I had so much fun sharing ideas for thrifting for Christmas gifts last year (here, here, and here), I decided it would be fun to talk about thrifting for Easter gifts. I’ve never done it before but might just try it this year. I might get one non-edible surprise (from a thrift store most likely, although sometimes you can find great stuff at inexpensive prices at non thrift stores) for my children and grandchildren. I might get one each for them to find in the Easter egg hunt. I’ve always just had some health food store candy, and truth be told, some cheap grocery store jelly beans (gasp!) in the plastic Easter eggs. But I might make it more fun this year with directions inside the egg to find the wrapped gift somewhere else.

True confession time: I am a mom who hasn’t played the Easter Bunny, that is, I haven’t filled Easter baskets, for decades. I did fill Easter baskets when the oldest 2 of the 7 were 4 and under, and then I stopped. I stopped for a variety of reasons, including my resistance to junky, garish, neon bright toys and commercialism, and the fact that we went through some very lean financial years.

During those years I was doing well just to buy some edible goodies to put in plastic eggs for a family Easter egg hunt. So they did grow up with Easter baskets, but these baskets were ones they filled themselves with plastic eggs during our family egg hunt. We usually did it Easter Sunday after church and dinner. Then we’d gather in the house and either watch Christ-centered Easter videos or tell the story of Easter with Resurrection Eggs, while they ate the candy.

But now I’m rethinking the whole Easter basket idea. I’m thinking it’s time for a change. Not that I’m going to play the Easter Bunny and get gobs of trinkets and candy to fill baskets, but maybe I’ll start doing what I described in the first paragraph above.

I’m thinking of doing this to make Easter feel even more festive. As Elder Gary Stevenson said, quoting, N.T. Wright:

“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”  Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023)

Note the word “festival.” Some kind of surprise gift for each person, beyond treats, at Eastertime could definitely add to the festival feeling. The surprise can symbolize the surprise and joy that the family and friends of Jesus had when they discovered that He had risen again.

Jesus appeared again in his material body. so maybe it is OK that I make Easter a bit more material. I never thought I’d say this but I guess I’m just rethinking the whole Easter basket thing. I’m realizing maybe I erred too much on the side of no material gifts at Easter when I could have been having a lot more fun finding and giving even just one thoughtful and useful gift at Easter, even if I had to buy it at a thrift store, with my limited amount of money. You can find perfectly clean decent beautiful things at thrift stores, as I’ve witnessed many times myself.

I don’t want to turn prepping for Easter as burdensome as prepping for Christmas. I watch young moms in YouTube talking about filling Easter baskets. Some of them look like they spend as much on Easter as they do on Christmas.

I guess if you can afford it, and it’s not stressful to do so, go for it, but I do wonder two things:

1. Is giving so much stuff at Easter making your children feel entitled and greedy, taking the focus off of Jesus Christ? and

2. What if we took that money and created gift baskets for the people in our neighborhood who are feeling poor or just poor in spirit because they are sad and lonely. Then left them anonymously on doorsteps. Baskets full of useful things like socks, hand lotion, books that promote faith in Jesus Christ, lip balm, as well as some treats, tailored to the person. Like find out if they are gluten free, low carb, or sugar free and give accordingly.

Just some thoughts. Anyway, here’s what I would look for if I could rewind the decades to fill my children’s Easter baskets over again with affordable, non-junky, non-edible Easter stuff. I would take the approach of finding stuff that stirs up the wonder of Jesus, the wonder of the covenant path of a Saint and the Hero’s Quest of human life, and the wonder of spring/summer/warmer weather, including some practical things that I would be buying anyway. I would find what I could at thrift stores by looking year-round. Ideally, I would do one practical thing besides PJs, one book, one wondrous/fun thing, and one religious item. If I found most if not all the stuff from thrift stores, I’d be OK with finding different things according to what was available. Part of the fun would be seeing the random variety. One child might get a T-shirt, another might get sandals, another rainboots, one a swimsuit, etc.

-first, some non-Easter Bunny/Jesus themed picture books, see my list over here

-picture books and chapter books that promote faith in God and faith in going on a quest/Hero’s Journey. See Sarah Mackenzie’s list here and listen to the podcast below. This includes books with Christian symbolism, like Narnia

-Narnia CDs or Narnia Yoto Cards for the Yoto Player

-picture books and chapter books about nature, including animals, especially bunnies and other springtime animals

-bookmarks with scriptures or Christian symbolism on them, etsy has lots even super inexpensive digital printables to choose from

-religious-themed jewelry and tie tacks, including cross necklaces

-religious-themed T-shirts, including Narnia ones

-spring/summer weight PJs

-hair bows and barrettes for girls, neckties for boys

-comfy summer-weight socks

-bubble-making toys. I especially like the spill-proof bubble tumblers.

-water play toys

-umbrellas

-raincoats

-rainboots

-sandals

-swimsuits

-swim goggles

-swim shoes

-actually functioning garden tools, not just cheap plastic shovels or buckets that break easily. The set above is around $20 so I wouldn’t give it to just one child. If I had all girls I’d give it as a family gift. It’s just so pretty I had to include it.

-gardening seeds and other supplies

-beach/sand toys

-yo-yos

-other outdoor toys like jump ropes, Frisbees, balls, jacks, sidewalk chalk, toss and catch games, Koosh ball toys, etc.

-nature journals

-water color paints and/or colored pencils for using in nature journals

-other art supplies

-something to help them stay quiet in church, like quiet books for younger children and notebooks/journals and pens for older children, and fidget toys for all

-Easter and spring-themed activity books to do during read-aloud or Closet/Spark Station time

-sturdy kites that won’t break

-nature-themed kits, like butterfly gardens and ant farms

-nature microscopes

If I wasn’t able to find that kind of stuff thrifting maybe I’d just do a family Easter basket like this mom shows below, but I’d do more spring-themed games, books, and puzzles that I found thrifting

Here are some ideas I’d do for family Easter gifts.

-a sturdy kite to take turns flying as a family on a picnic, or a pack of kites if you have older children you can trust to fly them without running them into each other.

Some board games that remind me of the culture of Easter and Christianity and religion such as the following:

– Jerusalem board game to play with teens and young adults, which simulates Holy Week in Jerusualem, the spring of 33 AD.

–Sagrada, about stained glass windows. I love the chunky colorful bright dice in this game!

-a saucer swing to hang from a tree limb outside

-a birdfeeder with outdoor camera

-spring and nature themed board games like the following:

I know Wingspan seems complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, it is super fun!

Just for fun, here are a few videos involving Waldorf and Montessori inspired Easter baskets that just make me happy. I wish I could make an Easter basket like one of these for every child, adding in a few Christ-promoting items as well, as mentioned above.