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This is a sponsored post. However, all opinions and ideas on healthy and eco-friendly Easter baskets are my own.
Over the last few months I have been really aware of making healthier choice and eco-friendly choices. Everything from easy switches to improve health to reducing waste like by creating learning activities with recycled toilet paper rolls. I want to make sure I am making choice for my family that ensure we are using and consuming safe products. And I also want to make sure we are doing our best to take care of the environment. With these things on my mind I started thinking about what that means for us for Easter baskets for the girls this year. So today I am going to be showing you how we are doing healthy and eco-friendly Easter baskets.
Easter Basket
First thing to consider is the actual Easter basket. What will hold the goodies? I have seen some pretty cute ideas using rain boots or a gardening hat. You could also use a sand bucket or a planter. That way the kids could use it in some way. My kids get plenty of toys from grandparents and we just don’t need extra baskets laying around. I tend to use a basket we already have that we organize stuff with. It gets used for the day to give them their Easter goodies. Then it goes back to holding the stuff it regularly does. This basket typically holds diapers on a dresser, but it will serve as the Easter Basket as well.
Basket Filling
Some options would be crate paper that you can reuse or recycle or even shredded paper from your office shredder. This year I decided just to use a white pillow case. It fills up some of the basket to be able to display items, but creates zero waste.
Healthy and Eco-Friendly Easter Baskets Ideas
Wants
It’s always fun to see the kids face when they get something they want. Like I mentioned before my girls get plenty of toys from grandparents so I try to hone in on smaller useful things that they are saying they are wanting. Lately, they have been all about dressing up and making sure their hair is pretty. They have been arguing over which hair bows who will wear because they both want the same one. I saw a local lady who makes hair bows posting about sister sets. I got so excited! Every Girl Bows has beautiful fabrics that are trendy. The fact I could get the same fabric in different size bows is great!
Think about what are things that your kids have said that they wanted lately. Sometimes it is a simple little phrase that can go unnoticed because they may say they want lots of things. But around holidays I pay extra close attention to see what they are saying. Recently, it’s been hair bows, clip on earrings, and baby bottles that have the liquid that disappears when you turn it upside down.
Interests
This “interests” section is a similar to the “want” section. The difference is with wants they may express what they actually want. With interests you can consider what they have been enjoying and might enjoy. I mentioned my girls have been all about dressing up and being girly lately. They discovered nail polish! Mostly on my toes and wanted some like me. I’ve painted their nails a few times, but cringed every time thinking about what bad stuff was in the polish. (It’s on my list to upgrade to clean polish for myself as well, but other more often used products have taken priority.)
Instead of continuing to cringe every time we get girly with nail polish I decided to research some clean nail polish options. Using the Skin Deep Database I researched some options and settled on Piggy Paint. The Skin Deep Database rates things using a scale of 1-10 based on the ingredients that are in the product. One being clean and safe and ten being harmful because of the effects it has on our bodies. Piggy Paint was rated as a 2 and the Piggy Paint Nail Polish Remover was only had ingredients that were rated as a 1 or a 2 in it. The product I previously was using was rated a 6. Also things to note: Piggy Paint is natural, non-toxic and odorless. Now they can have fun being girly and I can be confident knowing I’m putting a safe product on them!
Toys
Instead of focusing on food and candy I like to focus on toys or small things that will be used up. This just allows the girls to play and use it up and then get rid of it verses adding more toys to the house. Things like play dough, coloring books, activity books, crafts and crayons. As they make their creations we give them away to friends next time we see them, family for gifts or teachers as thank you’s.
Books
Because my girls love to read! That is one place I have a hard time decluttering and minimizing. We have so many books! But it’s always fun to have seasonal books you can pull out during a special time of the year. Easter is no different. So adding an Easter book is a fun way to focus on something other than candy.
Needs
Adding something into the basket that is more of a need than something fun can be a good idea. You were likely going to spend the money on it already so why not add it to the Easter basket as a “filler” item and save yourself a little money. Sometimes adding the need in with all the fun stuff can make it a little more exciting anyways. Some times the need item might be a pair of clothes, a hygiene item, or school supplies. For us this year it was toothbrushes.
Since trying to switch things over slowly to be more health and eco-friendly it had me wondering about toothbrushes the last time we went to the dentist. We usually just use those tooth brushes and only switch out if we get sick. However, I heard about this local company, Brush 4 Brush, which is a subscription bamboo toothbrush company. They help reduce waste since they are bamboo (and biodegrade) rather than plastic. And for each toothbrush that you buy one is donated to a local student. As soon as I saw this local lady’s mission I knew I wanted those Brush 4 Brush toothbrushes in the girl’s basket.
Those are some of my tips on how to create a healthy and eco-friendly Easter basket. Switch out candies and treats for experiences and toys. Think about how you can reuse things for the basket and filling. Consider making some healthier product switches that you have wanted to make. You feel good about what they receive and they will still enjoy it just as much!
What healthy or eco-friendly things do you add to your Easter baskets?
Until Next Time- Truly Love,
Cassie
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