40 Candy-Free Easter Basket Ideas
These creative ideas will not only help you avoid the annual sugar rush (and crash), but will provide fun that keeps on giving well beyond the holiday.
Easter is just around the corner, and so is the sugar surplus that goes with it. Unfortunately, baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and endless jelly beans aren’t always the healthiest options.
If you want to avoid a sugar surplus this Easter, try substituting sugar with plenty of non-candy treats in your kids’ Easter baskets. These creative ideas will not only help you avoid the annual sugar rush (and crash), but will provide experiences that keep on giving well beyond the holiday.
40 Candy-Free Easter Basket Ideas
- Bubbles
- Books
- Play dough
- Fun Easter sunglasses
- Stuffed Animals
- Portable Umbrella
- Gardening Tools and Seeds
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Stickers
- Temporary tattoos
- Art supplies (crayons, markers, paints)
- Hair bows and accessories
- Puzzles
- Legos
- Playing cards (or educational ones like our Wild Cards)
- Matchbox cars
- Tickets to a movie, sporting event, etc.
- Magazine (or magazine subscription)
- Gift cards
- DVDs or CDs
- Jewelry
- Money (great for stuffing inside hollow Easter eggs)
- Bath toys
- Flashlight
- Activity or coloring books
- A membership to a zoo, museum, or local attractions
- Nail polish
- Jump rope
- Healthy treats such as snack sized bags of crackers or granola bars
- Beach toys
- Board games
- Clothes/socks
- Doll
- Magnifying glass
- Lip gloss/Chapstick™
- Slinky™
- Squirt guns
- Easter-themed rubber stamps and ink pad
- Stationary and a book of postage stamps
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
Combine the above ideas with a few pieces of candy or healthy treats if you can’t get away with zero sweets in the baskets.
Go For Themes
Another great idea for Easter baskets is to create them around an activity or theme. Try making a garden-themed basket and fill it with child-size garden gloves, seeds, small garden tools, a watering can, and other garden-related items. This encourages your little ones to help out in the garden, which can become a teaching moment.
Or how about a camping themed basket filled with flashlights, binoculars, camping gear such as silverware/dishware, guide books, and whistles. Other themed ideas kids might like are a sports basket, movie night basket, baking/cooking basket, or sewing/knitting basket — the possibilities are endless.
Don’t forget the grown-ups on your list this Easter. How about a coffee, tea, or wine-themed basket? Or create an Easter basket for the pets, filled with treats, toys, a new leash, and blankets.
These baskets may be just as much fun to fill as they are to empty!
Why is Easter so late this year?
Natalie LaVolpe
Natalie LaVolpe is a freelance writer and former special education teacher. She is dedicated to healthy living through body and mind. She currently resides on Long Island, New York, with her husband, children, and dog.
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Natalie LaVolpe#molongui-disabled-link
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Natalie LaVolpe#molongui-disabled-link
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Natalie LaVolpe#molongui-disabled-link
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Natalie LaVolpe#molongui-disabled-link
Toothbrushes and small summer shirts work great for the baskets also
A dvd or cd , or fill a baseball hat instead of a basket, makes a nice surprise too.
Great list! Here are a few others we used to encourage active and outdoor play for family fun: kites, balls of all sorts, bats for baseball, baseball bases, orange cones, soccer nets, frisbee, accessories for your child’s bike, croquet set, etc.