Easter is one of those holidays that sneaks up on you. One minute it’s February, and the next you’re throwing stuff in a basket. Here’s the thing: Easter baskets don’t have to mean a pile of plastic trinkets your kids will ignore by Tuesday and you’ll quietly toss by Thursday. With a little intention — and a few smart swaps — you can build an Easter basket that’s genuinely fun, low on waste and full of things your kids will actually use.
I’ve been doing this for years with my twins. In fact, we've been using the same personalized tote since they were 2 years old. Here I’ll walk you through exactly what goes in ours — from the basket itself to the candy, because we are absolutely not skipping the candy.
What Happens to the Traditional Easter Basket (Spoiler: Nothing Good)
Let’s be real about the lifecycle of a typical Easter basket. The plastic grass gets everywhere and the toys break before the candy is even gone. The basket itself is either too flimsy to reuse or gets shoved in a closet until next year when you buy a new one anyway.
The problem isn’t Easter baskets. It’s the throwaway mindset that comes with them. And the good news is it’s incredibly easy to flip that.
The Most Sustainable Basket Is One That Gets Used All Year
This is the rule I live by: if the basket itself doesn’t have a life beyond Easter morning, you’ve already started off on the wrong foot. Since we live in a small New York apartment, our belongings have to have several uses or they aren't worth the storage space. That includes holiday traditions, too.
The best Easter baskets are the ones that turn into something else. A woven seagrass basket becomes a toy storage bin, a book caddy or a beach bag. A canvas tote with their name on it goes everywhere all summer. A metal bucket or tin pail doubles as garden storage or a beach toy holder. These things have a second life — and a third and a fourth.
I featured some of my favorite basket options in this post. Some ideas include:
- Woven seagrass basket — beautiful, sturdy and multipurpose
- Personalized canvas tote — their name on it makes it feel special
- Metal bucket or tin pail — classic, endlessly reusable
For the grass: ditch the plastic shreds and go with shredded kraft paper or plain tissue paper. It’s compostable and just as festive. I actually save ours to reuse for next year. Same with the plastic eggs for the egg hunt. I love seeing how low-waste I can be for the holidays and save as much as possible.
For non-candy ideas for a fun egg hunt, see this post.
Toys They’ll Actually Play With
bop it / slime kit / pencils / card game / lego egg / wikki stiks / mad libs / zip string / game / micro tiles / chalk eggs / plus plus blocks /
The goal here is simple: toys that survive past Easter Sunday. For kids ages 5–10, these are the ones that consistently get played with in our house:
- Card games (Bananagrams, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Sussed) — family fun for years
- Stomp rocket or bubble wand kit — perfect for spring afternoons outside
- Small puzzle or activity book — great for quiet time or travel
A Few Spring and Summer Extras
water balloons / walkie talkies / glow football / stomp soak / sunglasses / garden tools / snorkel set / goggles / boomerang / silk wand / charm slides
This is my favorite category because these items feel like a treat but they’re things your kids need for the season, things you were probably going to buy anyway. A few other ideas include:
- Reusable water balloon set — hours of backyard fun with zero single-use waste
- Water bottle or tumbler — Owala FreeSip is our fav
- Flip flops or jelly sandals — a spring staple they were going to need anyway
For last year's ideas, see this post.
Last But Not Least, the Candy (You Can't Skip the Candy!)
A low-waste Easter basket does not mean a candy-free Easter basket. It just means being a little more intentional about what kind of candy goes in it.
A few swaps that still feel special without the artificial dye overload:
- Unreal or YumEarth chocolate, jelly beans and lollipops. No artificial dyes and genuinely delicious.
- Trader Joe’s dark chocolate eggs, a crowd favorite every single year
- One full-size chocolate bar, because it feels like a big deal to a kid. We love Tony's Chocoloney.
For the Tweens
spa headbands / initial bag / large makeup set / small makeup set / head wraps / soap jelly / face masks / face pads / lip gloss / hair chalk / face wash
I went back and forth on whether to include a section on tween skincare and makeup. While my kids aren't into this (yet), I know the day is right around the corner. These products are non-toxic and gentle for tweens.
The Bottom Line on Low-Waste Easter Baskets
As a parent, Easter has become one of my favorite holidays. It doesn't take a lot of money or a lot of stuff to make it feel magical for your kids — it just takes a little thought. Choosing things that last, that get used and that don't end up in a landfill by the beginning of summer is one small way we can design a life that feels good on purpose. That's what this whole space is about. I hope this guide helps you skip the stress, skip the plastic and put together something your kids are genuinely excited to wake up to.
If you have questions or want to share what you put in your basket this year, drop it in the comments below. I love seeing what other moms come up with.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I genuinely use and love.
