100+ items to put in an Easter basket for a baby or toddler

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When you’re looking for items for an older child, the kid will often tell you EXACTLY what they want. And what color. And how many. And what goes with each item.

It’s easy to to fill an Easter basket for a baby or toddler– and they’re probably not as bossy. 😉 They’d happily play with the packaging! There are tons of options: inexpensive kids’ Blu-rays or DVDs, stuffed animals, candy, etc. We personally don’t give our child candy or electronics yet, but Easter baskets are a time to personalize, so do what works for your family. I made a list of 100 items– NONE include electronics or candy– to put in an Easter basket for a baby or toddler. Some items may work in a basket for a kid in either age range.

Most items are fairly inexpensive– many, like Playdough, fairy wings, stuffed animals, etc.– can often be found at dollar stores. I have a few slightly more expensive items listed if you have a bigger budget or are filling baskets with a few select items. It’s often way cheaper– and more fun– to fill your own basket rather than purchase a pre-filled basket (as long as you don’t overdo it!).

Baby

• Stuffed animal (try to find one that’s special that they’ll hold on to for awhile– our daughter loves her pink Socks the Monkey Beanie Baby)

• Knitted or crocheted hat

• Handmade baby blanket. There are lots of simple tutorials online!

• Knitted or crocheted baby booties

• Baby/toddler sunglasses (they have straps that convert the glasses to a larger size as they grow. Our kid loves them)

• Cute sun hat

• Baby pool

• Swimsuit

• Swim diaper

• Fun socks

• Cute diaper covers

• Adorable cloth diapers

• Onesies or shirts

• Bibs

• A robe and slipper set (our baby was SO. CUTE. in her sock monkey hooded robe and slippers set).

• A rubber duck (this one tells you if Baby’s bath water is too hot)

• Stacking rings

• Stacking cups

• Pacifiers

• Baby-safe insect repellent snap bracelets

• Teething rings (we got this Wonder Woman one, and the company has sooo many other cute ones!)

• Finger puppets

• Bath toys (our toddler still plays with her octopus and rings she received as a baby)

• Books (we like First 100 Words, Touch and Feel: Farm, the nearly baby-proof Indestructibles: Baby Faces and Hello There, Huggle Buggle Bear (it has a finger puppet!)

• Car seat or playmat toy (there are some soft toys that clip onto the carseat bar or on the loops on certain playmats. We bought a green version of this Infantino Turtle Mirror Pal that our daughter still likes.)

• Pretty headbands

• Shape sorter

• Flowers or bows to clip in Baby’s hair or directly onto headbands

• Infantino texture ball set (these were in our baby’s first Christmas stocking and were one of her favorites. She still plays with them as a toddler.)

• Munchkin Miracle 360 trainer cups

• Sippy cup

• A shaker or rattler (our kid always liked her wooden one and this Oball baby shaker)

• Wooden or cloth blocks

• Cloth book

• Family photo book (you can DIY one or make a photo book through Shutterfly. This could have a family member and their full name on each page, or you could do a A-Z book with the names and pictures of family and friends on the appropriate pages.)

• Hairbrush or comb

• Shaker eggs

• Baby spoons

• Travel snack cups

• Baby food pouches

• Happy Baby Organic Superfood Munchies

• Jars of Beechnut Baby food

• Applesauce (Mott’s makes a no-sugar-added applesauce)

• Puffs (my baby LOVED these, and they don’t have any sugar since they’re sweetened with fruit juice)

Toddler

• Bath toys (our toddler loves her rubber ducks and enjoys using bath crayons)

• Bubble bath

• Books (we like Pride and Prejudice: A Babylit Counting Primer, any Sandra Boyton books, Star Trek: Book of Opposites and the Llama Llama books. And I just realized that there’s a Llama Llama: Easter Egg book!)

• A cute sun hat (dollar stores often stock them in the spring)

• Fairy wings (we found a pair at our local dollar store)

• Neck support pillow for the car or stroller

• Baby/toddler sunglasses (they have straps that convert the glasses to a larger size as they grow. Our kid loves them)

• Tulle skirt

• Fireman hat

• Policeman hat

• Easter bunny headband (while it is a seasonal item, I think our toddler will wear hers pretty often since she likes to dress up and wear headbands)

• Tiara

• Fun wig (I often see wigs and other dress-up items at the dollar store)

• Hair clips/barrettes

• Toddler-safe nail polish

• Hairbands

• A fun t-shirt

• Bubbles with a bubble wand

• Wonder Paper— our daughter has two Paw Patrol books she enjoys. I like that her markers only work on her special paper and not on my walls!)

