How to Create a Beautiful, Meaningful Easter Basket

Hello! We’re inside a week now until Easter. I know the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 will make Easter a bit quieter this year … no group Easter egg hunts, no celebratory brunches out, and no visits to the Easter bunny. But you can still make Easter morning special … make brunch at home, stream a church service, and create a fun Easter Egg hunt in your own home or yard. One of the key elements to any Easter morning with littles is the Easter basket! Traditionally, it’s all about candy … but with a little thoughtful planning you can make it so much more…

First, I like to break down my babes’ Easter baskets into three categories: 1) yum 2) fun, and 3) learn. Ok, in regards to the first category, let’s get one thing straight … we’re not doing away with candy entirely … it is Easter, after all! But, I like to choose one or two must haves — and in our house, that would be chocolate bunnies and jelly beans! The girls loves both of these, and Jacob and I will be all too happy to help out Kellen with his (chocolate for me, jelly beans for Jacob)! So, pick a few of your littles’ absolute favorite candies, and forgo the rest. This will make room for more the meaningful goodies in categories two and three!

For categories two and three, consider your child’s interests and age. This doesn’t need to be absolute … for example, I chose similar items for both Livi and Emme for the learning category. Each of them will receive a book and a mini succulent plant! The book is obvious — you should be reading to your child every night, even from a very young age, so a book is the perfect basket stuffer (if you haven’t read my post on education, including the importance of reading, check it out here). I like to choose Easter-themed books, but any book that you think your child would enjoy is great.

A small plant is great for teaching your child the importance of caring for something — and it’s a great starter… small, low maintenance, and if it does die, well… no one will be crying like they would if you happened to kill a goldfish or other small animal! Jacob (my green thumb guru) will teach the girls (and at some point, Kellen) how to ensure it receives the care it needs … light, water, and the occasional encouraging words to keep growing 🙂

For the fun category, just pick a few items that you know will make your little one smile with glee!

Livi loves to draw, so some new colored pencils are sure to please. And Emme all about mommy’s jewelry lately … she wants to put my necklaces on all the time, so she’ll get her very own necklace in her Easter basket this year! Also keep in mind that the Easter bunny can leave things that don’t necessarily fit into an Easter basket. When it became clear that COVID-19 was going to cause a shutdown and we began to limit our exposure by staying home, Olivia had a million questions. I took the opportunity to prepare a lesson on viruses (or “germs”). She is intrigued by the fact that they are too small to see with the naked eye, so Olivia will receive her very first microscope this year from the Easter bunny! And Emme will find her first bow and arrow set in the front yard.

Kellen has an obsession with car keys and cell phones, so he’s getting his very own toy cell phone and key set. A cute stuffed bunny, a squishy textured bunny shaped squeeze toy, and a string of multi-colored animal shapes should keep his hands busy too.And, of course, what Easter basket would be complete without a few beautifully colored eggs? At least when I was young, the Easter bunny always stashed a few in my basket … I intend to carry on that tradition! And if you missed my post on how to create gorgeous speckled Easter eggs, you can check it out here.