One Easter, I received some marshmallow eggs with a thick candy coating. As I bit into the slightly hard outer coating, I felt one of the metal bands from my braces crack in half. So off to the orthodontist I went. After a little lecture from my orthodontist, I decided not to eat anymore hard Easter candy. There are a lot of reasons why children can’t have candy. Thus, here are some candy-free Easter basket ideas for kids.
Easter Egg Decorating Basket
Pick up a few Easter egg coloring kits and pop them into a basket. Then, add some glitter glue, spring-themed stickers and puffy paint so your child can make some creative egg designs. Another idea is to purchase a Easter egg craft kit. This one from Oriental Trading allows kids to make animals using plastic eggs and foam pieces.
Art Basket
It’s simple to make an art easter basket. Simply head to the arts and crafts store or the educational section at any store. Then, grab some glitter crayons, pastels, colored pencils, paints, paint brushes and even a small canvas. You could also pick up a themed Easter coloring book to put into the basket.
‘He Has Risen’ Basket
For my daughter’s third Easter, we gave her a children’s Bible. A ‘He has Risen’ basket is a great way to remind children of the significance of Easter. You can type out some favorite Bible verses and put them into plastic eggs. These “He Lives” sticker sheets allow kids to recreate the scene when Jesus was resurrected. I also like this Jelly Bean prayer activity book.
Garden Themed Basket
At the dollar store, you can often find small flower pots with the seeds already inside. You could purchase a few along with some plantable seed shapes or a few easy to grow seed packets for the children. You could also give carrot seeds and a little bunny stuffed animal. I think this soft jellycat woodland bunny is adorable.
Games Basket
Fill up your child’s basket with fun games. For instance, you could include a jump rope, a small ball, a card game (such as Go Fish) or a deck of cards. Travel board games, puzzles or a small etch-a-sketch are other entertaining gifts to put in an Easter basket. Older kids might appreciate a gift card to the local arcade.
If you’re like me and don’t want to go completely candy-free, you can add a small chocolate bunny into the mix. I don’t mind if my kids have candy. I just don’t want them to have an entire basket full.
More from Melissa:
Themed Easter Basket Ideas for Teens
The Historical Significance of Easter
How to make Easter Sunday significant for your child
