Celebrating Easter comes with all the hype and hoopla of candy and craze! Pumped up on sugary sweets it’s not how I like to celebrate Easter. Besides, that’s not what Easter is all about. Here are some ideas on how to incorporate some fun and possibly start some traditions with your family that don’t necessarily revolve around and solely focus on bunnies and sugar.

In our area, bluebonnets are in abundance and it’s fun to walk through them, soak in the scent and snap a few photos. This has become one of our traditions since we moved to Texas. In other areas, opt to find a wildflower or native plant center or botanical garden to enjoy the beautiful Spring blooms. You can also spend part of your Easter weekend planting some flower seeds, or for instant gratification, plant some flowers from a local nursery.

Since the reason for the season is celebrating Jesus paying the ultimate debt for our sins and rising again, having books at their reading and comprehension level is also great. Throughout the years, we’ve tried to incorporate a coloring book, sticker and activity book, verse of the day calendar or a new reading book in their Easter baskets.

If you have other kids around your area, see if you can arrange a group egg hunt. We have each family supply a certain number of filled eggs, get a couple moms (or dads) arrive early to a nearby neighborhood park to hide the eggs and invited neighborhood kids to come on out. It’s a great way to spend time outside, get to know your neighbors and it has become something my kids look forward to doing. If you don’t have a neighborhood park, we’ve also taking turn hosting and having hunts in front or backyards and it’s just as much fun. You can even make it a potluck and have egg dyeing or other activities and make a whole day of it!

One year, I started a simple scavenger hunt for the kids to find where their Easter baskets were hidden. I wrote clues on the back of little paper eggs I stayed up making one night while they slept. I keep some of the clues and add different ones each year and up the difficulty as they get older.

To be clear, we don’t completely shy away from some sweet treats in their Easter baskets, but I have found there are many alternatives to filling them and the plastic eggs with things other than only chocolate (that melts in the sun while they hunt for them anyway). Hey, the more I can try to limit the overkill of sugar, the better! Here are a few things that you can fill your eggs and baskets with this Easter.

First, let’s start with some fun “baskets” I found these large eggs filled with smaller eggs to fill at Target for $5 plus I had a digital coupon for an additional 10% off each.

And so that there’s no crazy plastic or paper grass everywhere (and waste) I love getting this edible grass also found at Target for around $2

To fill their baskets, I try to include more snacks like applesauce/veggie pouches, granola bars, fruit snacks, hair clips (for my girl), mini dinosaurs, mini mazes, little kazoos, wind-up race cars, spinning tops, LEGO figurines, fidget toys, mini clackers, stick on tattoos, beaded necklaces, stickers, bug poppers – there are SO many fun little things you can find in the dollar and party supply sections

It’s become a tradition to have bunny buns (cinnamon rolls shaped into bunnies) for Easter morning. I opt for the cinnamon rolls in a can and shape them into bunny buns, because let’s face it, I just can’t do it from scratch!

Sometimes we add faces with fresh fruits.

Last year, we did add some extra sugar when we made little bunny huts using graham crackers, frosting, chocolate coated candies and marshmallow bunnies. The kids did snack a bit, but the overall consensus was that there was a bit too much sugary sweetness, but at least they were fun to build!