Easter Basket Ideas for Babies and Toddlers ~ No Candy!

Easter is coming, a holiday where we celebrate new life in all its forms. Even if you aren't religious, this time of year is the beginning of spring! 

This week I have been racking my brain, trying to come up with age-appropriate Easter basket ideas. I will also be doing coins, because they get excited about adding up the money after the egg hunt. But after that, I didn't want to fill up the eggs with ALL candy. 

After we open our Easter baskets, we usually head over to Grandma’s house. We all know what happens there!

Here are a few ideas, in case you are searching for ideas for babies or toddlers. 

1. Bath toys- Munchkin letters and numbers have been a hit at our house. Check your local Target or Babies R Us. 

Boon Bath Appliques

 2. Sand/beach toys- pails, shovels, sandcastle molds… what’s more exciting than looking forward to summer time at the beach! 

 3. Books- Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit is a natural choice, and I like to get the matching stuffed animal. This may be why my older son has about 300 stuffed animals in his bed right now… 

Books available at www.amazon.com

 4. DVDs- you can’t eat those! Baby L will try, though… I’m sure. 

5. Plum Organics Fiddlesticks Snack Sticks- Apple Carrot flavor, of course. 

6. Annie’s Bunny Snacks- if you throw in the Chocolate Chip bunny graham snacks, you aren’t completely passing on chocolate… 

7. Chalk- Crayola washable chalk is great, if you haven’t tried it – you should! In past years, I have found cute bunny-shaped chalk. Let me know if you see that somewhere, I can't find it!

Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalk

I have found almost all of these items at Target, and Babies R Us. I have also found that CVS has a good selection of odds and ends for holidays. Happy Easter! 

Please share, and let me know what you are putting in your Easter baskets- or better yet, share pictures!

My Top 5 NATURAL Ways to Relieve Stress

Being a parent is wonderful and amazing...ly hard. Our youngest is 7 months old, and does not sleep through the night. He has struggled with acid reflux, and as soon as that started getting better... he starting getting teeth! He has 8 teeth already. So, that means 7 months of mommy not sleeping through the night. So I'm tired, which causes stress. 

Everyone has their own sources of stress. Whether it's work, family, or balancing the two~ sometimes you just need to take a step back, and focus on yourself. When you are at your best, you can be the best mom/employee/wife/etc.!

1. Take a hot bath! My mother always told us, whatever was wrong, to have a cup of tea and a hot bath. I still take her advice to this day. Add the bubble bath, and you're on your way to relaxation!

2. Dance- When nothing seems to make sense, put on a silly CD (I recommend "Silly Songs with Larry" from Veggie Tales) and just sing with your kid(s). They love it, and soon you'll forget what you were so stressed about in the first place.

3. Put the kids to bed just a little earlier than usual- Mine can't tell time YET, so this may get harder as they get older! Sometimes, Mommy needs more 'me time'... and some wine!

4. RESCUE Pastilles- I have these in my purse, so when I start to feel overwhelmed... I just grab one of these. They taste like candy! I like the black currant flavor. RESCUE products were developed by doctors, are homeopathic, and naturally relieve stress. Click here for a coupon for RESCUE products.

RESCUE products are available at CVS, Walgreens, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and wherever you find natural products!

5. Don't look at your phone- I can't bear to turn off the cell phone, since we do not have a 'land line'. But I do put it on vibrate, and leave it in the kitchen. It's important to focus on your family when you are at home, everyone else can wait.

I also like to walk the dogs, but if you don't have dogs- that obviously wouldn't work for you.  

What do you do to de-stress?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.