What are you putting in your toddler's Easter basket???

[icy02]

My DS is almost 15 mo. I am just at a loss as to what to do about the whole Easter Basket thing. I haven't given him and chocolate yet and don't really see the need to laden my healthy-eater with junk. OTOH, I don't want him thinking Easter is another holiday about toys... I was thinking of maybe an Easter book, a kids CD, and a toy truck. What are you all doing for your LO's?

[baglady]

Books. DH and I decided last year that the bunny will bring books to our house. When DS is older I'll probably add in a small bit of candy, but we want to start an "Easter is for new books" tradition.

[Honey693]

We're putting in a hollow chocolate bunny, bananas, and maybe a few books or toys from the dollar bin at Target. Maybe a pair of sandals since she loves shoes and has nothing for warm weather.

[StopThat!]

We're filling new rubber boots with DS's stuff. Last year we used a sandbucket, as what do you do with a basket after Easter - but this year we need boots, and I thought it might be cute.

In them... Bubble bath, a few candies, dried fruit, maybe a few new crafty things. It's really never anything major, his bday is the week after and he'll get plenty.

Mom and Dad are getting some candy and a new shower curtain :P

[K1329]

Ds, 3, will be getting some candy - we don't often have it in the house, so I think it's okay for a treat. He always wears his sisters jewelry, so, he'll be getting a kid's watch with trains on it. His own piece of jewelry!

[Cherry Alive]

Anyone know if small jellybeans would be safe for a LO if cut in half? I have some lovely organic ones I'd love to share with my 13-month old, but I am concerned about them being a choking hazard.

So far we have a hollow chocolate bunny and a stuffed bunny. I bought some large plastic eggs that I'll be using every year, and I plan to stuff them with goodies like dried fruit and bunny grahams. I also own a cute chick that peeps when you put him on your hand that I'll be handing down. Wouldn't you know the batteries for him are more expensive than he was, though? Good grief!

[littlemizflava]

basket is usually a mix of clothing, book, toy, maybe a dvd, a chocolate bunny not huge but has to be no artifical flavors/colors in it. i go for the dark cocoa ones u get the natural chocolate taste and its better for you.

we put a toy, snack stuff or natural chocolate in plastic eggs and have them to hide.

i usually give one big gift from me to one or both of mine. this year my ds 3 got a castle. ya i said got lol: he knows its his easter gift from me and was given early.

[reignbelle]

This year dd1 and dd2 (ages 2 & 3) are getting bunnies dressed in clothes and shoes becauae I had a gift card to build a bear. Last year I did sandbox stuff. When dd1 was 17mon I got her a mini magnadoddle and a microphone that costs 2 dollars from Target. Both still get used almost daoily. I smashed some jelly beans and let dd2 have them last year because she saw dd1 with them. Oh and we do a egg hunt with jelly beans and dark chocolate hidden in the eggs like a chocolate or 3 beans per egg.

[gagin37]

a stuffed duck, a couple of wooden trains, and couple of balls. maybe a sweet treat of some sort.

[ShyDaisi]

Cars, a stuffed animal, chalk, dried fruit in eggs....maybe an organic sucker....haven't decided about that one yet.

[kdtmom2be]

A hollow lamb, an Easter Bunny cookie/lollipop, two spring themed cookies. Probably a shirt or something... we tend to give the kids something like shorts, shirt, etc that they need anyways to fill the basket up with something. As for what you do with a basket after Easter, my DD loves loves loves to play with it. She carries all sorts of things around in it! they are great for free/imaginative play.

[elleystar]

Why not buy one cute basket to reuse every year? That's how I grew up. Just like we had a box of Christmas decorations, there was one box of Easter stuff that got pulled out once a year with a basket for each kid, plus the little decorations we liked to put out. I loved that basket and seeing it every year. It was a great tradition. Now I've passed it on to DS.
DS doesn't like any candy or chocolate, which is fine by me. He'll be getting a board book and some truck stickers. I also have a handmade felt barn set w/ animals that I got in a trade that I've set aside for Easter. The year before he also got some little wood cars which he loved. I wanted to get a small amount of candy (for me and DH LOL) from the Natural Candy Store online, I found jelly beans with no HFCS, and fair trade dark chocolate bunnies and choc. eggs. Unfortunately for just a few oz. of candy the shipping was nearly $9 so I had to scrap the idea.

If DS was just a little bit older I would get him some natural art supplies.

[redvlagrl]

What about some eggs which you have blown and painted or dyed?

I also just bought some German egg dye which you use on hard boiled eggs. You then oil them - they are sooo pretty.

[JennTheMomma]

An Easter book, a stuffed toy, probably some new sandals. Then after he sees it we will go outside and find the eggs that we hid and dyed the day before.

[boigrrrlwonder]

This year, DD(3) will get child-sized gardening tools, a book, and sidewalk chalk.

[vrclay]

bubbles, side walk chalk, Animalz, books, stickers, new toothbrush and bandaids - very similar to what get put in his stocking

[rightkindofme]

You all have great ideas! Thanks! I've been really feeling at a loss...

[MissMommyNiceNice]

We're getting:

new rubber rain boots
some curious george stickers
Who's in the Garden
some little Peter Rabbit books from the Target $1 bin
chocolate coins
big chocolate bunny
felted egg shakers
ceramic painted egg w/ name & year on it
little ducky stuffy in a reusable paper mache' egg

And I'm probably going to felt a dinosaur to "hatch" out of a felted egg.

We use the same basket every year filled with wool "grass" and I have special reusable paper mache' eggs for treats.

[zippy_francis]

For our DD's we are doing coloring books/board books/sticker books. Some mixture of all of the above. Along with maybe a stuffed bunny or some little dollar toy. Plus I usually like to buy cute 'themed' socks for such holidays too. Not just for the kiddos but for me as well!! Not really in the candy thing, not just because of age but we just are not big candy eaters. It usually just sits at our house till it goes bad

I usually do the same sorts of things for Valentines Day as well. Just some cutesy stuff, and books! I love buying books! I think I get more enjoyment out of reading them then my girls sometimes

[kittykat2481]

No idea what we're going to put in DS's basket yet, but as for reusing the baskets, we like to use them for toy storage. Blocks, small books, animals, cars, etc all look nice in a little basket on the shelf or by a chair.