Easter Baskets!

RiteAid sent me (Sheryl - My Atlanta Mommy) a heads up on their Easter Bunny specials today (thanks Eric) which made me do a double take at the calendar - is Easter REALLY just a few days away. Yipes! I am way under prepared for the festivities. The flu went through our family like the plague and set my schedule waaay back!

So it's especially good to know that RiteAid has many of the supplies I'll need to make sure our last minute Easter Baskets can still be filled with all sorts of great deals. They even made a few suggestions which I have included along with my little list of things of baskets I have done in the past.

Finding all the personal goodies for each of my boys is something I enjoy doing. One can never be to old for Santa or the Easter Bunny in our house, it is just the basket and the goodies filling them that grow up.

I say basket, but really I've used anything and everything. I look for "baskets" which can be used again and look good doing it. Many of the baskets over the years have been based upon where we were going or what we were doing over Spring Break. Here are a few of the things I have used as a basket and the goodies to fill them over the past 18 years as Assistant to the Easter Bunny:

TODDLER YEARS:

Basket: Small Backpack

Filling: art and craft supplies; homemade play dough; new board book

Basket: Plastic Pail

Filling: All the makings for a phenomenal sand castle, sunscreen, decorated reusable water bottle

For toddlers I was always careful to use items that were non-toxic and when they had infant sibs crawling around, not a choking hazard.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YEARS:

Basket: Plastic tote/briefcase

Filling: Art supplies, mad libs, book from favourite series, personalized pencils, a sketchpad, homemade playdough

Basket: Small wire mesh basket

Filling: Yi-Gi-Oh, Bakugon goodies, deck of cards, diceBasket: Lunch BoxFilling: Note pad and pencil, set of army men, cowboys, animals or whatnot, homemade playdoh

TEEN YEARS:

Basket: Fedor hat
Filling: Shampoo, conditioner, gel, new brush, cologne

Basket: Wallet
Filling: Gift cards to a couple of his favourite places around town, cash, a picture of me holding a sign that says, "make good choices. . . or else!". okay, so I didn't put that last one in, but I think I just might have to fit that in to this years basket :-)

Basket: Small Laundry Basket

Filling: Fun new boxers, new t-shirt, a few plain white socks because we can never seem to have enough of those in our house!

Basket: Small rubbermaid tote with handle

Filling: Car safety items - flare, tire pressure, etc., car cleaning supplies

Rite Aid has all kinds of sample size bath and body products, small electronics, books, magazines and other everyday necessities that make perfect basket stuffers for teens on up to college students.

Of course, all of the "baskets", no matter the shape they take, come with the Basket Essentials:

Peeps - now really, more for the microwave than to be eaten, but a basket tradition all the same.

Chocolate Bunny - what's a basket without one?

Each kids personal candy fave.

A new toothbrush (that Easter Bunny has always been a stickler for healthy teeth!)

If you like the ideas I have suggested, check out Thrifty Fun. They feel the same way I do about finding creative baskets which can be used again and again, as well as filling the baskets with more than just candies. Thrifty Fun has a long list of non-candy suggestions to help fill up the baskets for your children and some creative basket ideas as well.

For a spring theme, Rite Aid stores carry everything from pre-seeded herb pots, upside-down pepper and tomato planters, and even garden tools. You can find high-value coupons on fragrances and other basket stuffers in Rite Aid's weekly circulars, also available in stores and online at http://www.riteaid.com/. For My Atlanta Mommy's coupon match ups for the current RiteAid ad, click here.

Thanks My Atlanta Mommy!

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