Easter basket alternatives?

[Ginevra]

I really want to avoid buying a pile of candy for baskets this year, which is not to say NO candy. The Kids would be horrified. Still, I'm open to suggestions for either making some treats that the kids would find special (though how to do that when they are always here?), or other fun gifts that won't seem like a big no-candy let-down.

 

Fortunately, my teens will probably enjoy other things besides candy (iTunes cards? Gas cards?), but I still want some cool ideas. My youngest is planning to get a Leopard Gekko soon (*shudder*), so there are cage set-up and care products for the Reptile that can go in there. Other ideas?

[Ethel Mertz]

DS 12 is getting a chess book and a Shakespeare Action Figure (Amazon has other literary type action figures as well). In fact, now that I've perused the options, he might also get a Sherlock Holmes Action Figure. And then there's Watson. Oh good grief. I feel an out-of-budget experience coming on.

[Spryte]

What age range? I can't remember and can't see your sig if it says.

 

DS is getting a game and a drawing tablet thing for his game system, a book, some other stuff. From the past: small Lego kits are good, bobble heads are fun, flip flops, swim goggles, beach towel to line basket, sunglasses, audiobooks, movies, thinking putty, I could go on... :)

 

Little one is getting foam bath letters, a play doh letter making kit, play doh eggs, a book, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, the usual little kid stuff.

 

I don't use grass. We'll line DD'sbasket with a new play silk. Haven't decided on DS's yet.

[texasmama]

For girls, nail polishes or hair things if they are into those things.  Teen boys are a conundrum for me, but mine would like chewing gum or a $5 gift card to Sonic or something like that.

[magic]

My 12 year old daughter and 14 year old son are each getting a Lego set.  My 17 year old son is getting map grids and miniatures for a game that he recently bought and a McDonald's gift card.  My 18 year old son is getting Apples to Apples picture game, McDonald's gift card, and lottery tickets.  All of the kids are also getting a variety of gum, tootsie pops, glass bottles of Root Beer and Coke, nice chap stick, a Lego minifigure, and a chocolate bunny.  I usually do not put much by way of candy in their baskets but do get candy at the sales after Easter.

[aggieamy]

My 10 yo DD is getting a note that says we purchased the second season of Horrible Histories for her on Amazon.  She'll also probably get a skirt or new shirt.

 

1.5 yo DS is getting his own little Camelbak water bottle and a new-to-him outfit.

 

We are all huge Anglophiles in my house so I'll probably hunt down some interesting English candy bar and put in there too.  That's it though.  

 

This year I'm not going to overdo it like I did last year ... or at their birthdays ... or at Christmas ... or at Halloween  ... or ....

[*Lulu*]

All three of ours get similar items in their baskets designed to keep them busy during all the extra time we are at the church over the Easter weekend. (When you have parents on staff at a church twiddling your thumbs is just a part of the Advent and Lenten seasons!)

 

This year we have:

 

Brick Fairy Tales- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1628737328/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brick Greek Myths- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/162914522X/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brick Frankenstein and Dracula- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1629145211/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Duct Tape

Supplies for making duct tape weapons

Small Lindt chocolate bunnies

A midsized lego figure for each

[skimomma]

We always do (in addition to a little bit of candy) fun fruit that we do not normally buy.  Like pomegranates, mangos, blood oranges, coconut (for some real fun), and kiwis.  This would only be appealing to kids who like fruit, obviously, but works well for my usually-deprived-of-cool-fruit kiddo.  Fruit leathers are another hit.  They are almost candy, I know, but a tiny bit better.  Small bottles of fun juice or non-HFCS soda, soap, wacky socks, pencils/pens/markers, garden seeds, etc have also made appearances in dd's basket in the past.

[momacacia]

A few spring clothes I bought on sale a while ago, a little chocolate and some xylitol candies/gum.

[Guest]

What age range? I can't remember and can't see your sig if it says.

 

DS is getting a game and a drawing tablet thing for his game system, a book, some other stuff. From the past: small Lego kits are good, bobble heads are fun, flip flops, swim goggles, beach towel to line basket, sunglasses, audiobooks, movies, thinking putty, I could go on... :)

 

Little one is getting foam bath letters, a play doh letter making kit, play doh eggs, a book, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, the usual little kid stuff.

 

I don't use grass. We'll line DD'sbasket with a new play silk. Haven't decided on DS's yet.

DD17, DS 15, DS10

 

These are great ideas! You reminded me that I put the "LEGO Ideas book" on my wish list a while back for DS10. He would like that.

[Guest]

For girls, nail polishes or hair things if they are into those things. Teen boys are a conundrum for me, but mine would like chewing gum or a $5 gift card to Sonic or something like that.

Oh! sonic! dS15 would go GaGa over that! Thanks!

[momto10blessings]

Next year I'm doing cash

[skimerinkydo]

Humming bird feeder with food.

[Zydruna]

DD is getting a watch and probably a pair of earrings.  Also books.

