Top 50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Gift Ideas

Posted in holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Top 50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Gift Ideas from RoamingRosie.com

I was about to say that I’ve got everything listed here from toddler to teen… but that’s too narrow a description. Really, if you’re looking for Easter basket gifts for anyone – whether they’re a newborn or about to leave for college – you’ll find something here.

You might even find something for yourself. :)

But what you WON’T find here is this: candy. Chocolate. Marshmallows. Sugar.

My kids will each get a chocolate Easter bunny, sure. (They’re even in the pic above.) And probably a few jelly beans, too. But they last thing they need is a gigantic basket filled to the brim with sweets and sugar.

I also, however, don’t want to fill it with a bunch of junky toys that will break and get thrown out soon afterwards.

So I’ve compiled a list of gift ideas that all fit in an Easter basket, that aren’t made of sugar, and that are quality gifts your kids will enjoy.

If you’ve got any ideas to add to the list, please tell us in the comment section!

Happy Browsing!

Here are my Top 50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Gift Ideas

1. If you read my blog regularly, you can probably guess what #1 will be: BOOKS. I give books for every holiday, and I certainly give Easter-themed books at Easter, BUT there are a ton of other ways you can incorporate books into gift giving. Some of my favorite interactive books to stick in an Easter basket include:

Sticker Books
Doodling Books
Wipe-Clean Books
Activity Cards
“That’s Not My…” Touchy-Feely Baby Books
There’s a Mouse About the House
Muddle and Match Imagine and Adventure
Kid Kits

2. DVD of their latest favorite movie or television show. My girls are getting some 2-for-1 movies (2 in one case).
3. That Video Game they’ve been asking for
4. A CD or an iTunes Gift Card
5. Gift Card to their favorite clothing store
6. Gift Card to the local movie theatre
7. Disney Phone Case
8. Monogrammed iPad Case
9. Pocket Journal
10. Personalized Night Light
11. Personalized Flash Drive
12. Wooden Craft Set. Like the kind you get at Michaels or the Dollar Tree that comes with paint and markers (and is pictured above).
13. Foam Craft Set. Like #12, you can find these things at craft stores with all the pieces to make your finished product included in the set.
14. Sun Catchers and Sun Catcher Paint
15. Colored Pencils
16. Markers
17. Crayons
18. Gel Pens
19. Scarves
20. Socks. My favorites are the colorful character ones that you find in the Target bargain section.
21. Sunglasses
22. Jewelry (necklaces, earrings, bracelets, etc.)
23. Press on Nails
24. Make Up. Blush, eye shadow… seriously, there are soooo many sparkly and fancy (yet affordable) make up sets out there.
25. Lip Gloss. (My 3yo looooooves lip gloss!)
26. Nail Polish
27. Small LEGO sets. Also LEGO Minifigures.
28. Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars. We have a whole drawer dedicated to cars at my house. Receiving new ones as presents never gets old.
29. Erasers. These things are even great for hiding in Easter eggs. And they come in sooooo many designs – both girl and boy specific and gender neutral. I get most of mine from the Dollar Tree.
30. Puzzles. For smaller versions of puzzles, the dollar store has some really nice options. Like the two in the photo.
31. Glow Sticks / Glow Bracelets / Glow Necklaces
32. Bubbles
33. Bookmarks
34. Stickers
35. Schleich Figurines. From dinosaurs to fairies and from jungle animals to giant castles, these things are not only versatile, they’re classic.
36. Punch Balloons. You know – those balloons on a string that you bounce all around. Keeps kids busy forever.
37. Sidewalk Chalk. Egg-shaped Sidewalk Chalk is more widely available around this time of year, too.
38. Travel Games
39. Pool Toys
40. Backyard Safari Adventure Sets. Or just a net or a bug house. I only let my kids keep their bugs or worms in their habitats for a couple of hours – max – but what they really love anyway is the hunt. And the longer they spend chasing no-see-ums around the backyard with a butterfly net – the better they’ll sleep that night.
41. Instruments. Kind of like these B. Jungle Animal Instruments Set. I’ve also seen some of those pieces for sale individually at Target.
42. P’Kolino Mess Eaters Artist Journal. My girls just received this as a birthday present and we LOVE it. Great for my little artists – and great for car rides, too. Available in Pink and Green and Blue.
43. Budding Baker? Get them some cool Cookie Cutters.
44. Budding Eater? Get them a cool Utensil Set.
45. A Kid’s Water Bottle or Personalized Sports Bottle for Teens and Tweens
46. One of those character party cups found in the party section. Like the Frozen ones pictured here.
47. Stuffed Animals. Could be a bunny or a chick, but don’t forget about other favorites, like that 20” Elsa doll that’s become my daughter’s new favorite or that Minecraft Plush Enderman your kid spotted at Walmart the last time you were there.
48. Card Games. Like Uno, Phase 10, Spot It and even regular playing cards. Did you know they made Princess Bride Playing Cards??? Because I just may have to make an Easter basket for myself to sneak some of these in there…
49. Flip Flops. Especially ones with cool designs or gemstones.
50. Gardening tools, gloves, and packets of seeds.
51. A flower pot that comes with its own seeds, like these Grass Heads my kids really like.
52. Rosary Beads. If your kids don’t already have their own beads, now is a good time to gift them some.

