4 Steps to Building a Fabulous Easter Basket

1. Start with a gorgeous basket

Traditional “Easter baskets” are likely to end up as clutter in a dusty corner of your closet (or the landfill). Instead, choose a basket, bin or other container that will serve a useful purpose long after the Easter grass is gone. You can use anything from a sand pail to a storage crate. Let your imagination be your guide!

I absolutely love these white woven storage baskets from Creative Co-Op. Sold as a set of three, I plan to use them for storing toys and books in our living room. To give them a “full” look, I stuffed an old pillow into the bottom of each basket before adding a layer of paper Easter grass and nestling in all the goodies. Speaking of which…

2. Add something practical

Instead of loading my kids’ Easter baskets with candy, fill them with a variety of festive items that also have a practical purpose.

These adorable lidded tumblers from Cool Gear will help encourage water breaks when the kids are playing outside this spring. Plus each one features a removable snow globe in the base, so it’s like getting a cup and a toy in one.

3. Fill with FUN

Easter is a great time to replenish your stash of outdoor toys. Shop the dollar section of your favorite big-box retailer for sidewalk chalk, bubbles, bouncy balls, perhaps even a hula-hoop or kite. Not only do they make inexpensive basket fillers, they’re also great for encouraging little ones to get outside and get moving. Round things out with a book, coloring book or playdough for indoor fun during those inevitable April showers.

4. Finish with a unique sweet treat

Although I try to limit the candy in our family’s baskets, Easter wouldn’t be complete without at least a few sweet treats. Yogurt-covered raisins are my healthier alternative to jelly beans. And as an extra-special treat, I tucked a homemade bunny-shaped white chocolate and Oreo lollipop into each basket.

The bunny pops were so easy to make and incredibly delicious. I plan on making another batch with the kiddos this weekend. I made them using a candy making kit from Wilton but they could easily be replicated using a few readily-available candy-making supplies. The most crucial item in the kit was the flat circle candy lollipop mold. You can pick them up in the candy making section at most craft stores. Simply fill the mold half full with melted white chocolate, add a sandwich cookie (I used Golden Oreos) with a lollipop stick inserted. Allow the chocolate to dry, pop them out and decorate. The Wilton kit came with pre-cut cardboard bunny ears that threaded on the lollipop stick, but you could easily make your own using cardstock, a hole punch and a marker. I made the faces using heart candies for the nose and a black icing pen for the eyes and whiskers. Your kids will be hopping with joy when they bite into one of these!

Wishing you a very “hoppy” Easter!