[Laura Cook]

I am thinking about getting them each rain/muck boots and then tying each pair together with some pretty Easter ribbon instead of baskets. I have already ordered them each a mini terrarium (hope they work right!) and a small tin of Thinking Putty, all from Rainbow Resource. I'm putting a Minecraft mini figure and Nerf darts in the boy's baskets and earring and hair ties in my daughter's basket. Then they will each get a book and a little bit of candy. The boots alone will be more than I usually spend on Easter baskets, but I planned on buying them anyway so I figured they would be a unique basket!

[Spryte]

DD17, DS 15, DS10

 

These are great ideas! You reminded me that I put the "LEGO Ideas book" on my wish list a while back for DS10. He would like that.

 

Ooooh, DS11 loves the Lego Ideas Book.  We found it at - of all places - Home Goods.  On clearance!  If you're doing that, what about filling some eggs for DS10 with lego pieces, if you do plastic fillable eggs?  Does he have one of those mini-figure storage cases?  We found one at Staples - it's small enough to go in a basket, and is perfect storage for minifig pieces.  Get two if you have lots of minifigs.  :)

 

Any theater fans?  Shakespearean Insult candy is always big here with the big guy (23 now, and living far away, so no basket for him, but he loved this stuff in high school and college).  Gas cards.  

 

For DS15 - stomp rockets (too young?  maybe that's better for DS10), real rocket supplies.  Oh, DH just brought back a cool engine that you can attach to paper airplanes, something like that would be fun for everyone.

[VendyThomas]

Gift them a plant like lucky bamboo stick, a different thing which may increase the beauty of the kid's room.

[Just Kate]

Another redirected thread by a newbie.

[SparklyUnicorn]

One of mine doesn't like candy, but loves beef jerky.  So he always gets a bag of that.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Another redirected thread by a newbie.

 

The response is pretty robotic.  Seems like perhaps not a real person.

[Just Kate]

The response is pretty robotic. Seems like perhaps not a real person.

Probably. And I just realized I said "redirected" instead of "resurected". Oops!

[Bluegoat]

One year for Easter I got a cute little teapot that looked like an old world cottage, just enough for one cup.  It had chocolate in it but something like that could easily have tea or hot chocolate or mulling mix.

 

Or, a plant pot in a spring colour with bulbs to force or some gardening implements could be fun.

[Wilma]

I had an Easter breakthrough last year. We have four girls; I made one Easter basket. It was awesome. The basket looked great and the girls loved the stuff in it (a little bit of candy, new swimming goggles, some hair thingys). I always want to avoid having too much candy AND avoid making it a big gifting occasion.

 

I will never go back to four Easter baskets.

 

Sent from my XT1094 using Tapatalk

[happypamama]

Small fidgety toys are always popular with my kids, even the teens.  Silly putty, sticky hands, window markers, balls of any type (they like ones with textures that act as fidgets when they're trying to focus).  Maybe it's because we have lots of littles still, but the big kids seem to enjoy the chance to be silly and not-too-grown-up for a bit.

 

Family movies?  Maybe not for your older kids, but my younger ones always like the LEGO video games, and Steam often has sales on them, making them inexpensive.

 

My teen and tween like small wearables -- hair clips, earrings, rock star armbands, cool hats, fingerless gloves, fun socks, sunglasses. . . More for the girl, but my tweenage son won't turn down a cool rocker armband or hat.

 

New guitar picks and new colored pencils/crayons are always useful around here.

 

I might put flower seeds to plant in our baskets this year because Easter is so early, so it won't be too late for planting.

[Chelle in MO]

I am thinking about getting them each rain/muck boots and then tying each pair together with some pretty Easter ribbon instead of baskets. I have already ordered them each a mini terrarium (hope they work right!) and a small tin of Thinking Putty, all from Rainbow Resource. I'm putting a Minecraft mini figure and Nerf darts in the boy's baskets and earring and hair ties in my daughter's basket. Then they will each get a book and a little bit of candy. The boots alone will be more than I usually spend on Easter baskets, but I planned on buying them anyway so I figured they would be a unique basket!

 

Cute idea! Just don't do what my mom did when I was a kid...she put loose jelly beans in my boots and they stuck to the fuzzy lining!  :lol:

[Garga]

I have boys: 13 and 11. I got them gel pens. They've never used them before and since we've moved from pencils to pens in school, the gel pens should be fun. Mechanical pencils for math because they love them and all our old ones broke.

 

A set of teeny-tiny miniature legos for each boy from Target. They're not Lego brand and they're in the section with little toys that you put in Easter baskets. The lego-type bricks are miniature and build into things like lions or elephants.

 

A bag of Mixels Legos for each boy. These are $5 and make little creature things. You can get a few bags of them in the same color and then mix and match the little creatures.

 

Gift cards to some sort of fast food place, not sure yet which one.

 

Glow sticks because they love them.

 

2 Cadbury eggs each, 1 box of peeps to share, some Cadbury mini eggs, peanut reeces for the boy who can eat nuts, and kit kats for the boy who can't. I bought a bag of each of the last three and we'll divide those bags among the four of us, so they'll only get 1/4 of a bag.

