We rarely buy candy, yet between trick-or-treating, school parties, birthday parties, and treats brought in by Grammy and Nana, my kids always have more than their fair share.
Easter seems to be yet another candy-centric holiday, so we scoured the Internet, walked the aisles at local stores, and reached out to our fans on Facebook for alternatives.
The basket pictured above is one our Easter Bunny will be delivering this year. The only piece of candy in it is the chocolate bunny.
Although filling a basket is more expensive when you use mostly non-candy items, the trick for us is to fill it with items we were planning to buy anyway... movies we want to own, toys for summer, more rainbow loom bands. I usually pick up one or two items on each shopping trip beginning right after Valentine's Day.
For the Plastic Eggs
- Coins
- Mini bubbles (the dollar store near us had packs of two in carrot or chick shapes)
- Rainbow loom bands
- Perler® beads
- Erasers in fun shapes
- Flavored lip balm
- LEGO® pieces (buy a small set and separate them into individual eggs or go to the LEGO Store at Park Meadows Shopping Center to purchase individual pieces)
- Tattoos
- Stickers
- Custom coupons (like these from 24/7 Moms)
Edible Treats
- Sugar-free gum
- Annie's Bunny Fruit Snacks
- Annie's Cheddar Bunny Cracker Snacks
- Market Pantry Cheddar Chickadees (similar to Goldfish crackers but in the shape of chicks, available at Target)
- Single-serving bags of nuts (we love Planters NUT•rition and Wonderful® Pistachios)
- Keebler™ sandwich crackers
Summer Items
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Sunglasses
- Flip flops or Crocs
- Swimsuit
- Tank tops
- Shorts
- Squirt guns
- Jump rope
- Bug catcher kits
- Kite
Boy-Themed
- Trading cards: Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, football, baseball, basketball, etc.
- Action figures: TMNT, superheroes, GI Joe, Star Wars, etc.
- BEYBLADE toys and accessories
- Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars
Girl-Themed
- Nail polish, art pens, stickers, jewels, or other nail accessories
- Hair bows, ribbons, barrettes, headbands, and other accessories
- Makeup (play or real, depending on the age)
- Jewelry (play or real, depending on the age)
- Squinkies
Crafty Kid
- Duck® Brand Duct Tape
- Mini play dough tubs
- Pompoms
- Googly eyes
- Glitter glue
- Chenille stems
- Foam stickers
- Stamper Set
- Paint-by-numbers set (Michaels had Color Pencil-by-Numbers for $1)
Any Kid
- iTunes gift card
- Stuffed animals
- Plant growing starter kits (we saw different egg-shaped kits at Walgreens, Michaels, and Target)
- Mini puzzles (we found ours at the Dollar Tree store)
- Silly string
- Flash cards
- Card games like Uno, Phase 10, Skip Bo, Old Maid, Spoons (Walgreens had a wide variety)
- Fun socks
- Yo-yo
- Noise putty (makes sounds like bodily functions ... my kids love them!)
- Silly, twisty straws
- Grow capsules or creatures
- Hidden pics and word find books
- Glow bracelets
- Mini flashlights
- Bath accessories like body sponges, bombs, bubbles, body paint
- Books (Michaels had classic books in paperback for just $1)
- Movies or video games (a total splurge item but if you're planning to buy them anyway, the Easter Basket is the perfect way to make it a special treat)
Need more ideas? Head to the Party Favor section or dollar bins at or simply stroll the aisles at your favorite craft store, drugstore, or dollar store.
