Why fill an Easter basket with anything besides candy for your children?
Well, all year long, there seems to be some holiday, event, or birthday party where children get streams of candy. From Halloween to Valentine’s Day, sweet treats always seem to be an option for gift giving.
Of course, while kids love this, many parents want to avoid giving their children even more processed sugars. While this is a smart health decision, coming up with ideas to fill the basket at Easter time can be a challenge.
If you are looking for ways to cut back candy this year, here is a list of non-candy Easter basket ideas for your children. From books and bath toys to craft items and makeup, this list will hopefully provide some alternatives for everyone in your family sans sugar.
Non-candy Easter Basket Ideas for Babies and Toddlers
Ages 0 to 5 Years Old
For this age group, safety is a top priority. Many toys and, more importantly candy, are not age-appropriate. Besides they are too young to remember what you give them. Here are some non-candy Easter Basket ideas perfect to fill a basket for a baby or toddler.
Nookums Paci-Plush
This stuffed animal holds pacifiers in place while being soft and huggable for a baby to hold. Each plush comes with a Nookums Pacifier; however, you can swap it for baby’s favorite instead. Don’t forget you can add extra pacis to their basket as well!
Rattles
Make certain any rattles you give are well made and especially safe for babies and toddlers. Some options can be cheaply crafted and might break easily exposing dangerous pieces to a small child.
Puzzles
This doesn’t mean those puzzles with tiny cardboard pieces! Consider getting Hide N Squeak Eggs which are a great motor skill puzzle activity. For more of a challenge, toddlers will love matching the shapes in this Beakabao Color and Shape Egg Puzzle. Likewise, this textured shape sorter will keep young ones eager to finish the puzzle by putting all of the pieces inside!
Fisher-Price Little People
These chunky, easy-to-hold figures are a great toy to introduce pretend play. My daughter loved her Fisher-Price Little People more than any doll! Two of my favorite sets are the Fisher-Price Little People Disney Pixar Toy Story 4 Friends 7-pack or the Fisher-Price Little People Disney Princess Figures 7-pack.
Veggie Snack Puffs
Animal Crackers, individual box
Cheerios, single-serve bowl
Board Books
Books are an excellent non-candy basket filler for babies and toddlers! Check out these titles – Hippity, Hoppity, Little Bunny Finger Puppet book, the super-popular Little Blue Truck’s Springtime, or an Easter-themed It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny.
Plastic watering can
Toddlers love to help out and what better way than to give them a watering can to help you! You can have them water houseplants and as the weather gets nicer they can help with an outdoor garden too.
Some of my top picks are this Elephant Watering Can with googly eyes, the Hape Sand and Beach Watering Can, the World of Eric Carle Watering Can for Kids, or this Flamingo shaped watering can.
Bubbles
There always seems to be a good selection of bubbles at Dollar Tree. And you can’t beat a buck!
Bath toys
Young children love water play and bathtime is the perfect time to get some use of bath toys. Consider buying this adorable waterfall flower set, or this ocean bath toy set. Bonus – both come with a watering can!
Stuffed animals
Blocks
Stacking Cups
The First Years Stack Cups have a hole at the bottom of each so that these double as a bath toy. I sure love dual-purpose items!
Teethers
What Easter basket for the baby would be complete without a carrot teether?! This Infantino Carrot Teether is super cute and not very expensive either!
Camera
Along with great weather comes lots of opportunities for fun. Another great non-candy item for your child’s Easter basket is a camera to record their memories. For instance, on a beautiful, sunny day, take the kids out for a photo scavenger hunt to celebrate Spring.
When my daughter was in preschool, I purchased her first camera. It was the VTech Kidizoom Spin and Smile Camera and I was impressed by its quality and fun factor. She would enjoy taking photos and used it for a couple of years!
Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas for Kids
Ages 6 to 12 Years Old
Filling baskets for kids in this age group is loads of fun! Kids ages 6 through 12 enjoy going through their Easter baskets and pretty much anything is received with delight. Both boys and girls will enjoy these non-candy ideas for kids.
New Children’s Bible
What better time than Easter to give your child a shiny new Bible? Favorite children’s bibles include the Laugh and Learn Bible, The Unofficial Holy Bible for Minecrafters, The Action Bible, and the Adventure Bible.
