Slightly Non-Traditional Ways of Doing Easter Baskets

Traditional Easter baskets typically consist of a woven basket of either wicker or plastic, Easter Grass, and of course the most important component - the candy.

With 3 children I have done the traditional method several times. I try to put the baskets away for the next year to save on buying new baskets, but often the baskets aren't put away fast enough and they get lost or broken. Depending on the economy and who had what job, Easter time was sometimes a strain on the pocketbook. Therefore I have done a few non-traditional Easters. Here are a few of the ways I've done things differently.

Baskets:
As I said these tend to get lost or broken. Especially because we usually use them for the Easter Egg Hunts too. Many years I couldn't find the stowed baskets or last years were just gone. During these times I've used leftover goodie bags from their birthday parties. (The young kids are none the wiser.) Fill them up with candy and close with a twist tie or ribbon.

I've even used plain brown paper lunch bags. If I feel ambitious I'll decorate them with rubber stamps and drawings. Otherwise I just write their name as fancy as I can and leave the filled bags on the table. (Mind you, I am ever the procrastinator and am typically doing the baskets at 1 am the day of Easter, so sometimes decor is forgone!)

Small gift bags also make great substitutions, especially if you include toys with their baskets. Stuffed animals can sit inside the gift bag atop the pile of candy with just their head or ears poking out...very cute! To save on buying gift bags, be sure to save bags that you receive as gifts. Gift bags are reusable and regiftable!

Easter Grass:
Often this gets lost or tossed with the baskets and rather than buy new grass I've opted for substitutions such as tissue paper, kleenex and polyester fiber fill (pillow stuffing).

With tissue paper or kleenex you can just lay a few sheets down inside the basket, or you can tear it into strips and crumple it a bit to make more of a bird's nest look.

My favorite grass substitute is the polyester fiber fill. It is fluffy so you don't need much to make a nice poofy nest. Plus it is less of a mess than the static clingy flyaways you get with Easter grass. In fact, for the last couple of years I've opted for fiber fill over the grass. One, because we have pets and stray Easter grass is not good for them, nor is it good for the vacuum cleaner. Two, even though Easter grass is extremely cheap, I usually already have some fiber fill on hand (being a crafter has its advantages.)

Other Tips:
I don't always use those plastic eggs. When I have them on hand (from Easter Egg Hunts), and I have the time, I do sometimes put some of the smaller candy such as the jelly beans or chocolate eggs inside the plastic eggs. Otherwise I either use goody bags or just scatter them inside the nest of fiber fill.

Leftover goody bags are also useful even when you do have a traditional Easter Basket. Peeps (the colored sugar coated marshmallow bunnies or chicks) come packaged with three rows in one package. The rows, although in their own cardboard tray, do not have plastic around them, only the complete package does. If your kids don't like their peeps getting hard overnight, put a row inside a goody bag and secure with twist tie, ribbon or tape. Small toys or stuffed animals can also go inside transparent goody bags to make it look more "gift-like".

If you use a gift bag or paper bag for a basket, it is still a good idea to put grass or a grass substitute inside. It makes the bag seem fuller and cushions the candy and toys from breaking if set down too hard.

Many commercially sold Easter Baskets (already put together complete with candy and toys) are wrapped up in plastic and topped with ribbon or a bow. You can do the same just using colored plastic wrap (found near the normal plastic wrap) . After wrapping, use a hair dryer to tighten and smooth the plastic wrap into a nice little package.