5 Easter Basket Ideas for Kids of All Ages

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Orange color themed Easter gift basket for teens

My mother was the best at making holidays magical when I was a kid, and I have such fond memories of Easter Sunday morning. The night before Easter, my parents would help us set out carrots for the Easter bunny to munch on as a thank you for stopping by our house. We’d wake up early, run downstairs, and see our pastel wicker Easter basket filled with goodies! Some of the top Easter basket filler gifts that I remember were coloring books, a Barbie doll, a VHS of “Beauty and the Beast,” a giant chocolate bunny and Cadbury Creme Eggs. Man, those creamy, chocolatey eggs are GOOD!

These days, I hear of parents giving some outrageous gifts to their kids for Easter, like concert tickets and bikes. When I was growing up, Easter basket gifts were never as big as Christmas gifts. Whatever fit into our small baskets is what we got, and I’d like to keep that tradition for my kids. I try to make the gifts even more practical and fun with themed baskets! By sticking to a theme, parents keep from overspending on unnecessary trinkets and toys. I also love a practical theme, like a “summer” themed basket to prep kids for their summer activities and trips. If your kids are growing like weeds, like mine, then they’ve likely outgrown last year’s swimsuit, and they could probably use a swim goggles upgrade along with some summer vacation road trip activities and crafts to keep them entertained while at home on a hot summer day.

Yep, themed baskets are the way to go, and I have 5 fabulous ideas to share for you to recreate for your kids Easter baskets! Below are my recommendations for Easter basket theme ideas for kids aged newborn to teen!

Baby’s First Easter Basket

An adorably personalized basket for newborns and infants celebrating their first Easter!

A personalized baby’s first Easter themed gift basket from Personalization Mall

There’s nothing more precious than creating memories around your baby’s first Easter, and one way to make the memories last forever is with personalized keepsake Easter gifts from Personalization Mall, like a bib and diaper cover. Personalization Mall provides thousands of unique keepsakes that can be delivered quickly for Easter and beyond. They are the go-to resource for creating personalized gifts that are perfect for celebrating Easter with your kids – especially if it’s your baby’s first holiday! Give baby something to love with a personalized security blanket, stuffy and personalized book, too! For Easter 2024, be sure to place your order by March 19 for the personalized book in order for it to arrive in time for Easter, as this item takes 7-10 days to personalize and ship. For all other items, you can order up until March 29 at 9 am PST to receive in time for the holiday. But, if you order by March 25 you will save big on shipping!

Here’s what to put in the basket:

Personalized White Bunny Easter Basket Liner & Natural Basket with Folding Handle

Baby’s First Easter Personalized Bunny Security Blanket

Baby’s First Easter Personalized Baby Bib

Personalized 16″ Plush First Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is Coming To Where I Live Personalized Storybook

Busy Toddler Easter Basket

A basket filled with age-appropriate arts and crafts from Michaels is sure to keep your toddler busy and creative this Easter season!

Busy toddler themed Easter basket with lots of activities and crafts from Michaels

I’ve been a fan of shopping at Michaels for holidays for my whole life. Seriously, I’d go with my mom when I was in preschool to buy craft supplies to make our July 4th t-shirts and paint our Keds tennis shoes! Now, Michaels has more than ever, and it’s your one-stop-shop to make festive and creative Easter baskets for your kids, including stuffers, baskets, Easter grass and decorative cellophane wrapping! I love how many options Michaels has for fun and easy crafts for little kids. Create the perfect Easter basket for your busy toddler with the products below:

Large White Decorative Basket with Liner by Ashland®

PEEPS® Marshmallow Scented Play Sand Set, 10ct.

Color In Play Pets Bunny by Creatology™ Easter

Easter Egg Shaped Crayons by Creatology™, 6ct.

Easter Bunny Motif Velvet Poster Kit by Creatology™

Easter Pastel Bunny Shape Bead Kit by Creatology™

10.5″ Gray Plush Easter Bunny by Creatology™

Easter Multi-Character Box of Crafts Activity Kit by Creatology™

Pastel Polka Dot Cello Wrap by Celebrate It™

Pongee Stripes Ribbon by Celebrate It® Easter

Summer Themed Easter Basket

A practical basket to get your kids ready for summer activities and trips!

