Easter Basket Ideas - If you're like me and haven't shopped yet!

I'm not sure how on top of it you are, but I am definitely just about to purchase some Easter basket items for the first time this week!  I know some people shop way in advance, my best friend (who is super organized in comparison) purchased all of her Easter goodies like a month or more ago.  I don't want to hang on to it that long or anything- so I usually just pop out once real quick, a few days before Easter, and grab a few items.

Our Easter baskets come from us, we've just never had any from the Easter Bunny- and it works well for us.  We do a big scavenger hunt with clues for the kids to find their baskets on Easter Morning and it's their favorite! I haven't decided on a hiding spot yet! (I really do work best under the last minute pressure!).  In the past they have been hidden in the oven, in the playhouse outside, and in the dryer, to name a few ideas!  We make them zig-zag to every room of the house to find their clues before they find them though!

I like to do a good mix of books, toys, candy, and some sort of practical item- so I rounded up a few of the ideas I'm tossing around for this year, or other ideas I've used in the past.  We do the same mix of treats, toys, books, and practical items for Valentine's day, Christmas Stockings, etc- so these are ideas that work for those holidays as well!

Books!  The one purchase we have made for Easter so far is a pair of Sandra Boynton board books for our youngest little guy.  My husband spotted them while grocery shopping the other day, and could not pass them up! We love Sandra Boynton- and we read "Not The Hippopotamus" like, daily around here, so when we realized there was a book "Not the Armadillo" we about died!  At the end of the hippo version, my son tells the armadillo to go with them EVERY SINGLE TIME- so I know this book will be a big hit.

We don't typically do an "Easter" themed book, we just do a book or two that they would enjoy and can read during any season.

We are thinking about getting the next books in The Land of Stories series for our 10 year old and 14 year old (they are hoping to read the series together and start a "book club" together), and the newest Owl Diaries for our 7 year old. 

Water Bottles!  We love these Contigo ones for all the kids, and they work well for our toddler as well.  Our bigger girls also love this type of metal water bottle, and would love to get these in their baskets as well!

Pajamas!  It's a good time of year to grab each kid a new pair of Spring/Summer pajamas since the weather is changing, and they could use a refresh!  I like to roll them up with a cute ribbon around them and tuck them in their baskets! 

I do like to think through a few things we need like that and add them to their baskets since I was going to probably buy them in a few weeks anyways!  So my biggest tip is to keep that in mind while filling their basket!  It's an easy way to put a few extra things in it that you were going to buy either way!

Spring/Summer toys! Again, the weather is changing and we can always use a refresh on some staple outdoor toys! We like to fill their baskets with sandbox toys, bubbles, sidewalk chalk and some of the fun sidewalk accessories like stencils, paint, spray chalk paint, etc.

We don't typically include things like swimwear, towels, goggles, or anything like that unless we have a vacation planned.  It just isn't going to be warm enough in MN for those for a while (we just had a snowstorm that left us with new piles that need to melt!), so those are things that I sometimes include in a "Last Day of School" gift basket or something if they need them.  This year, we got new ones prior to our traditional New Year's Eve waterpark stay, so we don't need them anyways.  However, if we lived in a warmer climate, I would totally consider those for Easter- so keep that as an option if it works for you!

Treats!  We like to buy a few fun Easter themed treats like Reese's eggs, jellybeans, Egg gum (these are such a huge hit every year!), and then something like Annie's fruit snacks and bunny crackers- honestly just because they are bunny shaped and fit with the theme!

Art Supplies!  Markers, crayons, dot stampers, paints, stickers- you name it!  These are a fun basket filler, especially if you need a refresh!  We are adding these Chunkies to their baskets this year because they seem super fun!

 My kids love art stuff, and are always requesting sketch pads and little notepads- so we may do one of those as well! I love these Bible themed adult coloring books for my girls- Color the Psalms, Color the Gospel, and Color the Proverbs.

Hopefully this list helps a few "last minute" shoppers like me!  We still have almost a week!  Good luck shopping and prepping!

Do you hide your Easter baskets as well?  Do you do an Easter egg hunt?  We are lucky, in that my parents host an Easter egg hunt, so we don't need to worry about what to stuff in eggs!  Happy Easter!