Creating a Healthy Easter Basket for Your Children
Easter is definitely a holiday similar to Christmas, where the true meaning behind the day can sometimes be overlooked. Chocolate and bunnies play a huge part in what we consider "Easter" to be; when the truth is, those things don't really have much to do with Easter.
As a first time mother, I too get overly excited about the holidays and the "items" that go along with it. I've thought endlessly about my daughter's Easter Basket and planned for the "perfect" one. As a new mom, I constantly battle with myself over trying to simplify things. I don't want my child to grow up in a world of too much toys and too much junk. I often wished I lived a much more "minimal lifestyle" than I do now, but I am only human. With that being said, when you're filling your child's Easter basket for the first time ever, it is hard to not go overboard out of pure excitement.
Creating a healthy Easter basket really isn't too difficult to do. This year in our home it was very easy to do since my child is only a toddler and isn't walking around asking for Cadbury Eggs and Heavenly Hash. I'm sure the time will come where my child will know the delicious taste that those candies have, BUT that doesn't mean that the basket will be full of those things.
This year I tried to create as healthy of a basket as I could. We are not in need of any toys and with a birthday around the corner, I knew I wanted to keep the toys simple. From healthy, non toxic bath toys to an American made Sock Bunny, I think I nailed my mission of simple toys. You can never, ever go wrong with books as presents to your children. Books will usually last a lifetime and will teach your child so much more than any stuffed bunny or rubber duck will. Books are always a great way to incorporate the true meaning behind any holiday, as you can almost always find a book that is appropriate for your child's age that will bring light to the holiday. And you can't ever go wrong with a Peter Rabbit tale (yes, he is in there too).
Since all Easter baskets usually have "sweet treats," ours will have these adorable Peter Rabbit Organic food pouches that will be a tasty break from the homemade food that I make for baby (and they'll likely inspire new recipes). And lastly, I've thrown in a some of Ella's Kitchen organic baby treats (something new for her to try) for our occasional snack time. For older children, consider adding fruit, granola bars, organic treats and less of the chocolate stuff (but hey, throw a piece in there!).
For the final touch to this adorable basket, I've added a quaint little wooden bunny. This handmade wooden teether was an Etsy find from
. Wooden teethers are one of the best teethers you can provide for your child and wooden toys are a timeless, non toxic option that wins my heart over any plastic toy.
I simply can't wait for this Easter to see my Little Bug's expression when she wakes to find this basket of goodies. There are parts of me that thinks "this isn't enough," and then the simpler side of me says, "maybe I went overboard." In the end, I know it's just perfect and I now know that with some extra thought, you can easily create a healthy Easter basket for your children. While it may not necessarily be the most "eco friendly" basket around, it definitely is a good one!
What do you plan on putting in the basket this year?
"Healthy" or not, I look forward to hearing your ideas!
Thanks for reading, Sasha
