What to Put in a Toddler's Easter Basket (besides candy)

We got asked by several people whether the Easter Bunny brought Forest a chocolate bunny. When we answered ‘no’ we might as well have said we deprived him of all fun and joy this world has to offer. It’s not that we are opposed to giving Forest an occasional treat, but anyone who spends any extended time with our 17 month old can attest to the fact that he has more energy in his pinky finger than most toddlers have in their entire body. The child’s baseline activity level is like the energizer bunny on speed. We certainly don’t need to add any sugar to the equation. 

But Forest still got an Easter Basket chock full of special treats, none of which contained candy. I’m sure when he’s 2.5 next Easter he will protest and think he’s been jipped, but this year he was totally thrilled with his loot. So what did we put in his basket? First off let’s start with the basket. I just couldn’t help myself and splurged on this adorable find on Etsy. 

I got a little frustrated that I couldn't find a cute basket for a boy while the options for girls were infinite. Such is one of the drawbacks of being a boy mom. But I was determined to find a cute basket for our little guy and I’m glad I did. So stinkin cute. 

Once I had the basket in hand, I had a blast finding little knick knacks to fill it. Here are a few things that we included:

1) Thomas the Tank Engine Divided Plate. 

Target had several cute Easter-y plates with Frogs and Turtles, but our guy loves Thomas so we went for the slightly more tacky variety. Forest is slowly tranitioning into eating like a big boy so we like to present his balanced meal to him on one of these plates. It usually lasts about 15 seconds before he dumps it all out onto his highchair tray, but one day he’ll get there (right????????).   

2) Green Sprouts Turtle Cool Calm Press. 

F is so accident prone it’s ridiculous. He runs as fast as his legs can carry him without looking where he’s going which leads to lots of bumps and bruises. I figured it was time to invest in a cute ice pack since the bags of frozen peas just aren’t cutting it. 

3) Up&Up Patterned bandaids. 

See above. And Forest loves all things trucks, balls and robots so I think Target did a great job with their patterns. We have to be careful with him picking off the bandaids so I usually try to cover any bandaided parts with clothing so that he leaves it alone. This will get harder once the scrapped knees of summer start! But hopefully by then he will have the self control to leave his cool bandaids alone (right????????).   

4) Vtech Racecar. 

Forest got a Vtech Car ramp for his birthday and you can get more cars of the same brand that work with the ramp so we've been slowly adding to his collection. He loves these because they light up and sing songs as well. I like them for car rides because they are small and the bells and whistles, while annoying to adult ears, can usually keep him from falling asleep in the car if it’s around naptime. 

5) Bubbles! 

Just because they are super fun and all toddlers love them. 

6) Books. Forest loves all books, especially the Lift-the-Flap variety. Karen Katz has a holiday and season series so we usually try to get one for Forest for each holiday/season to teach him the vocab of the day. 

He also has a lift the flap Priddy book about Trucks that he is gaga for. And if there is one thing Forest loves even more than trucks, it is farm animals, so when I saw this Priddy lift-the-flap Farm Book  at Homegoods I knew I had to throw it in with the rest of his goodies. 

Forest already has a few Easter Story books so I didn’t feel the need to put another in his basket this year but there are several good ones out there if you want to show your kiddo that there is more to Easter than bunnies and eggs. 

6) TOMY Squeaky Eggs. 

Speaking of eggs- I love this toy! Not only is it hours of fun for Forest, but it’s so versatile. Forest loves to take the eggs apart and put them back together, and also to put them back into the carton which requires shape sorting. 

As he gets older he can also sort by color and each of the eggs features a different emotional face so it’s great for starting to label emotions as well! For such a small toy it packs a big educational punch so if you don’t have one for your tot, I suggest it. It’s good for 6 months+ and I wish I would have discovered it sooner. 

7) Hape Farm animal lacing toy. 

So far this has been a dud as Forest would much rather take the animals off of the string than to lace them onto it, but it’s still good for working on his animal sounds and vocabulary and I hope that soon the lacing will become a good fine motor exercise for him. 

8)Thomas the Tank Engine toothbrush and Training Toothpaste. 

Forest is big on dental hygiene and Thomas, so brushing his teeth is now the highlight of his day, which is important since he’s got a mouthful of teeth! 

9)Annie’s Cheddar and Graham Bunnies. 

See there were chocolate bunnies in his basket afterall! We love the Annie’s brand and both the grahams and cheddar bunnies are a favorite snack for the F-man. 

He went straight for the car and the Farm book:)

I hope this gave you a few ideas of what to put in a baby or toddlers Easter Basket. Are there any other great ideas for non-candy holiday treats? It’s not too early to start thinking about stocking stuffers (right??????).