It can be tough for parents to fill an Easter basket without going on a candy-overload. Between the Reese's peanut butter eggs, the Cadbury Creme Eggs, and Peeps, it's easy for an Easter basket to end up looking like a trick-or-treat bag!
Here are some great ideas for ways to cut back on the sugar:
- Get creative with those plastic eggs - Fill your own eggs with sugar-free goodies like stickers, erasers, rings, temporary tattoos and tiny toys. Kids will be excited by the surprise and they’ll have something to play with later.
- Make the biggest item in the basket a toy - Instead of that enormous chocolate bunny, get a special toy that your kid can get active playing with it later, like a kite, a soccer ball, or pool toys.
- Choose candy wisely - It can get a little overwhelming in the Easter candy aisles, but be smart about the candy you get your kids. Pick a few of their favorites and go for dark chocolate with nuts, if your kids are into it, because it packs more nutrition power from the antioxidants and protein.
- Skip the candy for babies - The American Heart Association warns against introducing kids under two to added sugar, so give little ones a stuffed bunny, some bubbles, and cute books in their baskets instead of candy.
I chatted with some parents around the station, and here are their picks for the best non-candy treats to put in an Easter basket:
- Spring/summer toys like bubbles, chalk, jump ropes, balls
- Spring accessories like sunglasses, flip flops, and hats
- Colorful Goldfish (some stores even carry special Easter-themed packages!)
- Fruit snacks (for extra-Easter points get the bunny-shaped ones by Annie's Homegrown.)
- Books
- Coloring books and crayons
- Seed packets to plant in the yard
Source: The Toronto Star