Maisonette is one of my most favorite online marketplaces for kids apparel, toys, gifts and home decor, because everything they sell is unique and special. Maisonette is your one-stop shop for the best baby and kids products from around the globe! With the warmer seasons right around the corner, Maisonette has all the essentials you need to get your mini ready for Spring and Summer. Whether you’re staying home, taking a vacation, or gearing up for camp, Maisonette is your online destination for quality products of every kind for the little ones in your life; plus, inspiration and intel that’ll make your shopping experience an easy one! For last minute Easter baskets, outfits, activities and decor select 2-day shipping at checkout to make sure you’re Easter Sunday ready. Here’s what to buy to create your child’s summer themed Easter basket:

Tween or Teen Beauty Basket

Your pre-teen or teenager will love these age-appropriate beauty and self-care products from Ulta Beauty!

Lots of beauty and self-care goodies for this Easter basket from Ulta Beauty!

You’ve probably heard that pre-teen skincare is all the rage, so if you have a middle or high school aged kiddo, they’ll love a beauty themed Easter basket! Ulta Beauty has all the best products to introduce your beauty and self-care obsessed kiddo to age-appropriate skincare and makeup. Plus, many of the products come in bright spring colors, so the aesthetic of your basket will be perfect for Easter! Consider all these great skincare, makeup and nail polish ideas for your beauty basket:

Ulta Beauty Electric City Eyeshadow Palette

Ulta Beauty Paradise Pout Lip Plumping Lip Gloss

e.l.f. Cosmetics Suntouchable! Whoa Glow Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen

af94 Acid Patch Salicylic Acid Pimple Patches

Beauty Blender MAKE A SPLASH Blending Duo

Sally Hansen Insta Dri x HERSHEY’S KISSES Nail Polish Quad Pack

Favorite Color Themed Basket

Surprise your child with an Easter basket filled with goodies of their favorite color!

Pink themed Easter basket with gum, Starbucks pink drink, holiday Lip Smackers, lip mask and Easter candy!

An orange color themed Easter gift basket – great for older kids!

Is it just me, or are older kids so hard to shop for? It seems like all they want is gift cards, which takes the fun out of gifting, in my opinion. For an easy Easter basket idea for teenager, college kid, or even your spouse, make a basket filled with items that are their favorite color. This basket idea is also relatively affordable, as you can buy lots of colorful treats at the dollar store, Target, Walmart or Amazon. Here’s what I bought for an orange color themed basket that I put together:

Assorted Easter Bamboo Basket by Creatology™

Lume Whole Body Invisible Cream Tube Deodorant

Reese’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bunny Easter Candy

I’d love to hear what type of Easter basket you’re putting together for your children! Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and TikTok for more fun family-friendly ideas!

XO Maggie

DIY Ugly Christmas Sweater Ideas

Holidays, Lifestyle

‘Tis the season for festive parties! And, if you have an “Ugly Christmas Sweater” party coming up, I’ll be on CBS-LA today sharing 5 easy do-it-yourself ideas! Here’s a sneak peek at the tacky sweaters I’ll be sharing!

It seems that the “Ugly Christmas Sweater” theme gets more popular every year! I love that its a bit of a comedic relief from a season that can sometimes come with a lot of stress and buttoned-up holiday attire. Plus, if you decide to create one yourself, there’s no pressure to make it perfectly cute… It’s called UGLY for a reason! Another bonus to ugly sweaters? They’re inexpensive to make! You can use a lot of holiday decor and materials that are already found around your home. Or, check out your local dollar store or Michaels for affordable craft supplies!

Check out this fun holiday stocking sweater I shared on Instagram using all materials from Michaels craft stores:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Maggie Jackson | Your Mom Friend on TV 👋🏻 (@maggiehjackson)

Below are instructions for creating five easy ugly holiday sweaters – I even included a kids’ sweater and Hanukkah sweater! Feel free to adapt these sweaters to what’s easiest for you and what materials you may already have at home!

5 UGLY HOLIDAY SWEATER IDEAS:

Kids Christmas Tree Sweater

Your children will have lots of fun creating an ugly Christmas sweater with you, and this simple Christmas tree sweater idea is so easy for little crafters!

