Sunday, April 17, 2011

Guest Post: Healthy, Creative, and Inexpensive Easter Baskets


(This is my first guest post. I am one of the Spendwise Mom's daughters who has started a family of my own. I have a fifteen-month-old son and a husband, and we're just trying to get by saving as much money as we can. I hope to contribute more as time goes on. Enjoy!) 


Do you get bored of doing the same thing every Easter? Or maybe you don't want to relive the stomach ache you had last year when you ate the entire bag of Cadbury eggs? This year, I decided to see if I could find any alternatives to all of the chocolate and candy that I usually put into my Easter baskets. Here are a few ideas that can help save money, calories, and also provide opportunities for you to spend some family time together.

Money  
When we were growing up, our parents would put change in our Easter eggs. It's a great space filler, and it's always fun to get money! You can do anything from pennies to dollar bills, whatever your budget permits.

Healthy Snacks
I just got a big bag of dried berries from Costco. My son likes them a lot more than candy, and they are so much better for him. A few other ideas would be fresh fruit, fruit leather, almonds, or chocolate milk.

Arts and Crafts 
A coloring book and new crayons or markers are a great treat, and they will entertain your kids a lot longer than a box of peeps. The dollar store usually has a lot of craft related items that would work well. You could also make your own by printing off easter-related pictures. Or, if you want to color eggs, put the egg dying kit in the Easter basket. It would be a great activity to do together as a family.

Books
 If you have older kids, try getting them a book they want to read. If you have younger kids, get a book that you can read to them. If you want to keep going with the Easter theme, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams or Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney are both classics. If you want to recycle, and save money, try going to a thrift store or consignment store to look for the books.    
However, my Easter baskets are not entirely healthy! I still always sneak in a few candies. I think it is good to have a few unhealthy treats. My Easter candy weakness is definitely Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs.

I've only listed a few ideas here, and would love to expand the list for myself and for others, so please leave comments or link up! What are some of your ideas for making Easter fun, healthy and inexpensive?

Hope you have a Happy Easter!

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