Spiced Holiday Tea

Here’s how I’m putting together candy-free Easter baskets that I know our kids will love!

Why candy-free? Well besides the obvious answer that candy isn’t good for us, I’m actually filling our baskets with fun practical items that I want our kids to have. I have no doubt that they will love what’s in their baskets! And don’t worry. They’ll still get plenty of sugar on Easter Sunday, and yes, even candy.

It’s hard to get all five littles in one picture!

Holidays at our house are so much fun right now! We’ve currently got five little ones in our home, plus Malachi (16) and we’ll have a houseful of college students join us for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt after church. It’s tradition. Hopefully, all of our older boys can join us for the day (and their girlfriends too!).

With five little ones though? Boy am I having fun putting together Easter baskets! Instead of filling individual baskets for every single kid, I’m just putting together two: a girl basket and a boy basket. And now let’s all pause a moment to reflect on this:

LAURA IS PUTTING TOGETHER A GIRL BASKET!

Yes. And also, for the first time in my mom-life, I bought Easter dresses and Easter bonnets. Was it fun? Oh was it fun!!

(You want to see the dresses and bonnets? Oh. Thank you for asking. For Baby Sister, someone gave us a dress similar to this one but with navy blue and daisy panties. So I got this dress for our 5-year old girl so that they’ll coordinate. Baby Girl’s bonnet is this one. Be still my heart. Big Sister will wear the yellow hat in this set.)

I’ve always had fun dressing all of our boys, and I still do! But right now I also get to dress little girls and fix their hair. You can bet there’s a lot of pink, a lot of bows, a lot of sparkle, and a lot of ruffles involved. :) :) :)

So back to the candy-free Easter baskets.

There were several items our kids needed, so I found fun versions of these items (like toothbrushes featuring their favorite characters) and put them into the baskets. We go through lots of bubbles (the toddlers ask for them daily!) so of course, our baskets include bottles of bubbles.

Sky’s the limit on little items we can include in Easter baskets that will be fun and useful for the kids. Here are some ideas:

• These fun Index Card Books (Use the code heavenly15 to get 15% off your order!)
• Sunglasses (Look at these 3-pack options!)
• Hair Accessories (Sparkle. Bows. I’m a gonner.)
• Fingernail Polish (Did I tell you that Justus – age 21 – has learned how to put fingernail polish on his little sisters?! He practiced first on his girlfriend. Mom sheds a tear…)
• Hot Wheels (We’ve pretty much acquired new toy cars for the past 23 Easters.)
• Bubbles (We can never have too many bubbles.)
• Balloons (I can’t make myself link to them at Amazon when they cost three times more there compared to picking some up at the store next time you go.)
• Fun Straws (Did you know smoothies taste better to kids when sipped through a straw? True story. These change colors and are reusable.)
• Sidewalk Chalk (I think you can get them cheaper at Walmart?)
• Umbrella (So many fun color choices here!)
• Sandals (Some of these have bows. Stop me from buying them all.)
• Lip Balm
• Toothbrush (This package is a fun one!)
• Toothpaste (We’re digging this kind right now.)
• Nightlight (This one changes colors?!)
• Flashlight (If I get this package, everyone gets one!)
• Wrist Watch (Our 5 and 7 year olds feel so grown up when they wear a watch. And I never have to wonder what time it is because they tell me every two minutes.)
• Fun Socks (There are lots of fun selections here!)
• Card Games

Side Note: This year I purchased baskets that can be used year-round in the boys/girls’ rooms. I paid more for them than I would have paid for a simple Eastery-looking basket. But it was worth it because we’ll use these baskets to hold odds and ends in their rooms instead of having to store them away to only use on Easter each year.

Here’s a wonderfully fun selection of decorative/practical baskets you might like!

Easter Baskets for Big Kids

I don’t always fill a basket for our adult/college age/teen kids. But when I do, it’s filled with things like:

• Gum
• Mints
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Body Wash
• Soap
• Headbands for sports (Malachi likes this kind.)
• Coffee (We love supporting Purple Door Coffee!)
• Popcorn
• Beef jerky
• Other favorite snacks
• Gift cards to use on outings with friends
• Pens
• Kitchen gadgets (because most of my big kids have their own kitchens now)
• Flashlights
• Decks of cards

So far, I haven’t filled a teen/adult girl Easter basket. ;) If and when I get to, I’m thinking I would add things like:

• All of the above
• Earrings
• Lip Gloss
• Hairbrush
• Hair accessories
• Necklace
• Cute notebook and pen set (These are fantastic!)
• Fingernail polish
• Journal (These are my favorite!)

You all can help me out with adding to this list. And all the others too. :)

And what about Jesus?

For many weeks leading up to this holiday, we’ve been excitedly talking with the kids about the reason we celebrate Easter. I love how teaching our kids reminds us adults of the Truth: Jesus defeated death!! We are in Him so we get to stand in this victory with Him! Satan was defeated that day, once and for all. Praise God, we can live forever with Jesus!

I praise God for Easter and other holidays and events that give us an opportunity to reflect on the goodness God has provided for us all. His plans are perfect. He thought of everything. We get to celebrate this and live this daily!