• Crayons

• Washable paint and paper

• Craft kit (you can buy them or make your own– like a sheep outline with cotton balls and glue)

• Piggy bank (or one in a favorite character style)

• Paintable figurine (you can often find these in your child’s favorite characters, like Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles or Hello Kitty)

• Memory matching cards

• Simple flash cards (for numbers, letters, colors, animals, etc. Many of these are also available with your kid’s favorite cartoon or other characters. I sometimes see these at the dollar store.)

• Family photo book (you can DIY one or make a photo book through Shutterfly. This could have a family member and their full name on each page, or you could do a A-Z book with the names and pictures of family and friends on the appropriate pages.)

• Gardening tools (we found a Peppa Pig set at Target for $5.99, and they have other designs)

• Playdough

• Thinkbaby straw bottle (it helps them learn to drink with a straw, but with a LOT less mess than an open cup and straw!)

• A small umbrella (our nephew LOVES this construction-themed one we bought him. I’m planning to get one for my daughter soon– maybe a dinosaur one.)

• Toddler rain boots (these are the ones we bought for our nephew)

• Rain jacket

• Swim goggles

• Fun swim suit (if you visit an indoor pool frequently, you might want to get one in their current size, but if it’s still a bit cool in your area consider going up a size. If you’re going to buy one anyway in a month or two it makes sense to put it in their Easter basket– your toddler may love a fun design on their swim suit and it saves you one item in filling up their basket.)

• Awesome underwear to get them excited about potty-training

• Bucket and pail

• Ball

• Frisbee

• Chalk

• Wiffle ball and bat (you can find them on Amazon and sometimes at the dollar store as a kit)

• Beginner “yo-yo” (you can buy ones that go back up automatically)

• Play food

• Mr. Potato Head

• Shaker eggs

• Toy car, truck or plane (just make sure there are no parts the child can choke on)

• Twister (The game is recommended for ages 6 and up. Your toddler probably can’t properly play the game, but it’s a great way to teach them about body parts and colors in a fun way, and as they get older they can learn the actual rules.)

• A small pack of Megablocks

• Puzzles (we have this Melissa and Doug shapes jumbo peg puzzle and 123 train floor puzzle. This Melissa and Doug Winnie-the-Pooh puzzle will be in her Easter basket this year– shh! Don’t tell her!)

• Ergobaby doll carrier (there are even two Hello Kitty designs! They have free shipping and you can get 10 percent off with this code: jo8KbuYBBM)

• Shoes (Delight them and save yourself a purchase later!)

• Stickers

• Temporary tattoos

• Gerber Graduates yogurt melts

• Happy Baby Organic Superfood Munchies

• Nabisco teddy grahams (my toddler doesn’t get them often since they do contain sugar, but she loves getting them as a special snack.)

• Fruit (It’s healthy and can be a fun snack, especially if they have a favorite. My toddler still goes nuts over bananas, clementines, blueberries and strawberries.)

• Cute jumbo Easter eggs (you can stuff them with yummy treats like the ones above, and make them as healthy as you want. I know our toddler would be delighted to find berries in hers, though it might be a bit messy.)

Basket ideas

We re-use my old Easter basket for our daughter. If we didn’t use that, I’d use a cute gray basket I found with an elephant liner. It sit in her room now, but could easily be emptied for one day as an Easter basket. We didn’t want to have something that is “just” an Easter basket or so flimsy that will quickly end up in the landfill, so we try to re-use cute ones we already have.

If you don’t want to use a basket, you may want to consider using a decorative storage caddy that can also be used to hold toys, cloth diapers or other items in the child’s room. We got this for my toddler’s Totoro/Miyazaki/outdoors room soon after she was born, and I can definitely see using it as an Easter basket for a baby or toddler. (Just note that it has a wipeable lining– I keep it on a higher shelf to hold toys we keep in rotation for our little toddler since I don’t want her trying to stick her head in it. It also keeps her toy collection new and interesting when we rotate them.)

Stuffing an Easter basket for a baby or toddler

Neither babies nor toddlers need very many items, and they aren’t old enough to notice or care if one of their friends gets one or two more items than them. It’s a great age!

We like to select a few items we think our kid will like and use the most and put those in her reusable basket. At this stage, our kid likes to dress up, color, work on puzzles and play outside, so we found items that cater to those interests. Since we sit through a lot of medical appointments, mainly for my husband, we found some activities she can use while we wait.

Don’t worry about adding a lot of items– go for quality, not quantity. Your kid will probably love it!

Are you putting any of these items in an Easter basket for a baby or toddler? What will be in your child’s basket?