When I was a child (about a million years ago) we got one chocolate Easter Egg at Easter, if we were lucky. These days my son gets so many chocolate eggs that it takes him weeks to eat his way through them all. A couple of years ago we decided that we would just get him one egg and one or two little Easter Gifts on the side.
Don’t get me wrong, Easter in our house is mostly about giving, receiving and hunting for chocolate eggs. At Easter he gets more chocolate than he can cope with, so giving him something different as Easter gifts makes sense. I’ve picked out some simple and inexpensive ideas for alternative Easter gifts for kids.
Hatching Dinosaur Eggs
You can get these absolutely everywhere these days and they’re really fun to hatch. Soak your dino egg in water for 24-48 hours and the egg will crack open and a dinosaur will emerge. We’ve had cheap ones from the pound shop and more expensive ones for around £5. The quality of the dino figure was MUCH better in the £5 egg, so choose wisely. A cracking little Easter present!
LEGO Easter Bunny Hut 5005249
For LEGO fans, what better gift than the new LEGO Seasonal Iconic Easter Minifigure (5005249). Every Easter LEGO brings out a seasonal collectible minifigure and this year’s Easter Bunny is super-cute! This highly sought after LEGO collectible will probably be snapped up quickly, so if you see it, buy it. I believe it is currently available in Sainsbury’s for £4, but will probably sell out fast!
Easter Craft Kits
Easter is a time which is ripe for crafting. There are so many Easter and spring themed crafts you can do with the kids, but we like to buy a couple of Easter Craft Kits and do a few different crafty things over the Easter break. Baker Ross make lots of really colourful and fun craft kits, they usually contain everything you need to make the craft so they’re easy to throw on the table and do with no lengthy set up. We always add a craft kit or two to his Easter bag of goodies.
Tiddlytubbies Board Book
Say eh-oh to the Tiddlytubbies in this bright and colourful board storybook for toddlers! The Teletubbies love to visit their friends the Tiddlytubbies. Now you can visit them too in a storybook that’s ideal for reading and sharing together, not to mention, a really lovely chocolate-free gift for woddlers and toddlers!
The Teletubbies are a great way to introduce little ones to early learning concepts such as colours, counting and numbers. The colourful world of Teletubby land is especially designed to capture little imaginations. These books are perfect for babies and toddlers aged 1+, cost just £4.99 and are widely available.
Playmobil Easter Eggs
Playmobil have really upped their game this Easter. They’ve been making eggs for a number of years now, but this year the range seems to be bigger and brighter than ever. Choose from Dragon Warrior; Kite Surfer; Queen Moonbeam; Tightrope Walker; Vet with Foals; Fairies with Magic Cauldron; Girl with Dino Egg and many, many more! They cost around £6.99 and are a great alternative to standard Easter Eggs.
Choc On Choc Make and Melt Chocolate Egg Heads kit
Ok, I did promise you a chocolate-free list of alternative Easter gifts, but I had to include this one. The Choc On Choc Make and Melt Chocolate Egg Heads kit contains everything you will need to make and decorate some chocolate eggs. We reviewed it a few weeks ago and whilst everything didn’t go entirely to plan, it was the most fun. It combined three of our favourite things – cooking, crafting and eating chocolate. The kit costs £12 and is a brilliant way to spend an afternoon with the kids. There may be fights over who gets to lick the spoon though!
Cool Customised T-Shirts?
What about a cool customised t-shirt? Printsome are a small company who specialise in printing t-shirts. You could get one of your child’s drawings printed onto a t-shirt, or a photo of their cat, or anything your wild and wonderful imagination can come up with. These t-shirts are also great for groups or to wear for parties. How about matching t-shirts for the whole family this Easter?