Easter basket ideas your toddlers to tweens will love that aren’t full of sugar!

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I remember waking up as a kid on Easter morning to find an Easter basket beside my bed filled with all sorts of goodies. My kiddos find their Easter baskets in the living room, which now means by the fireplace.

Plastic eggs are hidden throughout the downstairs with a note telling them how many eggs to find and indicating which color of eggs belong to which kiddo. The Easter Bunny likes to give them their own color since they have different finding abilities at different ages.

The plastic eggs are usually filled with smaller candies that I’m more likely to say yes to letting them have a few of. And while their Easter baskets have a bit of candy in them as well, I also like for their Easter baskets to include a good number of non-candy things.

But, let’s face it, Easter also isn’t Christmas morning, so I don’t want their Easter baskets to have lots of high-priced toys or large items. I do like for them to have toys and items the kids will actually like rather than a bunch of little trinkets I find at the dollar store.

And even though I want to get them things they can use (Easter is a great time for buying warm weather items), I also want to get them things they’ll LIKE and be excited about. While they could use short-sleeved PJs or shirts, chances are they wouldn’t be so excited to find them in their Easter baskets!

So, I’ve put together a list of some great non-candy ideas for Easter baskets that also won’t break the bank! I’ve organized them based on age, but peruse other age groups than what you’re looking for. Some ideas work for multiple ages!

This post was written before the COVID-19 became a pandemic. Amazon is doing its best to get medical items and other necessities to people during this time. Choosing no-rush shipping for items you don’t need right away is a great way to help them be able to get necessities to people more timely.

For toddlers and preschoolers

Board books:
Check out this list of more than 100 children’s books worth reading for more ideas!
“I Love You Through and Through”
“Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”
“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”
“Hippos Go Berserk”
“Peek-A Who?”

Bubbles:
Of course you can do a standard bottle of bubbles that has a wand, but there are some fun options as well!
Fubbles no-spill tumbler with bubble solution
Automatic bubble blower
T-rex bubble shooter (um, my 7-year-old would totally love this, too!)

Play-Doh:
12 cans of Play-Doh (4 ounces each)
Play-Doh Kitchen rolled ice-cream set
Trolls World Tour Rainbow Hair Poppy Play-Doh set

Sidewalk chalk:
Yoobi sidewalk chalk paint rollers (3-pack)
24-pack dustless colored chalk
10-piece chalk set with holder

Bath toys:
4-piece mold free bath squirters
Wind-up swimming penguin (available in blue or pink)
Caterpillar stacking and straining cups
Basketball hoop with floating balls
Fishing pole with toys

Stuffed animals:
Plush brown monkey
12-inch stuffed teddy bear
Unicorn (also comes in a dragon and pegasus)

Slap bracelets:
4-pack “Frozen 2” slap bracelets featuring Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf
5-pack (or 8-pack) of superhero slap bracelets
Plush animal slap bracelets (a wide array of animals, including dinosaurs, are available)

Art supplies:
Toddler scissors
Melissa & Doug jumbo triangular crayons (10-pack)
Alphabet coloring book
Paint with water coloring book of puppies
Crayola Color Wonder coloring set (These are amazing because the markers really don’t show up anywhere except on the coloring pages!)

Balls:
O-ball with circles for little fingers to easily grip

Knobby balls (pack of 12)

Expandable ball (set of 2)

Lego Duplos:
Town pizza stand (ages 2 and up)
First fish (ages 18 months and up)
Construction bulldozer set (ages 2 and up)

For early elementary

Books:
Check out this list of more than 100 children’s books worth reading for more ideas!
The boxed set of books 1-4 in the Junie B. Jones series
“Charlotte’s Web”
“The Big Book of Silly Jokes for Kids”
“Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing”
“Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild” (or any book from this series)
“Minnie and Moo Go to Paris” (or any Minnie and Moo book)

Silly putty:
Original Silly Putty (3-pack)
Heat sensitive lab putty
Glow in the Dark Silly Putty

Legos:
Lego Friends Olivia’s flower garden
Lego Creator 3-in-1 propeller plane
Lego City monster truck
Lego Friends heart box

Pool toys:
Fish dive sticks
Water guns (2-pack — no pool needed for these!)
Scoop-a-Diving pool toys

Hot Wheels:
5-pack of Batman vehicles
5-pack
1:24 scale monster truck

Sunglasses:
Classic 1980s-style sunglasses (available in 12 colors)
Polarized sunglasses with straps (available in 17 colors)
Rhinestone cat eye sunglasses (available in 20 colors)

Swim goggles:
Anti-fog eye goggles with nose and ear plugs and a case (available in 3 colors)
Anti-fog eye mask with a snorkle (available in 4 colors)
2-pack anti-fog eye goggles with nose and ear plugs (available 9 color combinations)

Watch:
Digital Anna and Elsa watch
Digital Spider-man watch
Silicone analog watches (available in dinosaur, firetrucks and butterflies, each in a variety of colors)
Analog watches with the hour and minute hands labeled (available in Batman, Minnie Mouse and Disney Princesses)
Analog sea turtle slap bracelet watch

Arts and crafts:
A how to draw animals book
A draw-and-write gratitude journal
A dinosaur or unicorn activity book
A set of crayons, markers and colored pencils

Stickers:
8 sheets of cute animal stickers
160 cars and trucks stickers
Paint by sticker zoo animals
Make-a-Face stickers

Dover sticker activity books (At $1.50 to $1.99, these are the cheapest item on the list and super cool! You can find a little sticker book for just about anything your kiddos would like including making ice cream sundaes, Noah’s ark, decorating Easter eggs, baby animals, dinosaurs and so much more!)