Books
You can never have enough books, and they make a great Easter basket filler because they are a perfect rainy day activity. For children ages 6 to 12, consider Highlights™ Puzzlemania® Easter Puzzles Activity Book, the Would You Rather? Easter Edition book of questions or Easter Eggstravaganza Mad Libs.
Outdoor toys
From a shovel and pail to a soccer ball and kite, outdoor play gear is perfect for Easter. These items will give your child a chance to get outside and enjoy lovely spring days ahead.
My children enjoyed flying this Huge Rainbow Kite throughout the spring and summer of 2019. It is highly reviewed and especially popular with older kids. We also have these Octopus kites, which have been a lot of fun to fly with friends!
Hair accessories
Okay, this one isn’t so much for the boys, so if you are shopping for males only scroll on. However, if you have a girl on your list, hair accessories make a great addition to the basket!
With Springtime, cute hair accessories for girls get even more adorable, including Spring bows and flower headbands! Even better, right after Easter, all of the pretty dresses go on clearance. That is the time to pick up a new outfit or two so you can get plenty of use out of the hair accessories in her basket.
Sports gear
If your child is into sports, odds are they need some equipment and sports gear is an excellent option for their Easter basket. Water bottles, knee pads, and other small items are great non-candy Easter basket ideas.
Puzzles, Cards, and Games
Having puzzles, cards, and board games on hand are a great way to keep kids busy on a rainy day and they also make excellent family night bonding activities. These Take Apart Food Puzzle Erasers are cute for middle school children. Try the Monopoly Deal Card Game or Qwixx Dice Game, both fun and easy to learn.
Art Supplies and Stickers
When it comes to encouraging your child to express themselves, art is a fantastic tool. Spring can be such an exciting time, and fresh art supplies mean they are ready to share the beauty they see in the world. These Scratch and Sniff Stickers are excellent basket fillers, and they have an intense scent! Also, you can find a great selection of stickers at The Dollar Tree. These Oil Pastels are a neat medium for slightly older children to create artwork. Finally, these scented pencils, or Smencils as they are called, are made completely from recycled newspapers!
Baseball or Pokemon Cards
Glow Sticks, Punch Balls, Pinwheel, Jump Rope
All of these you can find inexpensive at the Dollar Tree.
Membership or Tickets For Something To Do In Town
While this seems like a big one for an Easter basket, it is practical. For example, you could spring for a family zoo membership or tickets to a trampoline park. Having something on hand to do during a rainy day or going on an outdoor adventure when the sun is out will surely be appreciated when the time comes. When going with a membership, that means you have something fun to do all year round. And when you do not have to pay because you have that membership, you are more likely to go back again and again. Be sure to check out sites like Groupon or LocalFlavor for many deals on things to do in your area.
Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas for Teens
Ages 13+
Older kids still like to get stuff, even though they do not show it as much as they used to. Show the teen in your life they are still part of family traditions by giving these non-candy ideas in their Easter basket.
Movie tickets/gift card
For older kids, a trip to the movies is a great treat. Tickets to a movie they can’t wait to see or a gift card to go to any movie they want later.
Hair Brush
Hair becomes a lot to a teen and this is the best hairbrush hands down! The brush is great for detangling, fine, thick, wet, or dry hair. It comes in solid black or a beautiful purple-blue ombre color.
Gift Card
There are many options from getting them a gift card to their favorite restaurant to where they love to get their clothes. Other great options include iTunes or Google Play Gift Cards since everything is so digital for teens nowadays.
Water Bottle/Laptop/Notebook Decals
These are grown-up stickers so teens are sure to love them! They can decorate their water bottle, notebooks, laptop, skateboard and so much more. Try this trendy 65-piece set, this 50-piece cute set for girls, or this 100-piece set.
Small Handheld Game or Puzzle
I am not talking about video games here! There are so many game options out there to keep teens entertained without it having to be on their smartphone! Consider this 12 set of marble mazes or this 16 pieces interlocking metal puzzle. Another fun option is this Flashdash game that includes 4 different ways to play. It is a great handheld game to take on the go, plus teens can challenge friends or siblings too. Finally, if your teen likes Rubik’s cube sort of puzzles, check out this gold and silver mirror puzzle cube set. I still cannot solve our set but they sure are fun to try!
