If you have recently embraced a more minimalist lifestyle, the old traditions, like giving Easter baskets, tend to cause doubt and anxiety: the kids are expecting this, this is what we’ve always done, I don’t want to ignore all those traditions we’ve had, etc.
You don’t have to give them up completely, there are ways around traditions where you can still celebrate and still give gifts without bringing more clutter into the house.
Minimalist Easter Baskets
There is no need to purchase a new basket each year and then drop it off at the donation center again. So let’s talk about more minimalist and sustainable alternatives for the basket itself.
Mason jars.
Keep it small and easy to fill with minimal treats.
Plant pot.
If your family enjoys gardening, this is a perfect time to give them their own special pot to grow something.
Homemade paper basket.
(do a quick Google search, there are a bunch of ideas!)
Organization basket.
Purchase a nice basket that you want to use in organizing the kid’s room and then reuse it every year after.
Candy box basket.
You can make your own basket out of candy boxes, or whatever else you planned to fill the basket with. Here’s a tutorial for the candy box basket. The best part is–the box takes care of itself.
Baseball cap.
You can even use a hat they already own!
Tackle box, toolbox, craft box.
If your child needs their own supplies or a way to organize what they have, this is a great time to give them something to organize it.
Rubber boots or new shoes.
By spring my kids are normally needing a new pair of shoes, so this is a perfect time to give something that is needed and make it special at the same time.
Simple Easter Basket Gifts
If you’re not one to mind candy, then feel free to fill it with candy! My kids don’t do well with candy, so I will always pick the alternative, even if it means I have to deal with some type of clutter.
Art supplies
- Crayons
- Gel pens
- Stickers
- Playdoh
- Coloring book
- Paints
- Sketch pad
- Markers
- Rubber stamps and ink pads
- Air-dry clay
- Washi tape
- Craft scissors
- Beading kit
- Origami paper
Outdoor Easter goodies
- Seeds (I love collecting my own wildflower seeds at the end of the season)
- Garden tools
- Bubbles
- Sidewalk chalk
- Jump rope
- Kite
- Butterfly net
- Binoculars
- Nature scavenger hunt list
- Magnifying glass
- Water bottle
- Sun hat
- Frisbee
- Bug catcher
Practical clutter-free Easter gifts
- Socks
- Underwear
- Bandaids
- Hair accessories
- Toothbrush
- Bath bombs
- Lip balm
- Sunglasses
- Water bottle
- Reusable straws
- Small wallet
- Book
- Pajamas
- Gift card
- Flashlight
Fun Easter toys
- LEGO sets
- Collection cards, like Pokemon
- Puzzle
- Board game
- Play figures
- Stuffed animal
- Yo-yo
- Slime
- Fidget toys
- Marbles
- Toy cars
- Dress-up accessories
- Temporary tattoos
Easter Egg Hunt Fillers
Now for a simple Easter egg hunt, you can fill them with some of these ideas:
- Stickers
- Coins (Real money- this is what we do each year!)
- Coupons (Play a game with mom, get ice cream with dad, etc.)
- Food items:
- grapes
- granola
- jerky
- trail mix
- dried fruit
- goldfish crackers
- honey sticks
- LEGOs (One year we got a LEGO set and divided all the pieces up between the eggs, the kids had to share to create the set.)
- Jokes (Print them on a paper and fold it up to fit in an egg.)
- Balloons
- Cool rocks
- Marbles
How to have a simple Easter.
If you’re ready to simplify the whole holiday, I recommend this post on A Clutter-Free Easter Celebration.
My kids are getting a little older now (almost all are teens) but we want to carry on the traditional egg hunt. I decided this year that since we have a busy schedule and out of town up until Easter…I am getting quarters and $1 bills to put in the eggs. And I’ll get them one good chocolate bar. It satisfies the sweet element to Easter and who doesn’t like some cash! Easiest Easter I’ve planned without having to spend time shopping for candy I really don’t want them to have and something they will appreciate.
Last year I took a family photo that I loved and had it made into a puzzle. Then I divided the puzzle pieces among the plastic eggs and hid them about.
I did not give my son the box, so he had no idea what the picture was until he put enough of it together to recognize our faces.
Hi Rachel,
Growing up Easter was all about going to church, Good Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday, we would get our winter pyjamas and one candy egg as our Easter gifts on Easter Sunday. I used to love Easter even more than Christmas as it just felt more special. I remember doing the stations of the cross, with Mum, Nan and my Sister, all dressed in our best, walking around the roads that encoumpassed the Gympie Catholic Church.
How times have changed, I am no longer a practicing catholic, I still believe in a higher power, I just don’t need to go to a church to prove it.
I do disagree with making Easter another occasion of giving toys though, kids get so much all year long, that receiving a most wished for item, just doesn’t happen anymore. Most kids these days have everything they ever wanted on a weekly basis, which I feel is quite wrong.
Fi
I agree with you Fiona, we don’t do baskets and our focus is on Christ.
https://nourishingminimalism.com/blog/a-clutter-free-easter-celebration/
But many people don’t want to give up on these gift-giving traditions, so they need some options. ❤️
I do agree Fiona. Easter was always a religious celebration for us and I used to get an egg with a tiny fluffy chick on top, which I always preferred to the actual chocolate too. In fact, I hardly ate sweets as a child and my parents and grandfather usually used to eat the ones that relatives gave me. For dinner we had chicken which was a yearly treat then as it was, when I was growing up, a very expensive meat.
I used a bucket and filled it with sponges, clothes, candy and boiled eggs. After Easter. we could have a car wash and a snack.
Thank you for this post, these a great ideas that we will apply this year. Less is more.. My mom once put the same bunny in the basket year after year until i noticed haha!!
When our family got older we had a flip flop hunt for the kids. We collected cool summer flip flops for everyone and hid them. The kids hunted for them but could only collect them when they found both. A family memory we still talk about.