When my oldest daughter was just two years old she debunked the entire notion of the Easter Bunny. It wasn’t intentional- it just sort of happened. She was a smart little thing, even at the tender age of two. Too smart to be tricked into thinking that a bunny was capable of delivering baskets full of Easter goodness to children everywhere. We didn’t want to lie to her, so we just sort of went with it. And as any parent will tell you- the minute one knows, the others follow suit. As a result of our oldest, our other kids never even had the chance to believe. We’ve never had the Easter Bunny play any sort of role in our house. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that we didn’t try to make the holiday fun or memorable. I still filled Easter baskets with candy and trinkets when the kids were little. My girls wore matching Easter dresses to church until they were old enough to protest. And I have definitely filled and hidden more than my fair share of Easter eggs. But as our kids have gotten older, the baskets have disappeared. Instead of lots of small goodies we have started buying one small Easter gift for each of our kids. Also, my children have turned into chocolate snobs and we only buy “good” chocolate these days. They’ve grown up. They understand the real meaning of the Easter holiday and that changes things. 

Even though I may be done filling baskets full of goodies, I still want my kids to know that I am thinking of them on Easter. However, I don’t want to spend a ton of money! I thought a few ideas for Easter gifts might come in handy, especially if you’re moving out of your basket phase like me. 

Inexpensive Easter Gift Ideas 

1. A book. I’m partial to the paper kind with actual pages. 
2. Cash. This may seem impersonal, but my kids love this. Sometimes we put the money in eggs and make them hunt for it. Then everyone is assigned a different color egg so they don’t double up.
3. Big person coloring books and fine tipped Sharpies- my kids sit and do this for hours.
4. Gift cards to Swig or Fizz or Sweet Tooth Fairy or wherever their favorite place is. My kids are starting to go out with friends more and they are hitting up places like this, so gift cards are ALWAYS a good idea. 
5. Certificate for a date night with the parents. 
6. Movie tickets.
7. New swimsuit. This may be more expensive, but you’re going to buy it anyway so kill two birds with one stone!
8. Goggles or pool toys. 
9. New phone or iPod case. 
10. New popsocket. 
11. Flip Flops- anything to prepare for the warmer weather that is approaching!
12. A small box of their favorite See’s candy. (Like I said, my kids are chocolate snobs)
13. A new DVD/BluRay.
14. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty- my kids love this stuff!
15. Jewelry- a new bracelet, earrings or necklace.
16. Small LEGO set- they have Easter sets on Amazon HERE!
17. A new board game. 
18. Sports equipment- new soccer ball, playground ball, basketball, etc.
19. Makeup.
20. Their favorite hair supplies.
21. Fun socks.
22. A soft, fuzzy blanket. Costco is my favorite for these. 
23. Hammock (Amazon has some great ones for under $20 HERE!)
24. A journal and fun pens. I’m loving the journals at Michaels lately- so cute!! 
25. A pocket knife- for your kids who are interested in camping!
26. Family puzzles. 
27. Chia Pet- seriously, what kids doesn’t love something like that?!
28. New headphones/earbuds.
29. Science kits for kids- find an awesome selection on Amazon HERE. 
30. Brain teasers/mind puzzles. Hours of entertainment! Find a huge selection HERE.

Giving a gift to our kids at Easter has really taken the stress out of the holiday, as it is so easy to shop for one thing rather than a bunch of small things. And honestly, I think my kids like it, too! One larger gift that will last far longer than a basket full meaningless trinkets, which makes for a win in my book! 🙂