We celebrate Easter in a secular way, a fun day for bunnies, and egg hunts, and celebrating spring. Our HOA has a super cute egg hunt in the greenbelt, complete with bounce house and a visit from the real Easter bunny. Yes, the real one, I promise! We also usually do a spring photo shoot for the kids. Easter is a chance for us to get ready for a long summer, and enjoy the last cool days of spring in the desert. I like to gift my kids and their cousins with fun outdoor toys that they can use throughout the rest of the year. Here are some ideas for basket stuffing this April!
Garden Set – I love this wooden handled set. We will be able to use this in our garden, in our sandbox, and in our messy mud pit, so I think we will get a lot of use out of these tools. I also like that they are bigger than the ones I usually see in stores.
Bubble Mower – Lou is at an age where she loves to push things around, and she wants to do everything that we do. I think she will have a lot of fun with this cute bubble mower. I will have to stock up on bubble solution too!
Kinetic Sand – If you haven’t played with Kinetic sand before you are really missing out! This sand is like nothing else. We keep it in a sensory bin and it lasts for quite a while, but it’s definitely time to replace our last batch. This is great for both indoor and outdoor play!
Magnifying Glass – When friends come over the kids all go bug hunting in the yard, and these magnifying glasses are a big help. This set is super sturdy and we have been using it for a few years with no cracks! Also great for looking at leaves and flowers.
Splash Pad – I already bought this for the kids’ basket this year. We love going to splash pads so I thought a little one at home would be a nice addition. I plan to keep it in our little grass patch so it will water the lawn while we play.
Car Wash – This thing is huge, and kind of a splurge, but I bought it last summer and my kids LOVE it. We used it so many days last summer. It can be a car or toy wash, part of an obstacle course, or just a way to cool off. I just set it up for another season of spray fun.
Bug Catcher – My kids have a love/hate relationship with bugs. They are extremely interested in them, but they also don’t want to get too close. I was thinking that this little bug hut could be a fun way for them to explore and observe, without harming the bugs or having to touch them.
Candy – I mean, every Easter basket needs a cream egg. Even though Ace doesn’t like them and then I end up eating them, I am ok with this!
pear / 1565 posts
My girls LOVE kinetic sand! I do need to get new ones because ours have gotten kind of nasty, catching little hairs and stuff in them since I let them play with it on the floor. And that splash pad looks fun! I’m putting it on my Amazon list for the summer!
blogger / apricot / 439 posts
I love all of this – thanks so much for the ideas!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Fun items! My LO would really like the magnifying glass on our nature walks. Instead of candy in his basket I’m using those Bunny branded pouches you can get at Starbucks or in my case my local grocery store.
pomegranate / 3973 posts
The outside toys make me excited for WARM weather again! Love the splash pad idea. The bubble mower was a huge hit with DS, and we need a new one since ours no longer blows bubbles.
Last year my LO’s got a bubble machine which they LOVED.
cantaloupe / 6086 posts
We have those tools and my kids are super into them! But we usually have them put away because metal sharp pieces plus my 4yo’s wild side aren’t a good mix
persimmon / 1381 posts
These are great ideas, thank you! I love Easter, probably my favorite holiday. Putting together the baskets is my favorite. I am definitely adding the magnifying glasses this year.