Easter Baskets You Won't Hate
The one question I ask to avoid buying junk. Plus a March Madness update!!
We are down to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament and wanted to provide a leaderboard update! This will be our last update since the Final Four games take place on Saturday and the Championship is on Monday night. By the next Power Nap, we will have a winner!! Right now, Mariah Owen is leading the pack, with Shari Getz and Mark Jolley tied for second and Eric Porter and Emily Harding lurking just behind. Mariah is currently ranked 293 in the world, missing ONLY 5 GAMES TOTAL and correctly picking 14 of the Sweet 16, all 8 Elite Eight, and all of the FINAL FOUR. WOWZA
We once again wanted to thank our sponsor, The Chinet® brand, for helping us put on what many consider the best free March Madness pool IN THE WORLD! Chinet® products are our go-to for premium disposable tableware products such as plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery for our cookouts, picnics, and March Madness parties.
Reminder of the prizes:
First Place: $5,000
Second Place: $2,000
Third Place through Fifth Place: $1,000 each
THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE CHINET® BRAND!
Kids Easter Basket Ideas You Won’t Hate
I am wondering if we feel the same way about this: I love giving my kids gifts, and I hate having extra crap in my house.
Let me start this post off by saying: you don’t NEED to give your children an Easter basket to celebrate this holiday together! It’s completely optional. You know what works best for your family.
Whenever we have given our children a gift at a Christian holiday, we do so explaining to them that we are celebrating the Great Gift Giver: we give gifts as a way to celebrate and remember the gift that God gave to us. God the Father, giving us the gift and sacrifice of His Son in order to rescue us. At Christmas we celebrated this Rescuer’s birth, and at Easter we celebrate how He rose from the dead! The gifts we give are a way to mark the occasion as something to be celebrated. God’s love is the greatest gift and worth celebrating everyday.
Reminding my kids (and myself!) the “why” behind the “what” is important to me. Now, what is the actual stuff I fill it with? All I do is ask one simple question:
“What are my kids already going to need later that I can buy now?”
A video of last years Easter Basket reveal. Yes we gave them boxes of Annie’s mac n cheese and yes they were thrilled. Keep it simple!
As the weather gets warmer and summer quickly approaches, there are several universal truths for children in this season: they will be wet, they will be outside, and they will be hungry.
Think through how these parameters relate to your family in your current season! Will your kids be going to the beach or the pool? Do they need a restock on chalk or bubbles? What are their favorite on-the-go snacks that don’t melt in the sun or leave a million crumbs in their carseat? What summer camps are they going to? What vacations do you have planned?
My goal is to help you avoid buying items you would *only* purchase for an Easter basket, and instead plan ahead for items you and your kids will be glad to have for more than just one day. Here are some of my favorite items to include and links to specific products I’m purchasing for my kids - some with promo codes!! Click here for a full list of all Amazon products mentioned below!
WATER & SUN GEAR
This is my favorite category to shop for ahead of summer. I know my kids always need more bathing suits and swim accessories! We love Prodoh clothing and their bathing suits are amazing. My kids reach for them on their own and they’re SO comfortable. Everything is breathable, has UPF 50 sun protection, and is wrinkle resistant. I asked Prodoh if they would give me a discount code and they did!! Use code KATE for 20% off your purchase at checkout. All of our favorites are linked for you here.
I also love super useful items like a new pair of swim goggles. We love these Speedo goggles because of the adjustable strap - no tangles or tears! And this mesh bag to hold all the goggles in the pool bag. Consider new bath toys (We’ve had these little boats for years, I prefer a toy that does not trap water i.e mold and I love this mesh drying bag for bath toys) or toys for water play like diving toys or pool rings - this is the set I got my kids this year.
Here are a few other items I’ve come back to year after year!
Wave runner “Costa Rica Rick” - endless beach entertainment
SUMMER SANDALS
Our family is super rough on shoes, especially in the summer when we’re outside playing in the yard or at the beach. We also wear our shoes inside (I know, I know…controversial! If you saw my floors you would understand.) I value waterproof shoes so much because it saves me time and effort not having to remember to bring an extra pair of shoes for each kid when we’re out and about.
