How to Make an Amazing Easter Basket
Instead of filling this year’s easter basket with trinkets and toys that will be immediately forgotten, utilize these tips for an amazing easter basket filled with goodies the kids will use long after the holiday is over!
Easter today is often celebrated by getting dressed up in gorgeous Spring dresses and handsome suits, sporting pretty sun hats and running around green fields filled with wildflowers in search of brightly-colored eggs filled with trinkets left behind by the beloved Easter Bunny. We eat marshmallow Peeps and chocolate bunnies and get excited about what the Easter Bunny left for us in our Easter Baskets.
The History of Easter
Have you ever stopped to wonder, though, why a basket? And a bunny? And eggs? How did these particular items come to be associated with Easter?
The common theory floating around the internet (although rebuffed by some!) is that the word Easter is actually derived from Eostre, a pagan goddess of spring and fertility. According to Anglo-Saxon folklore, Eostre found a dying bird and transformed it into a rabbit so its fur would warm it. Because it was once a bird, it still laid eggs. Thus the Easter Bunny brings eggs.
Easter Baskets came to be in the 1600s thanks to the Germans. Children were told that the OsterHase (Easter Hare) would bring eggs for children who left baskets, bonnets or other similar receptacles out for him. But, like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny would only bring eggs and other treats to good little girls and boys.
How to Make an Amazing Easter Basket
Easter Baskets have come a long way since the 1600s and are now enjoyed by children around the world on Easter morning. Whether they are filled with chocolate or jelly beans, trinkets or stuffed animals, Easter baskets these days are often filled to brim with items to delight children on this Springtime holiday.
With so many trinkets and toys at our disposal these days, though, how do we create an amazing Easter basket?
Rethink the Easter Basket
Well, to start, maybe rethink the basket! Sure, there is something elegant and simple about a pretty wicker basket awaiting your child on Easter morning. But, let’s be honest. Do you use the Easter basket again after Easter morning? If I’m being truthful… We don’t. For years I’ve collected and stored Easter baskets like it’s my job. And each year when it’s time to fill the baskets with treasures for the year’s holiday, I either can’t find the basket or I discover it’s been damaged in storage.
Two years ago, a friend mentioned using an umbrella in lieu of an Easter basket, and it was one of those light-bulb moments for me. Firstly, we always need umbrellas. Umbrellas are to my springtime what goggles are to my summertime. No matter how many I buy at any price point, I can’t ever find them when I need them and they break so easily. So, in my house at least, we can’t own enough umbrellas or goggles. Secondly, I won’t banish umbrellas to the attic for a year only to find them lost or damaged when I need to use them again.
This year, I already have three gorgeous umbrellas picked out and tucked away in my hiding spot, just waiting for Easter morning. Pretty and useful beyond Easter morning? Check!
Ditch the Plastic Easter Grass
Plastic Easter grass is a no-no if you have pets at home. Dogs and cats might mistake the pretty grass for an edible treat and the possible health complications resulting from Easter grass ingestion are simply not worth it. Plastic Easter grass also doesn’t degrade and can’t be recycled, meaning it is simply not good for the environment. Ditch the plastic grass and try a paper alternative (or just use tissue paper).
Start with Edible Treats
What is Easter without sugary-sweet treats to make dentists everywhere cringe? To create an amazing Easter basket, start with a few edible treats that only come out once per year. My personal favorite is Cadbury Mini Eggs, followed closely by Reese’s Eggs. My youngest swears that pink Peeps are the best thing since sliced bread, and my middle daughter thinks jelly beans are pretty spectacular this time of year. My husband can’t survive the season without at least one hollow Lindt chocolate bunny, and my oldest will basically eat any of the aforementioned candy, even after she swears she won’t. Stick to a treat that is only available at Easter time to make an extra-special Easter basket!
Add in Some Outdoor Activities and Accessories
After a long, cold Winter, we can’t wait to escape outside into the Springtime air. We want to enjoy the pleasant temps and bug-free outdoor time before Summer makes her debut. So I always fill my kids’ Easter baskets with lots of items that are meant to be enjoyed outside. I include bubbles, jump ropes, chalk, Frisbees, bike accessories, pool accessories, and anything else I think will get my kids out of the house and enjoying the fresh air Spring ushers in.
Include a Wearable Item and a Readable Item
If this feels a bit like the Christmas rhyme for what to get kids “Something you want, something you need, something you wear and something you read,” that’s because it is! This is a great list to follow for most major holidays, and Easter is no exception. Add a fun wearable item to the Easter basket. I have lots of friends who include a bathing suit as the wearable item (and maybe a cute pair of flip flops or water shoes, too!) for the upcoming pool season. Then, include something to read. Age-appropriate readers or fun magazines with Spring or Summer themes are a great addition to any Easter basket!
Finish the Treat-Filled Basket with a Stuffed Friend
Stuffed animals are a childhood necessity. My girls line their beds and their window seats with scores of furry friends, from bunnies to dog and dinosaurs to unicorns. Furry friends are a simple childhood treasure that we love. I always round out an amazing Easter basket with a new friend for my girls to sleep with at night. Bunnies and chicks are especially cute this time of year.
It is hard to go wrong when filling an amazing Easter basket. Children delight in any and all gifts, and Easter baskets filled with goodies and trinkets are sure to bring a smile on Easter morning.