Barbies:
Dolls
Barbie rhythmic gymnast doll with two batons and a ribbon (also in brunette with darker skin)
Babysitters Inc. baby (with blanket and bottle)
Fashionista Ken
Swimsuit Barbie (The swimsuit is painted on, so it’s ideal for the bathtub, pool or anywhere your kiddo wants to play in water!)
Rockstar Chelsea with guitar, microphone, headphones, VIP tickets and star-shaped glasses

Accessories
Barbie kitten with accessories
Barbie day spa accessories
Barbie barbeque grill with food
Barbie gardening accessories with plants and more
Barbie house cleaning supplies
Barbie breakfast tray with food

Games:
Charades
The card game War for kids
Simon micro series

Balls:
6-pack of puffer balls
4-pack mesh squishy stress balls
Nee Doh stress ball

Blind bags:
Ooey Gooey pickin surprise (slime)
My Little Pony Magical Surprise
Disney Princess Secret Style Surprise princess
Power Rangers Micro Morphers
Dreamsworks’ Trolls World Tour Tiny Dancers (wearable figures)

Polly Pocket sets:
Dolphin trainer set
Barbeque set
Playground set
Rock star set

Water snakes:
5-inch long water snake with glitter
Long 9.5-inch long water snake
4.75-inch water snake with dolphins inside

Action figures:
12-inch superheroes like Spider-man, Superman and Captain America
7-inch Imaginext DC characters like Black Bat & Ninja Batman, Flash & his cycle or Joker & Harley Quinn
Pokemon figures like Pikachu and Grookey
2-pack Fortnite Battle Royale action figures

Misc.:
Mighty Beanz
4-pack Hatchimals collectibles with 4 accessories
Magic ring bracelet toy

U.S. map 60-piece puzzle
A metal or plastic neon slinky
DIY Scratch art bookmark kit (makes 12 bookmarks)

For tweens

Books:
Check out this list of more than 100 children’s books worth reading for more ideas!
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
“The Girl Who Drank the Moon”
“The Lion, the With and the Wardrobe”
“A Wrinkle in Time”
“The Lightning Thief”
“The Best Kind of Magic”

Arts and crafts:
How to draw books like Pokemon, Harry Potter or Unicorns, Mermaids and More
A fashion design sketch portfolio
4,000-piece set of multi-colored Perler beads (separated by color)
Perler bead with patterns: Harry Potter, Spider-man, Zelda, emojis or a dog

Lip balm or gloss:
6-count Sweet Tarts lip gloss canister
8-count M&Ms Lip Smackers
8-count Starbrust Lip Smackers
8-count Coca-Cola Lip Smackers
5-count Lip Smacker liquid lip gloss
8-count Sour Patch Kids flavored lip balm
8-count Skittles Lip Smackers

Blind bags:
Funko Mystery Minis: Marvel Venom
Lego Unikitty collectibles
Mandalorian foam 3D clips

Jewelry:
Necklaces: A cross necklace or an initial necklace
Bracelets: An initial charm bracelet, a leather charm bracelet (available in 36 options) or 6 colorful beaded bracelets
Earrings: ladybug earrings, cross earrings or 9-count earrings in various design options

Games:
Monopoly Deal card game
Clue: the card game
Uno: Emoji

Wet Brush:
(My daughter and I LOVE this brush for her ultra-thick hair. It works on both wet and dry hair to detangle without pulling and hurting. We have one upstairs and one downstairs!)
Floral design Wet Brush
Disney character Wet Brush

Puzzles:
100-piece animal selfies puzzle
100-piece sea turtle puzzle
300-piece Pokemon fan favorites puzzle
350-piece puppies in sneakers puzzle

Water bottle:
50 Strong Kids sports squeeze 22-oz. water bottle (available in 14 patterns)
Contigo auto spout straw water bottle (available in 24- and 32-ounce; 24-ounce bottles are under $11)
DIY Color stainless steel water bottle

Legos:
Lego Technic toy tractor
Lego Marvel Avengers Ironman mech
Lego Star Wars Millennium Microfighter

MadLibs: (all under $5)
“Dog Ate My Mad Libs”
“Sleepover Party Mad Libs”
“Camp Daze Mad Libs”
“Goofy Mad Libs”
“Unicorns, Mermaids and Mad Libs”
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs”
“Marvel’s Avengers Mad Libs”

Misc.:
Hair chalk
Zoya nail polish (free of harsh chemicals, lasts so long and comes in tons of colors) Some fav pinks for spring: light pink, medium pink and bright pink
OMG Little Live Pets dogs in ballerina and rainbow pop

Looking for more Easter ideas? Don’t miss these easy DIY Resurrection Eggs with a free printable!