5 Easy Last Minute, Candy Free Easter Basket Ideas for Boise Parents

Your kids love the Easter Bunny. You love the Easter Bunny. Well…you did love the Easter Bunny until your kids tried to see how many of his sweet treats they could eat in one sitting. Now they’re all sugared up and here’s no sign of them slowing down! 

A few days ago, we asked some questions about the Easter Bunny on our Facebook page and we learned a lot. First of all, he’s a life long friend! When we asked “at what age do you stop making Easter baskets for your kids,” the overwhelming majority of parents say that as long as your kids still enjoy what’s inside them, you have no problem putting Easter baskets together for them clear into their 20s. Heck, we’re pushing 40 and with the help of our mom, the Easter Bunny still sends us our favorite oversized peanut butter egg from our favorite hometown chocolate store. 

We also learned that parents in the Boise area put a lot of thought into what type of treats are going into those Easter baskets. Sure, you’ll include something like jelly beans, chocolate eggs or Peeps but quite a few parents say they try to think of some practical gifts that will last longer than the week after Easter. That means choosing non-candy gifts and trinkets. 

KEEP READING: Idaho's Largest Free Easter Egg Hunt Returns to Meridian on March 30

If you haven’t put together the Easter baskets for this year and you’re looking for some last minute inspiration from fellow Boise area parents! 

Ready for Summer Basket

We’re barely through Spring Break and we don’t want to rush things, but you know your kids are already counting down to the last day of the school! Whether they love spending time floating the river or splashing down the slides at Roaring Springs, this basket will get them set for summer fun! Fill it with flip-flops, a beach towel, pool toys and a new floatie for the river or pull. 

Outdoor Fun Basket

Think back to your childhood when your parents would just turn you loose and tell you to be home by dinner. What sort of things were you playing with in your yard? Bubbles, sidewalk chalk, jump ropes, water balloons? Those are still classics today! Load up a basket with those essentials. 

Beauty Basket

At some point, your kids are going to outgrow being excited by jelly beans and Reese's eggs. If you have a teenage daughter, fill the basket with their favorite make-up, fun jewelry, hair accessories, nail polish and more. Cool mom points if you include an Ulta gift card for her to pick out some of her favorites. 

Sports Basket

This idea was suggested by a mom who had a 14-year-old daughter playing soccer. She filled it with everything her daughter needed to kick off the season in style. Cleats, shin guards, running shorts, etc. You could easily retool this for any sport. 

Dinner and a Movie Basket

This one will work if you have kids that are young enough to think that DVDs or Blu-Rays are still cool and don’t realize that basically everything they want to watch is on a streaming service. Grab some microwave popcorn, those fancy seasonings that you’d never pay for at the theater, a copy of your kids favorite movie and a gift card to their favorite restaurant! (If you’re including movie tickets for BoDo Cinema, a gift card for The Warehouse is a slam dunk.)