Earbuds
Of course, all the teens want Apple Airpods. If you are broke like me though, they just are not an option. After doing a little research, these TOZO white wireless headphones are about a third of the price and after reading the comments a few mentioned they think even better sound quality.
I also stumbled across this ingenious idea – having your earbuds wrap around as a bracelet with a magnetic enclosure! These are especially perfect if your teen tends to forget their earbuds, which to me is another reason I would never spend the Apple price tag!
Make-Up or Cosmetic Brushes
Make-up such as a new nail polish color or lip gloss is great for the teen Easter basket. If your teen has no interest in experimenting yet with make-up, opt instead for flavored lip balm. Cosmetic brushes also make a great basket filler, such as these super cool Harry Potter inspired set, the mermaid tail set, or unicorn make-up brush set.
Nail Decals
Yet another fun way for your girl teen to show her style! Consider adding this beautiful nail decal set complete with tweezers to her Easter basket. These are easy to apply (speaking from experience here!) and your girl teen can have fun all Spring and Summer decorating her nails!
Sunglasses
iPhone or iPad Cover
Charging Cord
Favorite Magazine
Hair Chalk
It is hard to find good-quality hair chalk sets that have a lot of positive feedback. The GirlZone Hair Chalk 10 piece set here has many good reviews and it is known for its vibrant, easy-to-apply color, even on darker hair colors.
Perfume, Body Spray or Cologne
While you don’t want your kid doused in cologne, the teen years are a great time to experiment with light fragrances and scents that complement good hygiene. These adorable Eau De Fragrance Perfume Sets for Girls are great scents that come in a purse-shaped container!
Another great option for girls is the Victoria’s Secret PINK Fresh And Clean Fragrance Travel Size Body Mist. For boys, I would suggest going with a body spray like Nautica Voyage, rather than a pour cologne. That just has the potential for a huge spill, although there I do not speak from experience (yet!). A couple of other good options for teen boys are Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue or Versace Eros (my link is to the mini-size bottle as the full-size is more around the $55 mark).
Stationary or Journal To Write In
My favorite places to look for stuff like this are Dollar Tree and Five Below. Usually, you can find some great options without spending a lot of money. These Sargent Art Gel Pens are highly-rated and not too expensive, plus they are glitter!
Purse Size Body Lotion
Hair Accessories like Scrunchies
For just about $0.11 per scrunchie, this set of 60 soft velvet scrunchies is a great deal for a teen girl basket!
Colorful Shoelaces
Shoe Charms (for Crocs)
Got a teen that loves their Crocs? They can show off their unique style with shoe charms! There are many different sets available but one of my favorite picks is this 100 piece shoe charms set by Say Out. You can also use these in silicone bracelets.
Dried Fruit, Raisins, Pretzels, Sugar-Free Gum
Coupons For Special Privileges
Give your teen special privileges such as a movie night, extra hour of curfew, salon treatment, a day of no chores, or a new outfit! You can even download and print my free printable Coupons For Teens PDF file here.
Playing Cards
Books
Again books are always a great gift no matter what the reason! Since Jesus is the reason we are celebrating Easter, an obvious pick would be 365 Daily Devotions For Teens. A few other favorites of my teen are Holding Up the Universe, One of Us Is Lying and The Sun Is Also a Star.
Novelty Blanket
Kids in the teen group love novelty and blankets are no exception. They will kick a kick out of this burrito blanket that looks just like a taco shell!
Jewelry and Hair Accessory Organizer
Every girl needs a place to store her hair accessories and jewelry. While a jewelry box will do just fine, if you are short on space like me, a compact organizer that can fit in the closet or hang on a hook is ideal. I like using this Dual-Sided Hanging Jewelry Organizer to store my daughter’s accessories in, and you could put this as a non-candy basket filler as well.
Tickets For Something To Do In Town
There are so many fun events you could get teens tickets to. For instance, tickets to an upcoming concert, horseback riding lessons, escape room experience to do with their friends, trampoline park, a laser gun, or paintball adventure. Again a great place to start your search is Groupon, where you can often get a good deal on things to do in your area.
Try dying your Easter Eggs with Kool-Aid this year! Ours came out really nice looking!
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