Minimalist Easter Baskets

Since beginning our minimalist journey , I've been looking for creative, cheap, and easy ways to celebrate holidays without bringing in a bunch of excess and useless, one-off toys that will just be messy and take up space. Less clutter, more fun times. That's the goal, right? 

I'm a member of a few minimalist groups and we've been discussing Easter baskets and gifts for the last couple months. These women, like myself, want to celebrate the holiday but we don't feel the need to go overboard, we don't want to spend tons of money on things the kids won't use or want in a week, and we don't want to overload them with candy either.

For my boys this year, I found all of our gifts on Zulily, shopping through Ebates so I got cash back on the whole thing as well (winning). They are each getting 2 books, some eggs filled with a little candy, goldfish and probably some cherrios (because who doesn't love cherrios?). Connor is getting an umbrella styled to look like a pirate sword, and they're both getting little "all terrain" cars.

This year, we will use their baskets, but I think next year I'm tossing the whole "basket" idea completely and finding more creative and useful items to store their gifts in. (See item 1 on the list below)

Minimalist Easter Basket Ideas

1. Use rainboots INSTEAD of a basket. Save yourself the hassle of maintaining and storing a basket that literally gets used once a year, and stuff their gifts into new rainboots. 
2. Books. You really can't go wrong with books. They're great for kids of all ages. I'm thrilled anytime someone gifts me a book.
3. Summer toys:
   • Bubbles
   • Swimsuit
   • Water guns
   • Water balloons
   • Sidewalk chalk
   • Beach toys
   • Sunscreen (not fun, but practical)
   • Beach towel
4. Rainy weather items:
   1. ​Rainboots (already said it, but oh well)
   2. Raincoat
   3. Umbrella
5. Board games. Fun for the whole family!
6. ​​Crafts and art supplies. Bonding and learning all at once.
7. Play-doh. Can be messy but it's almost always worth it.
8. Holiday Socks. Or just regular socks, but I love holiday specific footwear.
9. Reuseable water bottles. Because you know they'll need to stay hydrated all summer.
10. Sandals/Flip-flops. You know they're gonna need them.