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We love to celebrate all the holidays, but don’t love all the candy and cheap junk toys that typically come along with all the festivities. I really don’t need another piece of useless plastic lying around my house.
When it comes to Easter, I try to create exciting baskets that include useful items, spark curiosity, and, of course, add in a little chocolate.
We don’t tend to be ultra traditional with our celebrations; we like to celebrate and learn about the holidays…but have never filled the baskets with jelly beans or bunnies. Many of my friends turn to me for gift ideas for their kids….which is funny, because overall I am the WORST gift giver: except when it comes to kids. I have that dialed in.
Here is a little inspiration for fun and educational baskets:
Nature Lovers
The sky is the limit with nature gifts! You could easily decorate the basket with polished rocks or packages of plant seeds. Books about their subject of interest, a tool or gadget for the topic, and a smattering of candy and you are ready! Here are a few ideas:
- Hand-held / portable Microscope
- Binoculars
- Butterfly Cycle experience
- Geodes
- Rocks/Minerals
- nature kit
- Rock tumbler
- Zoo Membership
- Field Guides
The Artist
Artists always love fresh paints, pencils, and paper. Consider filling the basket with supplies they may not otherwise have; those expensive pencils they’ve been eyeing? A nice sketchbook? A roll-up art case for bringing on hikes?
- Water Color Paints (a good set!)
- PrismaColor Pencils or Markers
- A sketchbook / journal
- Play-doh or clay
- Paint Markers and large, smooth rocks
- tie-dye kit
- Coloring books
- how-to-draw (or paint) books or lessons
- Perler Bead kits
- embroidery kits (available for all levels!)
The STEM Kid
These kids love to build and tinker! Lego, coding, building, and creating is what they live and breath. Consider a basket to encourage that engineering energy!
- Lego sets
- Scratch Coding book
- Build kits: catapult, robot, etc
- Makey Makey kit
- snap circuits
- Magnatiles
- 3D Pen
- Bloxels Video game Builder (device required)
The Chef
Helping in the kitchen is their jam, so lets celebrate that with a new cookbook, apron, and some tools of their own!
- An apron
- their own set of kitchen tools
- a cooking subscription
- a recipe book
- fun baking pans
- candy-making kits
Many of us create the traditional Easter baskets because that’s just what we do; big floppy bunny, Chocolate, Jelly Beans, bubbles and a jump-rope. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that! In my house, I’m always searching for an opportunity to support their interests. A basket full of things they will use, enjoy, and learn with fulfills that for me.
If my kids get bubbles, they probably will get a “science of bubbles” book. They like to know how it all works; it doesn’t make it less fun for them…it expands their experience.
What does your child like? Can you incorporate that into a fun filled and meaningful basket?
