How to Create a Unique, Creative Easter Basket Every Year

My family has always had a few great tradition that made Easter really fun for the kids. Aside from getting their picture taken with "The Bunny" every year, we never gave out the same old boring Easter baskets. We used a little imagination, and a little planning, to delight them year after year!

There were several ways we made those Easter morning treats not the same-old same-old:

USE ANYTHING BUT A BASKET

If we used a basket we put it IN something. For instance, one year we used a neat plastic wheel barrow from the dollar store. One year it was a little red wagon. Another year we filled a small plastic wading pool. Another year we put saran wrap around the seat of a small plastic beach chair which made a neat space to fill with goodies!

There are several other ideas you could use:

1) Sand buckets

2) Toy boxes

3) A doll house

4) A bike helmet

5) A toy tool box

6) A catchers mitt

7) A purse for dress up

You get the idea! Find something the child would love and find a place to stuff it with goodies!

USE CANDY AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT

We kept candy to a minimum. We liked the idea of giving our kids the unusual items, not just the edible ones.

For instance:

1) Colorful stickers

2) Paints or Crayons and coloring books

3) Small Lego sets

4) Sidewalk chalk

5) Extra happy meal toys we had squirreled away

6) Base balls, foot balls, and soccer balls

7) A feather boa, a hat, gloves, and other dress up items

8) Yo-yo's or Slinky's

9) Story books

10) Dolls and stuffed animals

11) Sing along tapes

12) Their favorite character's new movie

13) Coupons for happy meals (this is more of a gift for YOU really!)

14) Small craft kits (think plastic canvas or painting)

15) Barettes, hair ties, ribbons

16) Slime or play dough

17) Bubbles

18) Nail polish (age appropriate)

PLACES TO FIND ITEMS

The dollar store was the first place we hit. We could come away with ten neat things for each kid for only $20 plus tax!! Other ways to find the gifts included donations from relatives and friends and buying ourselves happy meals during the year and reserving the toys for gifts. We also kept a good eye out for new or barely used toys at garage sales which could often be had for mere pennies!

THINK "GOOD THING TO EAT" FIRST

Think food - not candy - first! While not what I would call nutritional, things like granola bars are a but better than candy. The kids love them and they have some grains and a few good things in them. Raisins, dates, craisins, and other dried fruits will have plenty of vitamins in with their sweetness. You can even find yogurt covered ones now!

Other ideas:

1) Fruit - one of my kids all time favorites!

2) Cookies

3) Baked goods (like brownies)

4) Popcorn

5) Jello cups

6) Pudding cups

7) Fruit rolls ups

8) Popcorn balls

9) Rice crispie treats

Any of the above items that can you can make fresh at home just make the treat all that much better!

FINALLY, PUT IN SOME CANDY

Once you have explored all the other options you should have one great "basket" assembled. But the kids are still going to expect some candy! Give them a large variety in limited amounts.

You just have to have the old standards:

1) Jelly beans

2) Lifesaver books

3) Malted milk eggs

4) Peeps

5) Large Chocolate bunny

6) Any of their favorite traditional candies

HIDE PLASTIC EGGS

The final thing we do every year is the egg hunt. We buy equal amounts of different colored eggs that we stuff the smaller candies into (like jelly beans). Then we tell each child what colors are theirs (so they each get an equal amount of eggs) and then send them on a hunt throughout the house! This is usually where their traditional basket comes in handy. They help each other find their eggs until they have all been discovered. So we make the candy a fun game too - not just a pig-out treat!

As you can see, If you put some thought into it you can come up with a great "basket" that will be the envy of all your children's friends! Start now and plan to make this Easter the best ones your family has ever had!