Growing up, my sisters and I received an Easter basket of candy, chocolate, and painted hard cooked eggs. In recent years, I've noticed these premade Easter baskets with toys and gadgets. Now that I have a two and half year old, I am debating the idea of a basket and what should go in it. I am thinking the best way to spend my money would be to purchase one toy in the $20.00 range and give a chocolate bunny and a few other candies. Just wondering what other parents do currently.
I don't do the pre made baskets, simply because they look too commercial and impersonal. When I was growing up, the Easter bunny usually left us candy and one cool new toy - always something educational or creative (like a craft or a "thinking" type toy). So that is what I tend to do for my kids now. I don't go overboard on Easter, but it is fun to have a tradition that they look forward to.
I didn't grow up celebrating Easter, but the ones that they have for sale now seems too superficial and doesn't stick to the original fun stuff. What I would actually do (if I had kids myself) would be to make my own custom basket, depending on what each kid likes. That way they feel special that they got their own goodies, and plus I would imagine that if you were to make it yourself overall it would be cheaper than if you buy a pre-made one.
I don't bother with the premade baskets because the toys in them are junk. They are putting dollar store toys in those baskets and charging up to $20. What a scam. I have a teenager that collects action figures, so I spend the $10 to get her a nice Sonic the Hedgehog or Minecraft action figure and then the rest of her gift is various chocolate Easter candies. I don't even waste money on a traditional basket. Toys R Us sells reusable bags featuring Hello Kitty ,Ninja Turtles, etc. that my kid can use for carrying other things when Easter is over.
