Since we largely avoid candy and other processed foods, I have to get creative and come up with other Easter basket ideas each year. As kids, my brother and I always looked forward to Easter, getting baskets with a chocolate bunny, and going on Easter egg hunts. Because of these special memories I work hard to make my kids’ baskets just as special (with less of the junky stuff).
Our family focuses on giving experiences instead of material gifts, and I wanted to find ways to bring this into our holiday celebrations. Over the years I’ve found some unique ideas and themes for the yearly baskets. The kids not only have fun digging into their baskets on Easter morning, but it encourages family experiences as well.
Healthy Easter Baskets: Taking It Too Far?
I’ve definitely heard the objection that taking candy out of an Easter basket takes the whole healthy thing a little too far. If your thoughts are running along these lines, consider:
Easter is the second biggest candy-selling holiday of the year after Halloween. Over 16 billion jelly beans are made each year, along with millions of neon marshmallow chicks and hundreds of chocolate treats. Kids’ Easter baskets are often filled with high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, and ingredients our bodies (and certainly our kids’ bodies) were not meant to consume.
My point is, if I’m extreme, it’s because I’m reacting to a big problem.
Since food dyes may affect behavior, and many people consume over 100 pounds of sugar a year, it’s increasingly important to consider healthier alternatives even on holidays. These simple switches don’t take away any of the fun or tradition; they just reduce the sugar and food dye content.
Certainly, sometimes the stress of choosing natural options can outweigh the benefits. However, I feel this is a holiday where we can definitely make improvements. We can still celebrate all that Easter is meant to be without going to extremes on either end of the spectrum.
Ok, that’s out of the way… on to Easter baskets!
25+ Candy-Free Easter Basket Ideas
Here are some of our family’s favorites from Easter over the years. Hopefully some of them get the wheels turning and inspire some ideas perfect for your family!
Experience-Based/Themed Easter Basket Ideas
These experience-themed baskets are more fun and long-lasting than a sugar-laden basket of candy. Create an Easter basket based around an activity or theme like gardening, baseball, swimming, or camping. Help give your kids the gift of a new skill or a favorite pastime.
These are some of my favorite themes from past Easter baskets:
Gardening Basket
A favorite in the past and a theme we choose again from year to year. I use inexpensive clay pots for the “baskets” and fill them with child-size gardening gloves, seeds, small garden tools, and other garden-related items. Each child gets a different type of seeds that we will use in our garden and gets to help me start the seeds, plant in our raised beds, and water throughout the year.
Camping Basket
One year, to help stock our camping supplies, each child received camping items in their basket. They got sleeping bags, flashlights, binoculars, whistles, and camping silverware.
Sports Basket
Baskets with gear to play certain sports and even tickets to our local minor league teams to go to games as a family throughout the year are always a favorite. One year we put in new attachments for our Ninja line in the backyard.
Movie Night Basket
The kids really enjoy family movie nights, so their baskets could contain summer PJs and movie tickets or DVDs. Each kid gets a different movie and gets to “host” that movie night by making snacks and setting up for the movie. Perennial favorites at our house are How to Train Your Dragon and Cinderella.
Craft Basket
Every mom knows the challenge of keeping kids pleasantly and productively occupied. Especially in the summer months, which come not long after Easter! Craft-themed baskets are perfect for this. I might fill the baskets with craft supplies like construction paper, glue, scissors, buttons, and modeling clay.
Scavenger Hunt Basket
With this idea, the basket is part of the experience. Some years I want to just give one experience/gift to all of the kids that won’t fit in a basket. I create a scavenger hunt around the gift and leave the clues in their baskets. Hide one part of the first clue in each basket so the kids can work together to find the first clue and lead them on a scavenger hunt to the final destination or Easter gift.
Easter Basket Filler Ideas
If you don’t want to follow a theme for an Easter basket, fill it with a random assortment of some healthy Easter basket ideas.
- jump rope
- holy cards or devotional books
- card games
- jump gym passes
- puzzles
- bowling lane tickets
- ingredients to make natural slime
- outdoor games
- Legos
- water guns
- kid-sized cooking tools and apron, or this set with wooden knives
- Playdough “carrots” (such a cute idea!)
- beach towels and toys
- wooden airplanes
- hair accessories
- kites
- a potted plant or a packet of seeds (kids love to take care of something of their own)
- coupon for a lunch date with Mom or Dad
- sticker pads
- water bottle
- board games or word games
- art supplies
- Easter egg sidewalk chalk
- DIY crayons
- mini coloring books
And When There’s Time: Try Homemade!
Just say no to the neon jelly beans and marshmallow chickens! Skip the chocolate bunnies and Cadbury eggs completely and consider making healthier chocolate, marshmallows, or gelatin fruit snacks (maybe in an Easter-themed mold). You can also make these cute meringue nests.
And although it’s not as convenient, homemade candy comes with a bonus: quality time together preparing for Easter.
If your kids still like fun Easter basket treats without all the sugar, there are plenty of non-candy options. There are even healthier candies to choose from, like dark chocolate or dye free suckers. You can get a full list of my favorite healthier candy options here. The following Easter treats contain a mix of store-bought and homemade options.
Easter Basket Treats
- strawberry fruit leather (like Fruit Roll-ups but with hidden veggies!)
- fresh fruit or dried fruit
- DIY healthy chocolate bars (or make chocolate eggs with this silicone mold)
- homemade coconut granola in a jar
- sweet and salty chocolate covered bacon
- berry gummies
- trail mix – make your own or these single serving packs
- homemade marshmallows
Esater Gifts For Older kids
Many of the above ideas can work for older kids too, but here are a few ideas more tailored to this age group. Even teens like getting gifts if they’re something they like!
- hair accessories
- phone charger
- non-toxic nail polish
- DIY bath bombs or shower melts
- mini watercolor set and art journal
- jewelry
- wired earbuds (lower EMFs than the wireless kind!)
- sunglasses
- Rubik’s cube
- pocket knife
- gift card
- Mad Libs
- journal and pens
Easter Eggs
Easter eggs are a tradition I can appreciate, with a beautiful significance at this time of year. Of course, I have some suggestions when it comes to how to dye easter eggs naturally. Check out this post for more on that!
If you use plastic Easter eggs to hide treasures, try filling them with small items instead of candy. The eggs can also contain “points” that can be used to “buy” bigger prizes from a box. Better yet, hide real eggs or create a scavenger hunt with clues that end at a fun prize or destination! There are also some really cute reusable fabric eggs that are a better option than the plastic eggs.
An Easter Basket to Treasure
It takes a little thinking outside of the box to come up with new Easter basket ideas. However, I’m confident that in the end my kids don’t feel deprived or miss out on the season’s celebration. In fact, it’s amazing how colorful, sweet, and festive a healthy Easter basket can be. I hope these ideas help you fill your Easter baskets with goodies, joy, and good health!
What special family traditions do you treasure at Easter? Do you have healthier Easter basket ideas to share? I’d love to hear!
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