Easter baskets don't have to be filled with 100% candy. There are a ton of options for fun and crafty little items. Check out this kid-approved list.
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9 Great No-Candy Easter Basket Ideas
- Crochet Hooks
Inspire creativity, or set your kids up with their own supplies so you get yours back. I found this colorful, yet inexpensive, set at Amazon and both my kids went crazy when they spotted them in the basket.
- Temporary Tattoos
Kids love them, they’re readily available at pretty much any store or online, and they’re inexpensive. ‘Nuff said.
- Stickers
In the same vein as temporary tattoos, you can find stickers in the greeting card area of pretty much any grocery or drug store, dollar stores, book stores… you name it. I’ve found that independent pharmacies often have some unique ones that you won’t see at a chain store, so if there’s one nearby, check it out.
- Sidewalk Chalk
Sidewalk chalk is always a hit in my house. There are lots of options out there, and you don’t need to spend a ton of money to set your kids up for some fun out in the fresh air.
- Bubbles
I don’t know if I need to expand on the topic of bubbles, except to say you can go small and inexpensive with a small bottle with the traditional round wand inside, or you can look around for a battery operated bubble machine. It all depends on your budget and the size of the basket you’re trying to fill.
- Books
My third grader is an avid reader and is burning through books as fast as we can check them out at the library. She’s really into graphic novels right now, and has read the entire Avatar series, Crafty Cat, and has just started the Lunch Lady series. Buy the books new or hit up your local library for books they’re looking to sell. A lot of libraries sell donated books that don’t have any stickers or stamps on them, and you can often score these for a buck or less. Those library sale books are both budget-friendly and also support the library!
- Blind Bags
Kids love these little things. From Lego Minifigures, Shopkins and Hatchimals to My Little Pony, Pokemon and the Grossery Gang, They’ll run you less than $5 a piece and they’re super fun to open. Sometimes you can score multi-packs online that you can break up for a more economical distribution across multiple kids. (Or tuck a few extras away in your sock drawer for stocking stuffers!)
- Perler (Iron) beads
Perler beads can be expensive or cheap, depending on whether or not you get the name brand as well as the size of the kit. We got a monster-size container of beads and a multi-pack of the trays at Ikea about a year ago, and I’ve also seen smaller packets of single color beads and trays fairly inexpensively at the local craft store. This is one that's easily customizable to any budget.
- Colored Pencils, Crayons, Markers, etc.
I don’t think I need to explain this one. I found super cute rainbow colored pencils at the local big box store (as in multi-colored lead in each pencil), but you can also pick up just some regular coloring kits. Twistable crayons and colored pencils are very popular around here. I know when I was little, I dreamed of having one of those boxes of 64 crayons with the built-in sharpener. If you had one, I’m still jealous.
Get creative, and have fun with it!