Simple Toddler & Baby Easter Baskets

It’s hard to believe we’re getting close to Easter already! I think everyone’s timelines (and calendars) feel a bit off lately, due to the coronavirus and the unique situation of being at home almost all the time. However, even a global pandemic won’t stop us from celebrating Easter – even if it does have to look different this year.

For the past couple years, I’ve done an Easter basket for our daughter, Sophie. She’s just about 2 and a half now, so this year will be her third Easter basket. I’ve always had mixed feelings about Easter baskets, because for my family, the holiday is not solely about candy, the Easter bunny, and springtime. Since we’re Christians, we celebrate Easter as the day Jesus rose again after conquering humanity’s sin.

RELATED: Sophie’s First Easter Basket + Easter Basket for Age 1.5

When Sophie was born, I originally debated about whether or not to give her an Easter basket, since I don’t want the holiday to become too materialistic to our kids as they grow up. I’ve had to think about how we’ll approach this holiday with intention. Easter excitement shouldn’t only center around things like candy and treats and egg hunts, even though those things are definitely fun. (And there’s something to be said for creating special family memories and traditions.) There’s a bigger picture here that we don’t want our family to miss: celebrating the historical, miraculous fact that Jesus rose again! (By the way, the movie “The Case For Christ” on Netflix is an awesome one to watch, as an atheist wrestles with whether all that really did happen. “The Case For Christ” is a true story. He wrote a book about his experience, too, if you’re interested.)

Soren joined our family in November, so this will be his first Easter and first Easter basket! In today’s post, I’m sharing the Easter baskets I’ve put together for Sophie (age 2.5) and Soren (age 4 months). At the end of the post, I’m also listing a few more books that we love – ones that would be a great addition to an Easter basket as well.

I hope this inspires you a bit – maybe you’ll find a fun idea to add to your own child’s basket this year! Do you do Easter baskets in your family? What do you like to put in them?

Simple Toddler & Baby Easter Basket Ideas:

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Sophie’s Easter Basket (Age 2.5)

Basket from Target

Jumbo Marshmallows (for resurrection rolls) // First of all, Sophie loves marshmallows so much (she calls them “mo mo shows”). 🙂 However, the real reason I’ll include marshmallows in her Easter basket this year is so we can make resurrection rolls together! If you haven’t heard of them, resurrection rolls are marshmallows baked inside crescent roll dough. The marshmallows “disappear” when the rolls are baked in the oven, giving you a great conversation starter with your child about Jesus and the empty tomb on Easter morning. I’m excited to do these with Sophie this year!

“Spring For Sophie” book // Such a sweet book! My friend Courtney found this one and gave it to Sophie last month! We love it, and not only because it has a little girl named Sophie in it. It’s a very sweet story about a girl who is waiting for a long winter to end, and her parents are explaining to her all of the signs of spring (that involve her 5 senses). This book quickly became a new favorite of ours!

“Bunny’s First Spring” book // Can you tell we like books? 🙂 This is a sweet story about a baby bunny who wonders why it seems the whole earth is dying in the winter, and he wonders if it’ll ever come to life again. The language is poetic and beautiful.

Play-Doh and Play-Doh tools // Sophie loves playing with Play-Doh, but she mostly gets to play with it just at CBS – I haven’t been great about bringing it out at home. So, for Easter this year, I’m giving Sophie a set of 10 little containers of Play-Doh. I also bought her some simple Play-Doh tools – not a really extravagant set or anything – because I thought that’d be a fun way for her to enjoy her new Play-Doh!

“Loved” book // Written by Sally Lloyd-Jones (the same author who wrote the “Jesus Storybook Bible”), “Loved” is all about The Lord’s Prayer. It’s not totally Easter-related, but last year I got Sophie another book by Sally Lloyd-Jones called “Found,” which goes through the 23rd Psalm, and we’ve totally loved that one!

Magnetic Doll // How cute is this doll? Sophie loves magnets and magnetic toys, so I know this’ll be the perfect toy for her. It’s a magnetic doll (like a paper doll) made by the brand Petit Collage. I chose the Artist option, but they have other darling options, too. I love how it comes in a little tin – it looks like it’d be a great toy to take on-the-go as well.

“Honeybee” book // I saw this book recommended by another mom and I immediately fell in love with the illustrations. A book about a honeybee will be a fun, spring-themed addition to Sophie’s Easter basket.

Soren’s Easter Basket (Age 4 Months)

Basket from Target

Como Tomo Teether // Spoiler alert: Soren already plays with this! (He doesn’t need to be surprised by his Easter basket at this age!) He loves it. I saw it recommended on the Instagram account @feedinglittles when they were talking about developmentally appropriate infant teethers. This one was listed as a great one to start out with around 3 months. It helps babies to “explore” their mouths and therefore makes them more aware of their mouths and hopefully less likely to gag on food once they start eating real food. Anyway, it’s a cute little teether and has been a great toy for him already.

Gray Jellycat Bunny // The Jellycat brand makes so many great stuffed animals! Sophie has a few Jellycats of her own. I thought a little Jellycat bunny toy would be a fun item to add to Soren’s basket. (This is one of the really small ones – I ordered a 7″ size.)

“Little Blue Truck’s Springtime” book // We have a couple other Little Blue Truck books and absolutely love them! They have darling rhymes and the sweetest illustrations. (I have “Little Blue Truck” memorized and “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way” almost memorized.) The “springtime” edition is perfect for this time of year, and I thought Soren would really enjoy a larger book like this one because this version has interesting flaps, too!

“Little Green Frog” book // We own “Little Red Barn” and “Little Yellow Bee” – and Sophie has really enjoyed all of these chunky lift-the-flap books.

A Few Other Ideas:

Here are a few other books that would be wonderful in an Easter basket! We own all of the books listed below, and they’re definitely favorites of ours.

“Tiny, Perfect Things” // SUCH a good book! A little girl is on a walk with a family member as they try to spot any tiny, perfect things they can find! It’s basically a search for small joys in their day. The illustrations are gorgeous, too.

“Found” // I described this one a little earlier in this post, but this book is a lovely paraphrase/retelling of the 23rd Psalm. It has sparked so many discussions for Sophie and me about God and how he cares for us, His sheep!

“The Easter Story” // I had this one in Sophie’s Easter basket last year. A great description/retelling of the Easter story.

“Miss Rumphius” // Oh, “Miss Rumphius.” This is an all-time favorite children’s book of mine. It’s a fictional story about a women who had three dreams when she was a little girl: to travel the world, to settle down to live beside the sea, and to do something to make the world more beautiful. She does the first two dreams on her list but struggled to find out what she could do to make the world more beautiful, until later in her life. The story is beautifully told, and the illustrations are so pretty!

I hope you enjoyed having a peek into my kids’ Easter baskets! Hopefully it inspired you or at least gave you a couple ideas to try out! Happy Easter!

If you include any of these items in your kids’ Easter baskets, tag me on Instagram (@hannahbeeolson)! I’d love to see your baskets, too!