Candy Free Easter Baskets

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Easter is an often-underrated family holiday, and making Easter morning special for your kids by putting together the perfect basket from “The Easter Bunny” is always fun. To help you celebrate the occasion, here are some great toys that you’ll love doing with the kids.

Wonderforge, makers of creative children’s games, has created the Disney Matching game. The classic matching game, where you and your child turn over cards, trying to remember where the matching counterpart is, now with your favorite Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell, Donald Duck, and more all dressed up for Easter. This game will not only be a fun Easter treat, but will also give you and your child bonding time while helping to increase his or her memory, response to patterns, and problem solving skills.

For older children, try the new Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Clash Alley Strategy Board Game. With many of the toys, shows, and games from the 80’s making a comeback, todays kids are loving the new TMNT as much as their counterparts just a few years ago. This is a strategy board game, working in 3D to beat the bad guys and rescue April, eat pizza, complete missions, battle bad guys, Krang, and Shredder. Of course, there will be pizza breaks- turtles have to eat. Enjoy helping your child physically build the game and defeat evildoers together.

For more information, go to http://wonderforge.com/

Patch has two adorable games that are the perfect basket stuffers. The Egg O’Bunnies, a springtime take on a barrel of monkeys, is a cute play on a classic toy that kids will love. Kids will enjoy trying to string together a long line of bunnies by the ears, and see if they can beat mom and dad. Try your skill, see who can get the most bunnies or best time. Also a great take-along game, small enough to put in your purse or carry in your coat pocket. We were the only family playing a game together in a local restaurant while we waited for our dinner- everyone else had their smart phones, tablets, and portable DVD players out, even the smallest children. Increase your family bonding time so easily- unplug once in a while and enjoy each other.

Silly Egghead is another switch-up of a classic, where spring creatures replace potato head. Insert the interchangeable parts into the holes to create the animal or animal mash-up of your choice. You can make bunny, pig, or chick- or a mixture of the three. Children and their parents can be crative and use their imaginations to crate animals, and perhaps an Easter or spring story to go along with their creation. Silly Egghead’s top is removable for parts storage and easy take-along fun.

For more information, go to http://www.patchproducts.com/

If your child likes to play dress up (or needs an Easter costume), it can be hard to find costumes that fit older children. Costumes and dress up are not just fun for kids, but help them learn, grow, and develop vocabulary and confidence. Children mimic what they see and hear, role play, and this in turn helps foster creative thinking, socialization, sharing, cooperation, and even problem solving. Hey- that Easter Bunny has a lot of work to do, delivering and painting all those eggs and baskets. How is it going to get done? You and your little bunny can figure it out. Want to be a chick, duckie, or some other spring creature? Act it out- and keep a dress up bin handy. Let your child’s creativity run wild, and the two of you (or more) will be making memories in no time.

For more information, go to http://www.wholesalehalloweencostumes.com/easter/