Frugal Easter Basket Ideas

The traditional Easter basket is filled with candy and shredded plastic grass. The candy disappears within a few days and all that is left is a mess of grass, candy wrappers, and kids with upset tummies. Candy can be bought separately to create your own basket or you can buy a pre-made basket. Either way you will be spending quite a bit of money for something that will quickly disappear. With a little thought and some early planning, you can create your own Easter basket that is beautiful and a little more practical.

You can read my article, Making Your Own Gift Basket, and see how to make your own beautiful Easter Basket out of yarn and glue. Making your own basket will take a little time so you will want to get started about a week early. If time does not permit or you'd just prefer to buy one, inexpensive baskets can be found at your local thrift stores. A little pastel colored ribbon can turn just about any basket into a pretty decoration.

Once the Easter basket is taken care of, it is time to decide what to put into the basket. There are many items that could be used instead of or along with candy that your child will enjoy. Easter is a great time to think about little things that your child can play with outside as the weather warms up.

Jumpropes, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles are all inexpensive items that will add some fun to an Easter basket. You could also add a coloring book and some crayons to be enjoyed on a rainy day. For a little girl, add some inexpensive jewelry or play make-up. Little boys usually enjoy matchbox cars or action figures.

School supplies are practical and inxepensive additions to any Easter basket. Pencils, cute erasers, pens, or maybe a little notebook. You can find some inexpensive little items at a dollar store or dollar tree store. Dollar stores often have little stuffed rabbits for Easter that could be added to the basket to make it look cute.

You may want to add some candy in your child's Easter basket. They expect candy and they may be a bit disappointed if there is no candy in the basket. But if you have some other little toys in the basket they won't mind that you have limited the candy.

Older children are not usually as excited about Easter and gifts tend to get more expensive as they get older. There are still some things you could add that are more appropriate for an older child. Gift cards, i-tunes cards, hair accessories, nail polish, lip gloss, or maybe a book they'd enjoy reading. Soaps, bubble baths, perfume, and cologne are also practical items for an older child's Easter basket.

A little thought and preparation goes a long way. Knowing the things that your child enjoys, you will enjoy creating a personalized Easter basket for your child and maybe even save some money in the process.