[~Megan~]

As a child Easter meant 2 frilly dresses with accessories a massive basket with dozens of pieces of candy, overflowing with eggs and small toys.

My children are sharing a basket which I hope will be lots of fun and just enough. It contains a pair of handknit socks for both the big kids, 2 Bug Bite chocolates (each has info about an endangered species inside), a set of locally made beezwax crayons and beeswax bath crayons, fingernail polish for dd, a dinosaur book I got for free from a swap (friends get together every other month to trade clothes and housewares. It's awesome!), and toothbrushes.

Each child is receiving 4 things which is enough. No junk - only useful things that I would have otherwise purchased anyway.

We dyed 1 dozen eggs and decorated them with stickers. I have meal plans for all the eggs (salad topping, deviled eggs, and tuna fish sandwiches).

We also used an oval shaped casserole dish to make gluten free rice crispy treats. We decorated the whole pan with chocolate chips, jelly beans, and sprinkles to create zig zag lines and stripes. Lots of fun and tasty too!

 

[wholewheatchick]

That is really awesome! DH and I don't have kids yet, but we are pretty laid back when it comes to gifts...as in, we're not that crazy about it, thank goodness! But it's hard with my family...they are much more traditional.

 

[UUMom]

My kids have always shared a basket, and it's been the same wicker one for about 8 yrs. now. This monring my youngest reminded me where it was. lol I would die if I had to create 4 indiv baskets each year. I wish my girls loved the little dresses, but they do not. lol

The basket items change over the years, but it's been candy, a family DVD, bubbles, chalk, art supplies, sketch pads, little lego or playmobil sets, wooden animals etc. Nothing I'd hate to see around the house...(I have extended family for that

). This year its candy, an itune card, DVD, Shleich (sp?) animals, colored pencils, books.

 

[Aeress]

This year the girls will get jelly beans, 1 piece of chocolate, a new t-shirt, a stone and some peeps.

I really simplified it over the years and the girls don't get lots of junk

 

[NullSet]

My dd has never gotten a morning Easter basket and she hasn't missed it yet. I've never liked the whole Easter basket thing anyway. Her frilly dress is a garage sale purchase that came to about one dollar. She gets really excited about an egg hunt though, so we will do that with boiled, decorated eggs and some candy that my MIL bought.

Also baked some sugar cookies which we will decorate with special pink sprinkles and sparkles tomorrow. Go figure, she could care less about a basket but she LOVES the pink sprinkles.

 

[onlygirls]

Our baskets this year are sand pails from Michaels for $1 each

My older girls are similar: they each got a toothbrush, underwear/bloomers, odler DD got a book, younger got a toy. They each got a card game since we are big on go fish right now. There was some hair stuff, I know I am forgetting something...

My youngest is getting some organic crackers and a couple small toys.

Not a lot and thankfully, all the grandparents listened this year. We didn't get a ton of junk in the mail. YAY!!

Tomorrow we are dying eggs and hanging out at home.

 

[UUMom]

My mother told me about a Martha Stewart silk dye thang and so we tried it. They came out great.

 

[lightheart]

We are reusing baskets my mom had gotten for the boys before she died, the grass in the bottom is shreaded paperwork from the office.

For treats they each are getting a pack of strawberries, about a half pound of green grapes, a reccee cup, a small chocolate bunny, a box of peeps split between the two and a letter from the good ole EB!

I also bought a pack of jelly beans last minute because my little guy brought some home from preschool (counting game thingy) and the big fellow voiced that he really hoped the EB would bring him jelley beans, I'm only giving them a handful each and sending the rest to work with dad, that's just too much sugar.

This is so much less than I have done other years for them, way less candy that is for certain! I feel good. I've never done the strawberries and grapes before, I wonder what they will think?

 

[rere]

My daughter's easter basket was a small tote that she will be able to use for outdoor toys.Inside there was a pair of sparkly shoes(oh how she longed for sparkly shoes),1 chocolate bunny,a set of very small alphabet stamps,3 felt balls that I swapped for and toothbrushes.She said "The easter bunny has been very kind to me!".

She did however get 3 baskets yesterday.One filled with mostly candy,one filled with dollar store stuff and one filled with art supplies and seeds(how sweet!).

 

[siennaflower]

I have recycled the same Easter basket for about four years now. I did buy grass and plastic eggs but I'm putting them away for next Easter with the basket. Dd got a large chocolate bunny, her fave candies in the plastic eggs, some crafty items like stickers that I know will get used and a bendable flower that she's in love with. I feel like I was able to keep it fairly simple in comparison to those huge wrapped baskets of stuff you see at the stores. And it was individualized for her, so nothing will go to waste.

We will be making deviled eggs out of the ones we colored for the big dinner tonight. So no waste there either.

 

[Ygle]

We've never done gift baskets here either, or store bought candy, or toys. We got some after easter plastic eggs from people that were going to throw them away and have saved them to reuse every Easter for egg hunts. We do some crafts and make fancy treats (this year my daughter made a variety of chocolate cups -cherry, almond butter, coconut, praline, and almond crisp). That's it! I really like the silk scarf dying idea... I think we will do that next year!

 

[PoetryMom]

That's just awesome! I also bought only items that the kids needed anyway (flipflops for the summer, sand toys, first crayons for my toddler). I also don't buy really huge baskets, so it doesn't take as much to fill them. However, the baskets that I do buy are ones that can be repurposed around the house.

:

 

[SeekingJoy]

DS and DD got my basket and my brother's from decades past. I made felt eggs for their play kitchen, a couple sticks of gum, a choc. bunny, and sidewalk chalk. Works for us. Low key, but fun.