DIY Easter Basket Challenge

by Jenn @ Frugal Upstate on April 21, 2011

When I was challenged to come up with a DIY Easter Basket idea for Walmart I had big plans.  I thought I’d make my own fabric and clothesline basket~ after all Walmart sells clothesline and fabric.  Or I’d buy a basket and dress it up with spray paint and glitter, or foam letters and yarn. . .

Yeah.  Well that didn’t happen.  Life, as it so often does, got busy.  We had Princess’s Birthday.  Her Birthday Party.  My Birthday, Spring Break. A trip to Grandmas.  All within 3 weeks.  Just not a lot of crafting time.

So what DID I do?

Well to start with I grew my own Wheatgrass to use in the kids Easter baskets instead of that fake plastic stuff.

Then I headed off to Walmart with my $15 in hand to see what I could do to make a great Easter basket for my kids.  I found all sorts of great stuff~let’s face it, Walmart has TONS of great ideas and items for Easter.  Candy of course, but over in the seasonal aisles I found the start of the summer outdoor fun items.  I picked up a bubble wand, a jump rope and a box of sidewalk chalk-all for about a dollar each.

All of this. . . for $15

Now comes the *slightly* DIY part.  First, of course, I put the pot of grass into the basket.  Next I dug out my clear plastic treat bags that I bought in the cake decorating/party aisle at Walmart during Christmas time.  I packaged some of my gingerbread cookies in them-but had plenty left over.

Remember these?

Using these little babies I can turn a couple of bags of candy into enough to fill two Easter Baskets.  I was especially excited to find these cool Jet Puffed Marshmallows shaped like bunnies and be able to package them up into separate baggies.

How cute are these?

So once my dividing was done. . .

I not only had enough for an Easter basket

Plenty of stuff in there! Can you see the real grass?

I had enough for a second basket with more left over for mom and dad.

Repackaging the candy into smaller bags served two purposes.  #1, it saved me money-I was able to buy less candy overall.  #2, it automatically kept the amount of candy each kid was receiving under control, while still letting the baskets look full!

How do you help keep Easter Basket costs under control?

Disclosure: This post is part of a campaign I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation and product for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own. 
****This is a sponsored post****

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Janelle April 21, 2011 at 8:45 am

My little guy is only 6 months of age, so NO CANDY. I created two new graphic tee shirts for him, which I hand crafted. I used a white hand me down shirt and dressed it up a bit. I also bought practical items he will use in the next couple of months:mum-mum rice cakes, a sippie cup, teething rings, and I got him a frog bunny stuffed animal. Nothing to complicated and I had a great time creating the shirts.

Reply

Becki Foster April 21, 2011 at 12:08 pm

Along with a small amount of candy, my children (who are grown now) received practical items like new toothbrushes, floss, pens or pencils, a pack of fancy panties, bubbles, coloring books, crayons, etc. Similar to what they got in their Christmas stockings! They are now carrying on the tradition with my grandchildren.

Reply

jennifer April 21, 2011 at 12:09 pm

I save the colored envelopes that cards are sent in, then I put them through the shredder. Green envelopes from Christmas and /or St. Pat’s Day become grass for Easter baskets. I love to find free samples in my mail box so I visit the ALL YOU site everyday. I put some of the samples in Easter baskets and in Christmas stockings.

Reply

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: