20 Alternatives to Putting Traditional Easter Grass in Your Baskets

Traditional Easter grass can be a messy hassle. Next to loose tinsel on the tree, it is my least favorite thing to try to vacuum off my carpets. It is also a petroleum-based product, so it's not very eco-friendly. Furthermore, the humane society warns that pets can become dangerously ill from mistakenly eating Easter grass.

With a little creativity you can come up with a good alternative to traditional Easter Grass and even compliment the theme (like sports) you may be trying to work around. Aside from the usual shredded paper, raffia suggestions here are several alternatives to traditional Easter grass to consider:

1) Building blocks such as Legos - Just make sure to get an age appropriate sized piece so small kids wont be putting the tiny ones in their mouth

2) Gift bows - Have some green ones left over from Christmas? Pile them into the bottom of the basket - or stick them with the adhesive tab if you are worried they wont stay put!

3) Sports balls - Have a sports enthusiast in your house? Make a sports themed basket! Fill the bottom with baseballs, golf balls and tees, or even tennis balls!

4) Balled up (new!) socks - Colorful peds, or ankle socks for Spring are a favorite of little girls everywhere. Ball some up in little colorful puffs and line the basket with them!

5) Sprouted wheat grass - For a realistic look sprout wheat grass in a container that fits snugly in the bottom of the basket. It will look just as realistic as an outdoor Easter egg hunt - and you can juice it afterwards!

6) Pompons - My son loves to make crafts from pompons. We have filled his basket with a colorful assortment of various sized pompons and he loved it!

7) Felt - a thick layer of felt will accent a basket while leaving a lot of room for putting chunkier toys in. Felt can also be used as a craft supply to make something special after Easter.

8) Small pillow - My friend's daughter loves dolls. One year her mother made a small oval pillow that fit in the bottom of her Easter basket. She filled it with a little fluff and tacked a cute bow on it. Her daughter was delighted! She pulled it out after Easter and used it as a doll pillow the rest of the year. My friend had to make another one the next year because her daughter loved it so much she wouldn't part with it!

9) Crumpled colored tissue paper - I am forever saving the wrapping paper and colored tissue paper from gifts people give me. One year, when I had forgotten to purchase traditional Easter grass, I used some pastel paper to line the bottom of my children's basket. It worked well, and looked great!

10) Clothing - Want to give your child a nice new, colorful, ruffled shirt or a new pair of pajamas? Carefully fold them and put them in the bottom of the basket to be discovered after the candy and toys are gone!

11) Silk flower - I was once given a bunch of silk flowers that were nice, but just not my style. I popped them off the stems and lined my daughters Easter basket with them. That year I was using a gardening theme - and they fit perfectly!

12) Curling ribbon - Have leftover curling ribbon, or any kind of ribbons, from Christmas? Put them in the bottom of your Easter baskets for a colorful new look! Cloth ribbons can even double as hair ribbons after Easter!

13) Fluffy Slippers - If you want to give your child a new pair of slippers tuck them in the bottom of their Easter basket. It will be a nice fluffy treat! If only one will fit, present the other one to them after they have received the basket.

14) Stuffed animals - Nestle a few fluffy bears or bunnies in the basket and set all the goodies in their laps. No Easter grass will be needed!

15) Nuts - Make a nice bed for your candy and provide a healthy treat too! Line your basket with nuts (still in the shell) like peanuts or pistachios. All you will have to throw out are the shells!

16) Cloth or fake fur - Have a few pieces of a pretty spring fabric? Sew them into a nice lining for your Easter basket. A leftover piece of fake fur trimmed to fit your basket would also work well.

17) Popcorn - Makes a great packing material too! Pop it fresh - hold the butter - and the kids can snack on it too!

18) Licorice - Line the basket with plastic and then snip pieces of rope licorice or whips into smaller pieces. Pile them into the basket. Kids can use the plastic liner to scoop up the pieces and store them to keep them fresh.

19) Silk or paper Autumn leaves - One year we had several envelopes of paper autumn leaves left over from a party. We lined the kids baskets with the paper leaves - it was striking! They used them for crafts after Easter too!

20) Plastic army men or zoo animals - You know those bags of 1000 army men, cowboy's and Indians, or zoo animals you can find at the dollar store? Fill the bottom of a basket with a bag of those and watch you child's face light up!