5 Things to Include in an Easter Basket for Kids*

It’s 5 weeks on Friday until Good Friday, who can believe that Easter is coming around so soon? I’m not usually one for rushing the year away but I know once Easter is out the way we’ll be heading straight for our holiday to Walt Disney World. Of course that doesn’t mean I’m off the hook when it comes to all the events that are in between. Easter is the biggest but I also have my Dad’s birthday, my birthday and Mother’s Day. I’m all sorted for Mother’s Day and I’ll have a post up about it in the next week or so, but Easter, I’m only just getting started with my planning.

Last year, my sister and I introduced a party on Easter Sunday where the kids would receive Easter baskets. The Easter baskets were a tradition I picked up from the USA the year before when we spent the holiday in Florida. Easter Saturday saw me running around Target putting together a basket for LM as the friends we were staying with had the Easter Bunny visit their daughter and didn’t want LM to feel left out. I enjoyed the tradition so much that I brought it home with me and my sister and I embraced it last year!

So what do I typically put into an Easter Basket? Well here are 5 things I try to include;

Chocolate
Aside from the religion aspect (which we don’t celebrate) Easter is without a doubt the chocolate holiday of the year. Because of this my sister says it’s her second favourite after Halloween. So what would an Easter basket be without chocolate eggs? The kids each get an egg along with some other chocolate inside their baskets. It’s probably one of their favourite things in there and it usually doesn’t last past Easter Monday (and if it did I would eat it so I’d rather they just ate the lot over a few days haha).

A Book
Books are my ultimate go to do gifts. Last weekend LM had a birthday party and I bought her friend a couple of books. You cannot go wrong with a story and Easter baskets are a perfect place to include one. Maybe it’s because reading was a fundamental part of my childhood and now my daughter loves to read too but receiving a book as gift is the absolute best. You can go for an Easter or Spring related story, or simply something you think your child will love.

Activities
Easter usually falls during the school holidays, a 2 week school holiday. And if it rains the whole time your kid is going to get pretty bored, which is why an activity, game or art supplies are perfect for an Easter Basket, they’re also incredibly practical. Last year LM and my nephew each got a Pokemon colouring book and a sticker book. It kept them busy the whole holiday and LM is still finishing her colouring book off a year later!

Personal Interest Item
So far we’ve been seasonal with the chocolate and practical with the activities and a book, now is the time to place the real gift, the personal interest item. Last year as I mentioned above, LM and my nephew were hugely into Pokemon (they still are) so I created them Pokemon themed baskets with figures and Pokemon cards. The year before LM was into Zootropolis and Tsum Tsums so she got some of those. If you get them something they love rather than a random plush toy it’ll get used rather than left set on a shelf.

A Family Movie
Finally, one you can benefit from too, a family movie. Like with the activities it’s something that will keep your kid busy during the holidays and give you all the chance for some down time. DVDs are so cheap to pick up these days and some of the best family movies are available for as little as £3 in supermarkets. Why not get one from your childhood? I recently had LM watch Anastasia and she loved it!

Yes, this kind of Easter basket is definitely for the more modern child, and there are no religious connotations to it but in our family we celebrate Easter like Christmas, a time for treats and family and Easter baskets are now a part of that I really enjoy!

What do you do for Easter?