Materials Needed:

Red sweater/sweatshirt
Felt – green and yellow
Tacky Christmas decor, like mini jingle bells, bows, mini ornaments, etc.
Old craft supplies like mini pom poms, glitter, beads and buttons
Needle and thread – the thread should preferably contrast with red sweater and tree, like a bright yellow!
Black fabric paint
Elmer’s glue
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

DIY Steps:

Cut a large Christmas tree shape out of the green felt and a star out of the yellow felt. Sew onto red sweater with needle and thread. It doesn’t have to be perfect – remember, this is an “ugly” sweater!
Let your child take it away with Elmer’s glue and décor items! Add glitter, bows, buttons and pom poms to the tree! Parents can help with hot glue gun for the heavier décor, like jingle bells and ornaments
Use black fabric paint down the arms to create a “string” and add colorful pom poms to resemble Christmas lights.
Allow to dry for 6-12 hours before wearing.

“Christmas Vacation” Tree Sweater

This sweater is perfect for fans of classic Christmas movies! Friends will get a hoot out of the fake squirrel climbing the Christmas tree, just as it terrorized the cast in National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” movie.

Materials Needed:

Green sweater/sweatshirt
Tinsel garland
Mini LED lights
Squirrel dog toy
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

DIY Steps:

Wrap tacky tinsel garland around green sweater and hot glue into place.
Wrap LED lights around garland and secure light bulbs to sweater with hot glue. Make sure your string of lights is long enough to wrap around the sweater and the battery pack can fit into your back pocket.
Hot glue mini ornaments around the sweater to make it look like a Christmas tree.
Hot glue a toy stuffed squirrel on the sweater. I preferred to glue it on the sweater’s shoulder.

Tacky Hanukkah Sweater

Not everyone celebrates Christmas, so this tacky Hanukkah sweater is perfect for our Jewish friends!

Materials Needed:

Blue Sweatshirt
Gold sequins stickers
Gold, white, yellow felt
Silver iron-on vinyl shimmer paper
Foam letter stickers
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

DIY Steps:

Cut a menorah out of silver glitter iron-on vinyl paper. Iron the menorah onto the sweater.
Cut 9 candles out of white felt and 9 flames out of yellow felt. Hot glue onto the sweater.
Hot glue gold sequins to the flames.
Stick or hot glue foam letters to spell “Happy Hanukkah” on the sweater.

Festive “Stranger Things” Sweater

Great for a Hollywood Christmas party filled with Netflix binge-watchers, this “Stranger Things” sweater feels festive with its LED lights while celebrating a favorite TV show.

Materials Needed:

Red sweater or thick red shirt
Iron-on letters
Mini colorful LED lights
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

DIY Steps:

Iron on the alphabet in three rows, as seen on the wall in “Stranger Things,” onto the shirt
Hot glue mini colorful LED lights above the letters to resemble the wall in “Stranger Things.”

Easy Stocking Sweater

This easy DIY sweater also makes a convenient pocket to hold your wallet, phone, keys, or better – a bottle of wine!

Materials Needed:

Green or red sweater
Sturdy stocking
Tacky flair, like bells, pom poms, bows, glitter
Elmers glue
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

DIY Steps:

Hot glue a sturdy Christmas stocking to the center of the sweatshirt
Use Elmers glue and hot glue to add tacky flair to the sweater, like glitter, bows and bells

Let me know if you go to an Ugly Sweater Party and what you plan to wear in the comments below! Or, connect with me on Instagram and TikTok where I share more lifestyle and family tips. Merry Christmas!

XO Maggie

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of this post contains affiliate links for the products I use and LOVE. If you take action on these links (like clicking, buying, etc.), I may receive compensation at no cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own, and I’ll only recommend what I truly love. For more information about affiliates and your privacy, view our Terms & Conditions page here.

6 Healthy Halloween Snacks

Health & Wellness, Home, Kitchen, Lifestyle, Mom & Baby

Got a picky eater? I’ve found the best way to get my kids to eat healthy is to get them involved in the kitchen with me! And, what better way to celebrate the spooky season than with fun Halloween inspired healthy treats! From green goblin smoothie bowls to spider crackers to boo-tiful mini cupcakes, these 6 snacks are so easy and fun to make! Plus, they’re too yummy not to eat! Your family will love spending time in the kitchen together this fall recreating these spook-tacular snacks!