You guys know that we just bought a new pair of Reef sandals for each of our kids earlier this year and we love them. I asked Reef to extend their discount code for 20% off site wide when you use NAPTIME20 at checkout. All of our favorites are here!
OUTDOOR TOYS
There is nothing better than sending your kids outside to play with something they enjoy (but let’s be real…it also makes your day a bit easier and gives you time to drink your coffee while it’s still fresh). We just tried this dustless chalk for the first time this year and it’s really cool!
Here are a few other tried & true Strickler kid favorites:
Something unexpected that I’ve found to be a huge hit with my kids is a set of gardening gloves and tools: this is a wonderful way to get your child outside and to be able to spend time with them in the yard. John Robert and Scout both love to rake (hilarious, very UNLIKE their mother) and love wearing their gloves. The Target Dollar Spot also had gardening stuff there last time I checked, but here are a few amazon links.
**#ballinonabudget idea: buy a bag of soil and a few hearty herbs (parsley is a good one) or plants (again, something hard to kill!) and plant a small garden somewhere in the yard.
CANDY & SNACKS
A chocolate bunny - duh! It wouldn’t be an Easter basket without one. In addition, I love getting my kids their favorite snacks that I don’t purchase on a weekly basis. For JR, that means Pringles. I also love snacks because they’re good filler items that take up a lot of physical space in the basket to help it feel full. If you know your kids will eat Goldfish or applesauce pouches, go ahead and get the large sized box of individual bags and sprinkle them throughout the kids’ baskets as “stuffers”. Don’t be afraid of less is more with candy & sweets. Get one or two things you know they’ll love and then you won’t be doing hostage negotiations with candy for the next three weeks.
PRACTICAL GIFTS
This is in the same vein as practical summer gear like sandals, goggles and a bathing suit, but I’m going to leave this category more open ended and unrelated to water. Think of items that your kids already need that you can slap an Easter sticker on and disguise it as a thoughtful gift.
Water bottle. This brand is tried and true!
Hair clips. These tiny flowers and these bigger claw clips.
Kids’ knives. We’ve had these since JR was a toddler. This post shows the 3 different stages of kids knives we’ve used through the years.
Haircare. This is our favorite kids' conditioner! Leaves the girl's hair tangle free. Maybe a small wet brush and detangler spray for the beach/pool bag.
Book light. We got this for JR years ago and he loves it! Clips onto the a headboard, table, or desk really easily (this style does need a plug so keep that in mind; while I love cordless this is the sort of thing my kids fall asleep with it on and it would die often were it not plugged in).
BOOK
Nate and I usually give each of the children a book to further help them understand who God is. I linked some of our favorites, though there are many more out there.
Who Sang the First Song by Ellie Holcomb (this book goes along with her song, “Sing,” which you can find on Spotify. My kids LOVE it!)
Read A Loud Bible Stories (this is great for younger kids who aren’t ready for The Jesus Storybook Bible); we have volume 1, 2 and 3.
The Jesus Storybook Bible (great for older kids; I would say 3+ years at least. If you don’t have this book, it is AMAZING. One of the best by far.)
The Big Picture Bible. Great for all ages!
God Made All of Me, God Made Me Unique, and God Made Me and You have all been incredible resources for giving language to some heavier topics. Cannot recommend these enough!
**FREE #ballinonabudget IDEA: Write a few of your favorite verses on notecards and commit to memorizing them with your child. You can practice them together and have some reward if you learn them. Candy, or baking cookies, or whatever sounds like a fun reward to you!
I hope these ideas help you build Easter baskets for your kids that are practical, enjoyable, and bring you more joy to this meaningful day.
Love all of this advice, along the same lines of outdoor gear I’m looking for umbrella and rain boots this year for my kids. Rain boots are practical, umbrellas probably not as much but know the kids will love them and I may regret it later….
https://a.co/d/8Zpv2F6
This Bible story book is really great for babies and toddlers! Pictures are simple, stories are short, and every story points to Jesus!