So how can you keep the Easter magic alive for kids of all ages? Candy’s not the only option! Try these fresh ideas to liven up your Easter basket offerings.
Candy is the quintessential Easter basket filling — but it’s not ideal. It doesn’t do little teeth and bodies any favors. Warm spring days make candy, especially chocolate, prone to melting. Dietary restrictions can mean that candy and chocolate are taboo — and candy loses some of its appeal as kids morph into teens. (We do have one idea here that features a sweet treat, but is so cute and easy-to-make, we wanted to add it.)
Easter baskets have a long history, both pagan and religious. In ancient times, people sacrificed baskets filled with seeds or crops to pagan gods. Much later on, Easter marked the end of the Lenten period for Catholics; they filled baskets with foods and treats they’d given up for those 40 days and brought the baskets to priests for blessing. Nowadays, the Easter basket is filled with goodies and treats — a reminder of blessings, love and celebration of life.
Here are a 10 ideas that are just as sweet as candy.
1. DIY bath bomb Easter eggs
Never mind those candy-filled Easter eggs: These DIY bath bomb Easter eggs create a fizzy, scented, glorious bathtime experience for those teens who have outgrown candy-induced sugar comas. They leave skin feeling soft and luxurious. Easy to make with readily available ingredients such as citric acid, Epsom salts, baking soda, cornstarch, coconut oil and essential oils, they take shape right in ordinary plastic Easter eggs.
Lush coined the term “bath bomb,” so think about incorporating some of their ideas, like water-soluble confetti, oil-filled beads and various colors. Check out craft stores for mini Easter bunnies or carrots and sprinkle a few of them into your mixture as you combine the oils and water. Look in the drugstore bath aisle for bath oil beadlets and add those for moisture. Layer colors for fun effects.
2. Easter bunny mini-donuts
Confession: These little bunny donuts made us melt. Although we health-conscious adults might (try to) avoid those packaged chocolate-coated or sugar-dusted donuts we find in convenience stores, they’re still just as delicious as they were when we were kids. The idea to turn those little bites of heaven into Easter bunny mini donuts is genius.
You’ll need some of those packaged donuts, construction paper, googly eyes, a black permanent marker and a low-heat glue gun to make these adorable treats.
Don’t limit yourself to the white powdered-sugar donuts; all bunnies aren’t white, after all. Make your bunny family more interesting with chocolate- or cinnamon-coated varieties. Mix up the ear colors, too. Add small satin ribbons around the bunnies’ necks for decoration.
These bunny donuts are a quick and easy craft to pull together when it’s your turn for snacks or you’re hosting an Easter get-together. Bonus: Because they’re pre-packaged, they’re school-friendly (but do check the labels for school no-nos like peanuts and tree nuts).
3. Carrot sugar scrub
More than a sweet treat for your skin, this carrot sugar scrub soothes and softens skin. Here, it’s packaged as brightly colored carrots, but a little creativity with colors and shapes would make them just as wonderful for baby and wedding showers, Mother’s Day teas and other parties. Like twitterpated bunnies, all will adore these effortless little gifts.
Uncomplicated supplies yield spectacular results. Just place the ingredients — sugar, olive oil and essential oils — into Wilton cellophane favor bags, stick in some green rafia for the carrot tops, and then tie the whole thing together with satin ribbon. The instructions even include adorable printable tags!
You can customize these however you like — and sometimes, a scent can be the most meaningful part of a gift. Add your signature fragrance so the recipients will be reminded of you.
You might choose a springtime aroma like lavender, rosemary or lemon for a fresh sensory experience. (A word of caution: Be careful with citrus oils — they can soften plastic.) Try adding herbs to the essential oil; some popular combos are lemon and thyme, rosemary and lavender, and mint and citrus. Lavender oil and blossoms are calming, and rosemary oil and leaves are refreshing. Just grab your favorite herbs at the grocery store, dry the leaves for a few days, and add to the scrub. (You can get creative with the scrub containers, too. Craft supply stores are filled right now with cute bunny-shaped molds in plastic and glass.)
Make up a bunch and hand them around to friends and loved ones to spread Easter cheer. They also make a wonderful gift for your Easter dinner hostess.
