Friday, February 13, 2015

Easter Baskets for Babies (That Won't Break the Bank!)

I think of things way ahead of time. It's probably one of my husband's top annoyances about me, much as he loves me. He would rather approach a situation when we get to it, and I'd rather stew on it for months and think of all the possible approaches, options, and outcomes. You'd think by now we would have found a perfectly common sense middle ground, but no! I basically do my thing and drag him along with me. So that brings me to Easter baskets! I decided to post this before Lent because it felt wrong posting it during Lent. But what help would it be if I posted it after Easter day/in the Easter season? So here it is :).

I've been thinking since Christmas ended *cough* about what to put in Felicity's Easter basket, especially because we have buckled down on our budget more than ever. There is basically no 'spot' in our budget for extras like an Easter basket, so we have to get creative and fit it in there somewhere, or take it from my babysitting money (which is allocated for savings and/or surprise bills). In case anyone else is in a similar boat, I thought I'd share what I've brainstormed so far, and I would love to hear what things you may be getting or have done in the past because I'm sure there's a lot I haven't thought of! I have a few things that are on the pricier (for me!) end that I think are really worth having, but most of it is a few dollars or less.

One of my criteria is to have a mix of both religious and 'mainstream'. I like to have SOMEthing religious since, after all, we are an Easter people :). But some nonreligious treats are ok, too. You could find plenty of blogs with awesome, pricey items like chewbead rosaries (which we do have the decade of and love!) but one of those would be my entire budget, so that's not what you'll find here. My main criteria is that the items be cheap but not junk. As much as I love the Dollar Tree, I do not want a house full of low quality Dollar Tree toys. A few? Sure. But I generally avoid cheap plastic where I can. Without further ado:


  • Squeezie pouches. Felicity likes these as snacks/treats. She probably eats one a week or one every other week, but does have some favorites, so I thought I'd get one or two even if I can't find them on sale. Gasp! I generally have a rule that I buy organic and don't pay more than a dollar (which requires creativity), but if I'm only buying 1-2, I am ok paying $1.30-1.50 for her favorite flavors for her basket which, if you must know, are the Earth's Best smoothie ones :).
  • Some kind of new snack. If you can't tell, these items are replacing candy that she'd get when she's older. I will probably put something like a cereal bar because it's super cheap, a treat, and isn't a $4 box of snacks from the baby aisle that will run up the price of the basket! Plus, there will be 5 cereal bars left for Steven to take to work for a snack so it's a win-win.
  • Toothbrush! Now, an older kid would probably be like WUT? But Felicity has fun with her toothbrush for now, and I figure I have a few years of buying a cutesy one that will excite her before she catches on and realizes I put something practical in her basket, haha! 
  • Dollar Tree stickers. I know what I said about the Dollar Tree, but they usually have great religious stickers that would be a perfect cheap item for an Easter basket! Felicity is a bit young for stickers, but I like to involve her in crafts and stickers don't make a mess, so the worst that can happen is she will eat them :). I think I will get them for her as a sensory type experience, and we can practice putting them on paper. 
  • Dollar Tree Easter decor. Since Easter starts for us on Easter, we will decorate either late Holy Saturday or actually on Easter. So my goal is to find something baby friendly that I can buy so that Felicity can help us decorate. The bonus of this item is that 1) it's for the house but can double as an item in her basket and 2) we'll have it for years to come! 
There's no actual "toy" in the above list, but Felicity has a lot of toys, so I'm ok with that! The above items could be purchased for under $10, making a very affordable Easter basket. If you are ok bumping the cost up a bit, here are some really quality items you could add.

Easter 2014... where has my teeny baby gone!?

Pricier but worth it (in my opinion):
So here's my follow up to the more expensive items. I would probably only buy one from the list above for a few reasons. 1) It keeps the cost down and 2) it gives you many years of options, so next Easter just move on to the next thing! Though I like cheap, I also like quality and I like faith, so I feel like adding one of these things to a basket, while it does drive up the cost a bit, is worth it and still pretty affordable. The jury is still out on which item we'll pick for Felicity this year, but I'm thinking Tiny Saints because my mom got her one of the Easter books (and the Easter Little People train AHHHH! :) ). 

Alright- give me your ideas! 

1 comment:

  1. Paint her a saint peg doll or two. Once you have the paint and brushes, the wooden leg dolls aren't expensive really at all.

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