5 ways to create a memorable Easter basket for your kids

As springtime approaches, it brings with it the pastel-laden holiday of Easter—and, with Easter comes the need to break out the food coloring, dye some eggs and provide lots of chocolate to your little chocolate-loving munchkins. And whether you are particularly religious or not, it’s likely that you and your littles are set to make your own baskets this year at home, so why not make them truly special? And here’s the real secret: You do not have to be a highly skilled artist to pull it off! We worked with California-based travel, mama and wellness blogger Sylvie Esmundo (@life.by.sylvie) to gather up five of the best ways to make a memorable Easter basket, without too much heavy lifting on your part. Hooray!

Related: 45 Easter basket ideas that aren’t candy

Start Easter traditions

Easter celebrations are all about family, and one way to get your kids super excited about your family’s special traditions is to keep them consistent. And just like your five-year-old knows that birthdays = cake, we’d recommend making Easter synonymous with adorable miniature Kinder Chocolate eggs—they’re made with real milk chocolate and without preservatives, are perfectly bite-sized and come in cute Easter-themed wrappers, so they definitely fit the bill. Plus, they’re small enough that you can sneak a few in your own mouth without any guilt. Happy mama, happy family.

Add some sentiment to your Easter basket

And while we’re talking about traditions, Esmundo reminds us that while sugar-driven ones are absolutely important for everyone’s sanity, so are more heartfelt ones. “My favorite gifts, regardless of holiday, are ones that inspire us to explore more, imagine the extraordinary, and create things that light us up,” she says. This year, try including a handwritten note to each of your family members to remind them of how special they are to you; if you want to educate you youngest members of your brood on what Easter means from a religious standpoint, you can include some information on that, too. Whatever you choose to write about, taking a moment to do it by hand will not go unnoticed, even by monsters on the hunt for chocolate.

Related: How to throw an Easter tea party for your little ones

Don’t just stock the Easter basket with candy

Don’t just stock the baskets with edible treats—while they’re delicious, it also means the holiday will be over and forgotten as quickly as they can be devoured. Instead, make it a combo! Our suggestion: Include with all that yummy chocolate a “forever” gift, like a plush stuffed animal. Because what kid doesn’t need a new lovie now and again, especially if it comes with amazing memories of a day spent together?

Get crafty

Baskets always feel extra special when you include things you made at home, like Easter eggs that you dyed together. The key here (like with so many things in motherhood!) is to prepare ahead of time: Hard-boil and dye the eggs and let them dry a day or two in advance, so that they’re easy to divvy up and place in the baskets without making too much of a mess when it comes time. Your kids will love that they had a hand in making their own beauties, and you’ll get extra activity time with them leading up to Easter Sunday itself. Win, win!

Let time stand still

As with any holiday, it’s about making—and capturing—memories, and, Esmundo reminds us, memories are so often about the little things. Try considering your Easter baskets little time capsules, and ask every member of your family to choose one item that represents them at this moment to put in there. Next year, pull them out, look at what you each picked, and repeat the tradition all over again. It makes for a great way to track how much everyone is changing and growing, and because it’s just something small, it saves anyone feeling too much pressure. It can be fun, silly, happy, sad—wherever your hearts take you.

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