Easter is always fun, but I dislike how much it is centered around giving kids so much candy!
I've really worked the past couple of years to make sure the kids aren't overloaded with candy, yet they still get fun baskets. I still put some treats in them, but I choose better options that have less sugar.
Here are some ideas that I'm implementing this year!
Lower Sugar Candy Options:
Lily Chocolate
They have come out with so many options now! There are white chocolate birthday cake bars, salted caramel bars, peanut butter cups, caramel balls, chocolate covered peanuts. These aren't something I personally would make an every day item in our house, but for holidays or having as an occasional dessert I think it's a great option. All of my kids eat these, especially Eden the 4 year old. She's a huge fan of the peanut butter cups!
Smart Sweets
These are a great substitute for gummies in your kiddos Easter basket. They still contain sugar, so if you're diabetic or on a strict way of eating, watch your glucose because these still cause spikes.
They have quite a few varieties including watermelon slices and even peach rings plus some sour options. Personally I haven't had them, but all of my kids like them. Even the teens take them as snacks to the movies when they go (shhhhh!)
Zaffi Taffy
This brand I've only bought online. They also have lollipops that are sugar free. They are sweetened with xylitol though, so if you have dogs that pick up things be wary of purchasing these as it is very harmful and can even be fatal to animals.
These were great for us to have when we did potty training with Eden! She is a totally reward oriented child, so having something we could offer her that wasn't loaded with sugar was a great option.
Yum Earth
If you have ready any of the things I share you know I am not a fan of food dyes for kids (anyone really but you can totally see how it affects kids especially!) Getting my son away from food dyes was a HUGE pivot in his behavior when he was younger.
These lollipops are colored with all natural coloring like beet, turmeric, and more. They are also labeled non-gmo so that's a good sign too! Again, not something to have on the regular but a great option for the times of year/occasions when the kids are expecting some treats like Easter.
For all of the kids baskets, I did a candy run to Whole Foods for the Lilys Chocolate and Smart Sweets. I purchased the Yum Earth and Zaffi Taffy online off of Amazon. You can find the links for both of those in my Amazon storefront HERE
Teen Basket Filling Ideas
For the teens, I put together their baskets with mostly items from the Dollar Store! You can get some easy little trinkets there.
I have a 15 year old daughter who is highly unimpressed with most things LOL so hopefully she likes this!
I found a few cute notebooks (the cat shaped face is a notebook and so is the one that says "YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD"
Flips flops, a kite, a wooden heart to paint, a plastic egg that I filled with the lower sugar lollipops, a Lilys Bar, a book, Smart Sweets and I filled the two plastic bunnies with bath salts from www.theconsciousgoddessbox.com products!
My son is about to turn 14, but he's way more into things like this so I have a feeling he will like his basket! He got an amazing book that I still can't believe was from the $1 store called "Our Planet" with beautiful photos of the earth. I also filled his basket with a yoyo, a wooden circle to paint, chalk, a kite, lilys chocolate, smart sweets, and poppers. In his bunnies I also put bath soaks from The Conscious Goddess Box because he loves to take baths. He will probably not be happy with me disclosing this but on Sunday's he does "Bubble Bath Sunday"
Toddler Basket Filling Ideas
I have a 2 and 4 year old so they have pretty similar interests. Plus, if one gets something the other doesn't World War 3 breaks out. So they both got a kite, toothbrushes, a book, mini notebooks, a mini tea set, and a little toy cooking set for their kitchen. Plus they got smart sweets and I'll also give them some of the lollipops and a Lilys chocolate bar plus a stuffed bunny.
Like I previously mentioned, all of these items were sourced from the $1 store, baskets included. They had a TON of options, even some cloth style. I did get those, but they seemed pretty flimsy so I opted to utilize the plastic bins!
Anyways, I hope this gave you some inspiration to make a bit of a healthier switch this Easter Holiday! Let me know if you come up with any other ideas, I'd love to see!
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