new chargers are a great idea for older kids. And a new book is always a hit in our house.

Alternative baskets:  Instead of buying plastic or straw baskets every year, I try my best to come up with fun alternative ideas to display all of the Easter gifts and treats. Sand pails, flower pots and baseball hats are all options. Storage containers also make for useful Easter baskets and after Easter is over they can be used to organize toys or supplies.

Easter baskets can be a fun way to introduce some new fun things for your child to do.  Adding some of these ideas limits the sugar while still providing the big smiles on Easter morning.

Happy Easter!