[HeWillSoar]

One year my teens got Nike slides in their Easter basket.   I saw a cute thing online where you take a hat and use it as the basket and fill it with Pringles, beef jerky, candy, etc.

 

Just realized I am a year late with that response.  Oh well, maybe it will help someone. 

Edited March 14, 2016 by HeWillSoar

[mamiof5]

We don't do candy, only one chocolate bunny in their baskets. We've done books, small-medium Lego sets, silly putty, markers, coloring pencils, books, t-shirts or a wanted clothing item (frozen t-shirts in the past)...can't think of anything else.

[LMV]

Our Easter Bunny rarely brings candy (STBADD11 is currently in braces so jelly beans, Peeps, etc are out; DD20 can't have caffeine so chocolate is out, and we have a few more food allergies in the mix as well).

 

Baskets generally contain:

-Something sports related that they "need" (So DD16 will get grips in her Easter basket, DD6, & DD3 will get a new pair of goggles and a few training suits, STBADD11 has gotten a new riding helmet with her goodies inside instead of the more traditional basket---I may do that again, etc. Deflated soccer balls, jump ropes leotards, and therabands also work well)

-Bananas

-Fun socks

-A book or two

-Stuffed friends

-Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, kites,

-Toothbrush

-Bath/shower products

-Some preferred treat (ie gummy bears for DD16, B&J gift certificates etc

 

We do an extended family egg hunt. Each child has their own color and they get a bonus if they find all their eggs. The eggs have small amounts of money, experience coupons, or other small items.

 

[MeghansMom]

Meg is getting a few books such as  Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, The Guardian Herd: Land Fall and Throne of Glass by Sara J. Maas. She will get some candy such as Reese's pb eggs and a small chocolate bunny, etc. Maybe some wacky socks too. :-) She will be 13 in October.

[IfIOnly]

gum and mints (xylitol as an ingredient for dental care would be even better)

dark chocolate from the health food store

trail mix and other nuts, jerky, and other healthy snack foods

a snack bag of chips and other not healthy snack foods :P

 

 

 

 

[fraidycat]

Easter baskets are just stockings a few months later. :) Search the stocking stuffer threads.

 

Cool t-shirts, books, card or dice games, gift cards, DVDs, hobby paraphenelia, etc. All can be used as Easter basket filler.

 

My kids (10 and 13) both requested cash in lieu this year. So, Easter is easy. They each get a Lindt chocolate rabbit (Costco) and spending power. :) Yay for me!

Edited March 15, 2016 by fraidycat

[fraidycat]

Ack! I should check the date on threads. But, to be fair, it is almost Easter again, so at least the zombie info is applicable.

[Tap]

DS21 is getting a piano book of Ghibli songs, gift cards to a few local food places, an anime movie Millennium Actress, and a bag of Lindt chocolates.

 

DD17 is getting a new purse she wants, a dress , an Ulta gift card or a coffee gift card, and decent chocolates (depends on what I see when I go shopping Lindt, Fererro Rocher etc)

 

DD9 is getting a new pair of shorts, a couple of nice puzzles, a digital movie if she has earned her tablet back by then (tablet privilege is taken away this week), a single chocolate item (she lost the privilege of having desserts as a punishment recently and hasn't earned them back yet). I will have to think of something else if she doesn't have her tablet back by then.

 

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by Tap

[LibraryLover]

Ideas: New ballet stitch kit, loaded public transportation card, small coloring book (pencil type), GC to local deli, candy, gum, electric toothbrush, GC to local movie theater, GC to (actual) bookstore, box of cereal I never buy. 

 

Some of my kids have given up itunes for Spotify. 

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by LibraryLover

[Janeway]

We used to do a scavenger hunt. They would get very little in each egg, but they had to solve a riddle to find each egg.

[Bluegoat]

Easter baskets are just stockings a few months later. :) Search the stocking stuffer threads.

 

Cool t-shirts, books, card or dice games, gift cards, DVDs, hobby paraphenelia, etc. All can be used as Easter basket filler.

 

My kids (10 and 13) both requested cash in lieu this year. So, Easter is easy. They each get a Lindt chocolate rabbit (Costco) and spending power. :) Yay for me!

 

I am actually surprised how many kids get gifts for Easter, including some substantial ones.  For us an Easter basket might have a chocolate bunny, but mostly it is empty so you can put the eggs you find in it.

[merry gardens]

Small snack bags of Anne's Bunnies. (They are like Goldfish crackers dressed for Easter.)

 

Rice Krispy treats shaped like eggs or chick's or bunnies. (They are sweet like candy but mostly cereal.)

 

Marshmallows bunnies. Again, sweet like candy but mostly air.

 

Garden seeds packets for carrots, lettuces, etc.

 

Small trowel and garden gloves.

[Hoot]

DS16 will probably get some candy, some snack items that he enjoys, and gum. He is a guitarist and drummer, so I may buy him some picks and sticks as well. A gas card would be good, but we currently pay for his gas so I may do a small gift card for Starbucks, a local grocery store that he frequents, or fast food. With his new car, the child is constantly on the go these days.