I was so excited to feature these healthy Halloween snacks on KTLA Morning News with anchor Jessica Holmes, who’s a mom and food lover like me! Check out our video, below, for all the tricks to make these treats!

Watch me share Healthy Halloween Snack Ideas for Kids with KTLA Morning News Anchor Jessica Holmes!

Halloween Snack Idea #1: Green Goblin Smoothie Bowl

Adding spinach into smoothies is one of the easiest ways to get kids to eat their greens! And, you can’t taste the spinach – promise! For this Green Goblin Smoothie Bowl, make a green smoothie, pour into a small bowl, and have your kids toppings like granola or coconut for hair, dried fruit like raisins, dates or cranberries for the eyes, and pumpkin seeds or marshmallows for the smile. Kids have lots of fun decorating their green goblin face!

Here is my favorite easy Green Smoothie recipe:

Ingredients:

1 banana
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup strawberries
1 cup water (or almond milk or oat milk)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy immediately.

Halloween Snack Idea #2: Spider Crackers

Have your kids help assemble these spooky spider crackers made with round crackers (I like Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers), pretzel sticks, peanut butter (or another nut or sunflower seed butter) or cream cheese, and small dried fruit, like raisins or blueberries.

Ingredients:

Round crackers
Pretzel sticks
Peanut butter (or your preferred nut/sunflower seed butter) or spreadable cream cheese
Small dried fruit like raisins, blueberries, cranberries, or Wilton Edible Candy Eyeballs

Instructions:

Spread nut butter or cream cheese on two crackers thick enough to hold pretzels
Break 4 pretzels in half
Place the 8 half pretzels sticks around one cracker to resemble spider legs
Top the cracker with the second cracker to secure the legs and make a sandwich
Dip 2 dried fruit pieces in the nut butter or cream cheese and stick them to the top of the spider cracker sandwich to resemble eyes
Enjoy!

Halloween Snack Idea #3: Clementine Pumpkins and Banana Ghosts

These fruity treats are so easy to make and fun to eat! Peel clementines and cut celery into small sticks. Have kids add the celery sticks to clementines as stems to make pumpkins! Peel bananas and cut in half. Have your children add mini chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth to create ghosts!

Halloween Snack Idea #4: Spooky Grilled Cheese

Turn everyone’s favorite lunch into a frightful treat with Halloween shaped cookie cutters and dark rye bread! You can use wheat or white bread, but the dark rye bread is much more spooky! Plus, my toddler surprisingly loves it! Because of its color, he calls it “chocolate bread,” even though it tastes nothing like chocolate! Your kiddo will have lots of fun using cookie cutters to make ghosts, bats and pumpkins in their bread, but I recommend leaving the stovetop cooking to parents!

Ingredients: (makes 1 grilled cheese)

2 slices dark rye bread
1-2 slices of pre-sliced cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like your sandwich!)
Butter

Instructions:

Melt butter over medium high heat in pan on stovetop.
Take one slice of bread and use Halloween cookie cutter to cut shape into middle of bread. Butter one side of the bread cut-out bread.
Take the other slice of bread and butter one side.
Place both slices of bread in pan with the buttered side up.
After cooking for a couple minutes and letting the bread get to your toasty preference, flip both sides of bread to cook the other side. Immediately place cheese on the slice of bread without the cut-out.
Continue cooking until cheese is melty.
Place cut-out side bread on top of cheese and press down so the cheese sticks the slices together.
Serve and enjoy!

Halloween Snack Idea #5: Creepy Eyes Cereal Bars

Add funny eyes to pre-made cereal bars (or my favorite 3-ingredient cheerio bars seen here!) by rolling cream cheese into tiny little balls and adding a mini chocolate chips for eyes. If you’re low on time, it’s fun to add these eyes to anything pre-made, like muffins or frozen waffles!

Halloween Snack Idea #6: Green Halloween “Cupcakes”

My toddler loves these green “superpower” muffins, made with spinach, bananas, rolled oats and sweetened with honey! I love the ghastly green vibes of these for Halloween! Top with Nutella spread for “icing” and have your kids add Halloween sprinkles to make healthy-ish cupcakes!

Which healthy Halloween snack do you want to try with your kiddos? Let me know in the comments below, or connect with me on Instagram @maggiehjackson!

XO, Maggie