Ah Easter. Holiday of plastic eggs and plastic grass and cheap plastic little toys that will get thrown away secretly by you when your child tires of them in a month or two. As a parent, I have always looked forward to celebrating holidays with my children, but I have also struggled with guilt over all the material I was putting in the garbage after the holiday. I decided to make some changes so that I could still give them a lovely basket, but with things that actually had purpose and that took less of a toll on the environment. So lets break it down play by play. The images below are Amazon affiliate links, click here if you want to learn more about what an affiliate link is.
Instead of plastic Easter grass (which is actually just the worst, am I right?) There are a few options.
You could go with a paper Easter grass, which will give the same look as the plastic but with a much lower environmental impact. But trees will still get cut down to make paper and it is a little expensive for something that is just going to get all over your house before it eventually all ends up in the garbage. My favorite swap for this is a piece of Spring clothing, I have all girls so I might use a sweet floral print dress in the bottom of the basket. Check your local childrens consignment shops and thrift stores, I also like Ebay for used childrens clothing. Since the grass is green and the wild flowers are blooming this time of year real grass and/or flowers is a fun choice that you will probably be able to find for free. Another idea I LOVE are playsilks in the bottom of the basket. The potential for pretend play with these things is limitless, my girls make them into dresses, capes, baskets, and landscape elements like grass or rivers. We have quite a few pieces of dress up paraphenalia in our home and none get played with as much as play silks.
What about the plastic Easter eggs? Kids do seem to love them. When my oldest daughter was toddler aged the plant based plastic eggs became available. They are a little sturdier and meant to be put away and last many seasons. When they do get too beat up they can be composted.
Another thing we have done is hide only the hard boiled dyed eggs, we have then attached a value based on color and then they can “cash in” their eggs at the end of the hunt. We usually give a dime or a quarter and then have a few special eggs worth more, maybe a dollar. You could also have a basket with treats or coins that they could pick something out of for each egg they find. Some peple argue that hardboiled eggs when left unrefrigerated for too long can cause food poisoning, so just make sure to hide the eggs right before the children hunt for them, and count them before you hide them to assure all the eggs are found.
Now to replace all the plastic junk that will get played with for a few minutes and then end up in a landfill. Here are a few ideas for items that will have a purpose and last longer than a couple of weeks or months. One thing we do is put a set of their own gardening tools into their basket. We grow a lot of food in our garden, and our children have been helping since they were old enough to dig in the dirt. When they are very little we get them a kid version of garden tools, but by the time they are 5 or 6 we go ahead and get them the real thing. The tools work better and we have found they last longer.
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We also like to put a pack or two of seeds in, flowers or one of their favorite vegetables. We have a small farm, so we have also gifted our girls animals for Easter. Baby chicks, ducklings, a bunny, or a bottle lamb. Animals are not toys though, so make sure you (and your child) are ready for a commitment that goes beyond Easter morning. I like to needle felt, so I have also included a needle felted animal, they always love them. Another thing we do is the year our child learns to read, we give them their very own bible in their Easter basket. We write a note in the front for them and have a cover engraved with their name. When they are littler we may put in a children’s bible or a board book or two.
I don’t know about your child, but one of the first things my kids want to do when the weather warms up is hunt for creatures. They want to catch and study bugs, minnows, crawdads, and whatever else they can find. They watch for birds and hunt for wildflowers. We usually put some kind of nature study based gift in their basket: a net, a magnifying glass, a nature journal and colored pencils (so they can sketch out their treasures), or a new field guide. These things will encourage their exploration, and Spring is such a wonderful time to explore. We have a farm so we also really like to gift our children fruit trees, berry bushes, strawberry plants, herbs, or a start for the garden, because we know they will enjoy planting it and watching it grow.
How to go about replacing all the corn syrup and artificial dye filled Easter treats? That is a tough one. There are healthier options out there (organic and made with natural dyes) but many of them are expensive. While I don’t mind spending more on a higher quality gift for an Easter basket, I have a hard time spending a small fortune on candy. That is just me though! The extra cost for the organic chocolate bunny may be totally worth it to you, and on the other hand, if your child eats a few not so great for them treats a few few times a year it probably won’t do much harm (although I always notice an uptick in sickness in our home in the weeks after indulging in sugary holiday treats.) If your child will feel Easter is ruined if they do not get some candy or chocolate then by all means, do not ruin Easter. (Do be aware though, that beyond the health issues with sugar that there are substantial human rights problems regarding the production of sugar and chocolate, try to source fair trade products.)The whole idea here is to try to do a little better, not to be perfect. The idea of perfection is overwhelming and can lead people to feel like they don’t even want to try. So for a zero waste Easter, and a zero waste lifestyle in general, it is important to remember to have grace with yourself. Our generation has grown up during a time where almost everything was condsidered disposable and things that were not disposable were considered to be a hassle. It will take time to shift this mindset. It is impossible to do it all at once. For our Easter treats I might make some homemade energy balls that are heavy on the chocolate. Also sugar or shortbread cookies with pressed edible flowers look so beautiful in a basket and they are inexpensive to make. Homemade gummies are actually no more difficult to make than jello, those can be a fun option too.
What about the Easter Basket itself? I encourage you to stay away from the flimsy plastic buckets that are meant to last one season. Here are some suggestions: Put all their Easter gifts into a tote bag that you, or they, can reuse. One year we gave all out girls tote bags and then I punched a hole in their library cards and attached them to their bags with a piece of ribbon, these became their new library bags. We still use them for this purpose years later. You can buy one basket and use it for many years. Put it away after the holiday and get it out again the next year. You can also put all of their gifts into a bucket or a watering can. Buckets can be used for critter catching. We like to get metal buckets from the feed store instead of plastic because the metal buckets have so many uses on the farm and will last for years. Consider a thrift store to find a used basket, whenever I go there are always plenty. When I am putting together a gift for anyone a used basket from a thrift store or a reusable tote bag are my go tos . I could spend the same amount on one of those disposable gift bags, I would rather give them something they can reuse and perhaps even regift.
I want to add that you know your child best and I encourage you to think of a thoughtful gift that is geared toward their interests. Maybe your child plays an instrument and a book of new music makes sense. Maybe you can gift them an experience like a visit to your local wildlife refuge or a canoe trip. A new hat for Spring. A book that lines up with their interests.
It may seem more expensive to put together a basket that will not be full of items that pollute the planet, and in the short run, it is. I offset this by putting things into the basket that I would want them to have anyway (like their own little gardening tools or high quality colored pencil set) and making it a gift. Also, we have to start being mindful of the consequences of these “cheap” decisions and what the real cost of them is in the long run. When our children are adults and look back, do we want them to remember the giant easter baskets full of items that ended up in landfills, or do we want them to remember parents that made thoughtful choices that had a positive impact on the future of their world? They will grow up and have to live on the planet we have left them, they are going to hold us accountable for the choices we made. We also try to prioritize traditions and activities over material items. Try coming up with a few activities you would like to do with your children every Easter. We dye our eggs with natural dyes, which is a little more time intensive, but the results are beautiful. We also like to make flower crowns, because there tends to be an adundance of wildflowers around Easter. It is also a good time of year to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. And don’t forget acts of service. Putting together a basket for someone less fortunate, visiting a nursing home, or taking some baked goods to local public servants (firefighters, police, hospital staff) are all good ways to give back.
I hope this has given you some ideas that will help you move toward a zero waste Easter. Remember, do what you can, what is in your budget, and what makes sense for your family. Do you have some good ideas that were not included here that you would like to share? Please let us know! Wishing you a lovely holiday!
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