Fun Easter Baskets On A Budget
It’s getting to be that time again! One of my favorite things to do is put together Easter baskets for my kids. There are so many different ways you can go, from super diy to buying a completely put together basket in your child’s favorite theme or character. I like to go with a happy medium, and as with most things, try to stick to a reasonable budget.
The last 2 years I had used the same basket for my daughter, my first big DIY project for her. I had pimped out a plain white basket with a glittery pink tutu skirt. That basket didn’t make it after last year’s festivities. My son got a smaller felt basket last year because he was about 9 months old.
(out take from last year’s Easter DIY photo shoot, more later on how much I freaking LOVE diy photo shoots)
This year they are going to be getting new baskets and I’m going to personalize them a little with some ribbons, flowers and stickers. For the baskets, my first stop is dollar stores. If you get there early enough after they start putting out seasonal decorations, you can find very nice and large size baskets for $1, closer to the holiday they start to run out or have a lot less to choose from. Additionally, Michael’s usually runs a good sale with 40-50% off around a few weeks before before Easter.
Now for the fun stuff. What to put in the baskets?
I like to limit the amount of candy that goes in each basket. Last year’s baskets had no candy at all for the 9 month old and very few for the (then) 2 year old. I got creative and included other small fun things they would love.
The baby got more practical stuff with a couple of fun things. His basket included Socks, a new sippy cup, a small stuffed animal, a little bubble wand and a baby food pack. His eggs had gerber puffs inside.
Other non-candy things you can include for an infant’s basket are bibs, rattle toys, teething toys, these Fresh Food mesh snack holders
My 2 ½ year old got similar items: socks, bubble wand, sippy cup, and a small stuffed bunny (thanks Target dollar section). I also included some smackers chapstick (aka ‘lipstick”) from the dollar store, a couple of fruit/veggie pouches and one small chocolate bunny. Her plastic eggs had one or 2 jelly beans in each (one small pack was enough).
More ideas for toddler baskets are Play Doh (if you’re brave or have a child that doesn’t eat everything), books, coloring books and crayons, stickers, small toys, plastic bracelets, hair accessories, kiddie sunglasses, fruit gummies, a bottle of character Vitamin Gummies or bandaids (it seems like a weird addition but my kids go crazy over these), and crackers (Annie’s Bunny Grahams are a nice Easter-y idea).
Most of these items I get at a dollar store, Dollar Tree and the 99 cents store are my BFFs for holiday stuff. For anything extra I usually hit the Target dollar section hard. Amazon is also a good go-to for a few specific items.
There are so many different things you can do or get for your kid’s basket. You don’t even have to use a basket, I found a great idea for a beach bucket filled with sand toys and a few candies. And if you want some more inspiration, check out my Pinterest Easter board for more ideas and theme samples. I’ve included ideas for kids of all age groups and for all levels of craftiness and budgets.
I’m going to be getting everything together for this year’s baskets in the coming weeks, follow me on Instagram at coffeewithashotofcynicism to see my finds and the finished results.