Its almost a week until Easter. I just finished purchasing everything for my almost 2 year old son, and I thought I would share some of my finds. I took about 2-3 weeks thinking about what he needed and looking for deals. I do not like wasting money on "junk" stuffers that aren't going to last.
Some links are from companies I am an affiliate with and some are not. I may receive a small commission from an affiliate company if you make a purchase but all recommendations are 100% chosen by me and have no extra cost to the reader.
When my kids are really little, I like to get a stuffed bunny, sheep or other springtime stuffed animal. Since Baby Dragon has two stuffed sheep and one really cute, soft bunny, I was thinking about getting something different. Then I saw a Thumper stuffed animal on Amazon! Most boys grow out of getting cute stuffies, so I jumped on the opportunity to get these adorable things. My little dragon loves to "Ugga Mugga" his stuffed animals. (If you don't know what that means you need to be watching Daniel Tiger!) It is so cute! You can also get this adorable book to go with it. *Also, I think I saw a Thumper for $9.99 that looks just a little different at Kohls.com Compare them and see what you think.
Of course, if you have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-loving-toddler, Disney does have multiple plush Easter Minnies and Mickeys. (And, books too!)
I also bought him an egg puzzle/shape matching set. I saw these last year and I wasn't sure if he was quite ready. Now he is a master block builder, puzzle solver, and shape sorter. I thought this was a perfect new challenge for him! It's in theme with Easter AND it will exercise his brain and further his hand-eye coordination.
Continuing with the egg theme, have you seen these? My toddler loves music. He feels it in his body and can't help but dance when he hears a song. He also likes to shake things that make noise. His brother has a pretend Parmesan Cheese shaker and baby dragon loves to shake it and yell, "shake shake."
The next thing I purchased was a spring outfit. My boys are all about dinosaurs and I loved this set from Carter's. I included a girl outfit below also. Bright butterflies are perfect for spring!
My little one also LOVES putting on any type of glasses - from pretend glasses with no lenses to stealing Grandma's reading glasses. And, he recently broke his last pair of Paw Patrol Sunglasses. So, I found some really inexpensive ones here for boys and girls at Children's Place. I am not a Children's Place affiliate, but I feel compelled to give you the best deals with free shipping :)
Cute vehicles are also great for Easter baskets, I linked a few below.
Right when I thought I was done shopping, I saw this. We are planning to do some more planting this year, and I think this pretend set would be a great introduction to planting for 2 year old Baby Dragon. For a 3 year old, I recommend the planting set or wriggle worms which is a fine motor skills building toy! Learning Resources is one of my favorite brands. I firmly believe kids can learn so much through play and Learning Resources has the best materials.
And, of course, every Easter basket needs some art supplies. Baby dragon thoroughly enjoys coloring...everywhere. If he finds a stray crayon, pencil or marker it is on the walls, the window sills, the couch, you name it. My oldest never did this, my middle only occasionally, but this last one...oh my goodness! I think it has to do with the older ones having their own school supplies around now. So, he needs plenty of his own mess free washable art supplies.
Lastly, as I do every holiday, I bought him books. Check out these Spring/Easter books below!
After you get all the other obligatory items like, egg playdough, bubbles, chalk and treats (if any of those are age appropriate for your little one,) what are you going to put all this stuff in? There are SO many creative ideas beyond the basket. (Although there are some VERY cute baskets out there. I love this simple one, and look even a dragon!) I've used the back of a toy dump truck, a new helmet turned upside down, toy storage containers... the list goes on. I've also seen upside down umbrellas, kid-size wheelbarrows and even a kiddie pool made into a basket with a pool noodle handle. Let me know what creative Easter "basket" you come up with!