CANDY!
I don’t know about you, but we try to cut back on the amount of candy that our children get for holidays. However, there are special candies made for EVERY holiday! Even on the 4th of July we get candy tossed at us from parades. School aged kids get a lot from school holiday parties, too! Having six kids in the house means that we get a huge amount of candy for almost everything. We get so much that it sometimes sits around til the next year! (In fact, I wonder if they would notice if I just stuck last year’s candy in their stockings or eggs? Just Joking! But seriously though, it’s a thought!)
So this year, I went on a hunt to find things to put in the Easter eggs that are NOT candy. Here are 20 ideas for each age group. No matter the age of your kids, you can find fun and meaningful surprises to delight them with!
100 Non-Candy Easter Egg Ideas
Babies & Toddlers–Ages 0-2:
(Honestly, anything that is little enough to put in a normal-sized Easter egg is likely a choking hazard and should not be given to a child that young. One option is to find bigger eggs to fill with things they will be able to enjoy.)
- Teething ring, teething egg, or teething necklace
- Board book
- Pacifier
- Stuffed animal
- Sippy cup (you could actually use this as the egg and put treats in it!)
- Socks
- Mini bubbles
- Finger puppets
- Little bowtie
- Bath toy
- Headbands or hair clips
- New onesie or shirt (personalized shirts are adorable!)
- Puffs or snacks that are age appropriate for baby
- Egg shakers (homemade or store-bought)
- Baby food pouches
- Taggie toy
- Rubber duckie
- Mesh fresh food feeder
- Bonnet
- Stacking cups
Preschoolers–Ages 3-5:
- Glow sticks
- Leggings (Lularoe are some comfy ones!)
- Plastic figurines (dinosaurs, animals, bugs, army guys, Jesus…)
- Stickers
- Crayons
- Hot Wheels cars
- Alphabet magnets
- Hair bows
- Fun bandaids
- Stick-on earrings
- Bouncy balls
- Play money
- Balloons
- Sidewalk chalk
- Play dough
- A small pack of seeds for Spring
- Cupcake wrappers + sprinkles
- Mini puzzle
- Coupons: Good for one: “Night of staying up late,” “Extra book at bedtime,” “Special time with Mommy,” etc.
- Any snack food items (Goldfish, raisins, fruit snacks, Craisins, Teddy Grahams, etc.)
Early Elementary–Ages 6-8:
- Baseball cards
- Sticky hands
- Silly putty
- Rings/bracelets
- Little slinky
- Shopkins
- Earrings
- Little crosses
- Jacks
- Legos
- Tiny cookie cutters
- Magnetic bookmarks
- Pencil top eraser, sharpener, grippers
- Grow Capsules
- Nerf darts
- Slime
- Kids’ watch
- Pokemon
- Tokens (Chuck E. Cheese, carousel, arcade, Playstation, etc.)
- Homemade Treats (Cookies, cake pops, paint-your-own cookies, etc.)
Upper Elementary–Ages 9-12:
- Tiny nail polish
- Rainbow loom bands/charms
- Washi tape
- Little gel pens
- Little notebooks
- Glue sticks
- Single serve drink packs
- Water balloons
- Nail stickers
- Temporary tattoos
- Key chain
- Rosary
- Zipper pulls
- Personalized notes about how awesome and loved they are
- Shoe laces
- Movie tickets
- Ponytail holders
- Kinetic sand
- Jump rope
- Modeling clay
Jr. High & High School–Ages 13-18
At our house, my kids range from 1-13. We will still be doing the Easter Egg thing when our oldest is 18, because our youngest will be 6!
- Press-on nails
- Money
- Gift certificates (gas station, favorite store, ice cream place)
- Bible verses
- Guitar pick
- Chapstick/lip gloss
- Necklace
- Underwear (LOL)
- Mini Sharpies
- Hand sanitizer
- Little lotion bottle
- Money clip
- Shower gel (The travel section at Wal-mart or Target have these items in miniature.)
- Ear buds
- Golf balls & tees
- Glow-in-the-dark stars
- A subscription to their favorite magazine
- Mini hair brush
- Post-it notes
- Stress ball
There are limitless possibilities for this! Search for different sizes of eggs so that you can fit some bigger items in, like sunglasses. Remember, use discretion when buying any items for your Easter eggs. If you think that it is not appropriate for your child, no matter their age, just use your best judgment and don’t put it in the egg. Happy egg-filling!
Hope you all have a safe and happy Easter!
SaveSave
With so many food allergies out there, these are wonderful. Inclusive and helps my anxiety tone down a notch. I avoid things with my 3yo. He misses out on each holidays fun community activities because the risk of death is too great. It’s that serious. Please encourage this for ALL holidays. All kids should be able to have fun.