I hope you enjoyed the list! Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions to add!

If you’re wondering about the specific books pictured above, they are the Zoo Sticker Book, Animal Sticker Book, Magic Painting Book, 50 Easter Things to Make and Do (also reviewed here), and the Easter Bunny Flap Book (also reviewed here).

And be sure to check out my Resurrection Garden:

and Easter Bunny Spiced Sandwich Cookies:

Roaming Rosie Signature

14Feb2015

Valentine’s Day Free Printable Tags for Pens & Pencils

Posted in free worksheets & printables, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

FREE Valentine's Day Tags for Pens and Pencils

I recently posted some Printable Valentine’s Day Tags for Bubbles, which were the treats my kids handed out to their classes for Valentine’s Day.

Then I realized that their teachers may not want bubbles as a present….

And as I browsed the shelves, looking at everything from candy to candles, I wandered into the school supply aisle and spied some colorfully decorated gel pens.

I thought they looked fun, and teachers always need pens…..

Free Printable Valentine's Day Tags for Pens and Pencils

So I picked up the pens and made some printable tags for them.

The tags have an illustration of a pen on them, which is light so you can write over it, and after you cut them out, you just need to use a hole punch to add a hole to the one side.

I made them in both red and blue, so you can pick whichever you like best, and I tied them onto the pens with some bakers twine.

The gel pens actually make a really cute gift for older kids as well, and it’s a great non-candy option.

Here are the two tags in printable PDF form:

Valentine’s Day Printable Tags for Pens and Pencils (Blue)

Valentine’s Day Printable Tags for Pens and Pencils (Red)

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature

1Feb2015

Valentine’s Day Printable Tags for Bubbles

Posted in free worksheets & printables, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Free Printable Valentine's Day Tags for Bubbles

These are the Valentine’s Day treats that my kids will be giving to their class this month.

I chose bubbles because I really wanted to avoid adding even more sugar to the student’s pile of what was sure to be a large load of candy.

And bubble are always a hit with kids.

So I looked around and found these adorable mini bubbles at Target in the holiday section of the store. I then found the Valentine’s colored bakers twine in the bargain section near the front of Target.

Of course, you can also sometimes find colorful bakers twine in the baking section of stores, and I’ve sometimes found fun colors of bakers twine in the craft section of my local Dollar Tree.

And if you’re having trouble finding mini bubbles, I’ve found that Party City usually has a large supply of colorful bubbles as party favors.

Free Printable Valentine's Day Tags for Bubbles

Anyway: back to the tags!

I made these heart-shaped tags in red and pink, after playing around with other color combinations like red and blue or red and purple. I found I liked the way these looked best.

And they probably would have looked even better for my photos if my printer hadn’t started running out of ink…..

I made two versions. The first has both a “to” and “from” on it, and the second {seen in the photos} only has “from.”

I did this because my girls are in preschool and it just seemed easier on everyone if we only wrote their names on the Valentines instead of the names of all of their classmates, too. But older kids might want to write who they’re for, so I made that an option.

Valentine's Day Printable Tags for Bubbles

To assemble the Valentines, I first wrote my girls’ names on the heart and cut them out. Then I punched a hole in the heart with a hole punch on the left side of the top of the heart.

Next, I cut a piece of bakers twine about 10 inches long and tied it around the neck of the bubble bottle. I double knotted it so it wouldn’t go anywhere. Then I strung the heart onto one piece of the tied bakers twine and tied another double knot to secure the heart to the bubbles.

You could stop there, I guess, but I went ahead and tied a bow to make them look a little nicer. I double knotted the bow as well, so it wouldn’t come undone.

I then packed all the bubbles into a heart-shaped basket we already had to make it easy for my girls to bring them to school

To open the free printable PDFs, click on the link below for the one you want: