Skip the Junk – Creative Easter Basket Ideas

Inspire creative play and skip the junk toys that will never be used again with these creative Easter basket ideas.

Easter was always my grandmother’s favorite holiday. As a child her enthusiasm was infectious. She would ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over the colorful eggs, making us feel like little Picassos with egg dye. As a parent I want to continue the joy I felt with this holiday, and one way I’m doing that is with creative Easter basket ideas. The Easter basket themes below make me excited to see the kids faces on Easter morning.

Three Fun Themes – Creative Easter Basket Ideas

The following ideas are mostly great for younger kids. If you have an 11 or 12 year  old or a teen, you might like this list of Easter basket filler ideas for older kids.

Links included are Amazon affiliate links, should you purchase through them you support this blog at no extra cost to yourself. I’ve included a book idea with each theme as well, obviously all of these depend on your basket size (and how much room the [easyazon_link identifier=”B000OVRIDW” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]chocolate rabbit[/easyazon_link] takes up ;))

Spring Art Basket Ideas:

Springtime is here! Sunshine and flowers are enough to inspire any budding artist and this Easter basket theme celebrates spring with goodies that get kids outside to do some spring art projects. They can go on a photo-scavenger-hunt, draw the flowers coming up in the yard, or make a “smash book” of all the things they love in the nature of their own backyard.

• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”B004087B9G” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/519RjWncdtL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”160″][easyazon_link identifier=”B00006IEEU” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Colored pencils[/easyazon_link] – if you already have the basics, maybe try something fun like [easyazon_link identifier=”B00U7VJGOI” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]florescent pencils[/easyazon_link] or [easyazon_link identifier=”B004087B9G” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]watercolor pencils[/easyazon_link]. Eboo has art supplies in adorable packaging and matching sketchbooks. If you get watercolor pencils, I recommend getting a [easyazon_link identifier=”B0141MHBUE” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]watercolor brush pen[/easyazon_link] to go with them.
• A [easyazon_link identifier=”B001E67Z16″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Good Quality Pencil Sharpener[/easyazon_link] (Getting a good one means you won’t constantly break the colored pencil lead.)
• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”97″ identifier=”B00D4K8XIO” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/41F5MMTciVL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”160″][easyazon_link identifier=”B00281PWH0″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Watercolor paints[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00D4K8XIO” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Kids Camera[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B0094RGB9E” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Spring Stamps Kit[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”0924886560″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Sun Print Kit[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”B004W8WB94″ locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/51uMtLTv9AL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”100″]A [easyazon_link identifier=”B004W8WB94″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Smash Book[/easyazon_link] to add photos, leaves or drawings to.

Fun in the Garden Ideas:

As the ground thaws and bulbs bloom, we start thinking about the garden treasures to come with warmer weather. A Garden themed Easter basket can get kids ready for digging, planting and growing. Whether they’re making a fairy garden or a veggie garden, these Easter basket fillers will be inspiring.

Tip: A friend told me that one of her kids favorite Easter basket fillers was the year they each got a strawberry plant in their basket as the main treat. They loved nurturing it over the next few months and harvesting the berries when they were ripe.

• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”135″ identifier=”B017BYXK2M” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/41fDyqPQnL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”160″][easyazon_link identifier=”B013OWYOIY” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Gardening Tools[/easyazon_link]
• A [easyazon_link identifier=”B00EV5S4MG” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Fairy for Your Garden[/easyazon_link] or maybe a  [easyazon_link identifier=”B0032OBE2E” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]tube of small fairies[/easyazon_link] if you’re making a fairy garden in a pot.
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B017JG24VA” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Wildflower Seeds[/easyazon_link] for your area
• Tomato Growing Kit
• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”155971624X” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/51F32B2BswYyL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”156″][easyazon_link identifier=”B000J498PA” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Sun Hat[/easyazon_link]
• Kid Safe Lip Balm with Sunscreen
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00K0R5L5C” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Magnifying glass[/easyazon_link] (Just beware that you go over rules of using it to start fires -says the mom with a little clan of future pyrotechnicians…)
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B0053XUHVQ” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Bird Bell[/easyazon_link] or other bird seed to attract winged friends
• A [easyazon_link identifier=”155971624X” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Bird Book[/easyazon_link] or [easyazon_link identifier=”1589798228″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Nature Journal[/easyazon_link]

Classic Play Ideas

Easter Basket fillers that get kids playing! Some childhood toys are just classics. This selection of treats for Easter baskets includes the kind of good old fashioned play that’s always fun for kids.

• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”69″ identifier=”B002XQ7QJW” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/4159ehRTHSL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”160″][easyazon_link identifier=”B002XQ7QJW” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Play-Doh[/easyazon_link] And if you don’t have any yet, a few [easyazon_link identifier=”B00P8DV5YO” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]play-doh tools[/easyazon_link] or [easyazon_link identifier=”B00076TPNA” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]cookie cutters[/easyazon_link] go a long way towards fun.
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00AHAJGYO” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Sidewalk Chalk[/easyazon_link] I like the regular shape best, but they do make very cute [easyazon_link identifier=”B00J8S4ER0″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]egg shaped sidewalk chalk[/easyazon_link] too.
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00PY47F3C” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Silly Putty Eggs[/easyazon_link] – so you can show them the magic of picking up newsprint, of course.
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00HX9I0VW” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Squirt guns[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”B00PU0E2RW” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/51lfdfcvJkL.SL160.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”146″][easyazon_link identifier=”B00PU0E2RW” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Bubbles[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_image align=”right” height=”88″ identifier=”B00M32A5SA” locale=”US” src=”https://bouncebackparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/512BVD9HTO4L.SL110.jpg” tag=”holidea-20″ width=”110″][easyazon_link identifier=”B00IU0L7WM” locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Jump Rope[/easyazon_link]
• [easyazon_link identifier=”0843172525″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]Easter Mad Libs[/easyazon_link] Or if you decided to get a jump rope, maybe a [easyazon_link identifier=”0688088090″ locale=”US” tag=”holidea-20″]book of jump rope rhymes[/easyazon_link].

Getting ready for Easter? You may also enjoy:

• Simple but *Special* ways to Dye Eggs
• 3 Easy Ways to Make Family Celebrations Memorable for Kids
• 10 Super Cute Easter Crafts Kids Can Make on DIY Candy

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