Thinking Outside of the Basket--Interesting Twists on Easter Treats

Instead of boiling and wasting dozens of fresh eggs or adding plastic eggs to the heap of trash we use and discard yearly, why not consider some alternate items for this year's hunt?

Precious Treats

With the price of silver rapidly falling, silver coins and small silver bars are easily within the reach of most family budgets. If you can only afford a single coin (recent spot prices have dropped to $11-15), you can make this the Grand Finale of your hunt, with special clues to discover it.

If you have several coins, the hunt becomes a hunt for treasure. You can still hide a few eggs, if you feel like the season isn't the same without them, but kids will be just as excited to find real, valuable items as colored eggs.

Gold-tone dollar coins with the faces of the American presidents or Sacajawea allow you to hide inexpensive "gold" coins for kids. You can hide a large number of individual coins instead of one or two costlier silver coins--or add them in addition and extend the hunt. And if a few go missing, the result isn't tragic.

For a lesson on savings, you can encourage kids to put some of their treasure aside in savings.

Add gold chocolate coins to the mix and you can hide treats in even more places or allow younger treasure hunters to feel they are getting equal treatment.

If you have jaded older kids, you want to be really creative and you have a metal detector, you can bury a couple of coins in sand or shallow holes and let them search the area for their reward.

These are great a great option for kids who may need to pass on candy due to a medical restriction or a weight issue. They will still receive a unique treat to mark the holiday, just one without the calories and sugar.

Note to parents: Keep a map of your hiding places, so when you're done, all of the coins will be accounted for.

Substitute for the old-fashioned Easter basket

These baskets are usually made of brilliantly colored plastic that is identifiable as one thing. They quickly become dated and are discarded. Instead, select an alternative "basket" that can serve your kids all year. A shower caddy, tote bucket, even a new school backpack can suffice to hold the treats your children find. Invert a fancy Easter hat for a classier alternative. Even better than cheap plastic junk, these choices are less likely to end up at the bottom of the closet or toybox.

Easter grass ends up stuck to the carpet and in clogs your vacuum cleaner roller for months. Consider using colorful tissue paper or cotton balls if you must line your baskets. A bright scarf, new pajamas or ribbons also make a functional, reusable liner for your baskets.

Make paper eggs to decorate or color egg-shaped pieces of paper to use to celebrate. These remove the worry about salmonella, wasting food or animal rights issues that accompany real eggs.

You can form paper eggs with a papier mache mix over the top of last year's leftover plastic eggs. Once dry, the eggs can be painted or decorated. Cut carefully around the dried paper and you can fill the insides with treats and seal them with clear tape.

Play Games Have Fun offers a number of other ideas for Easter Egg hunts, games and crafts for children.

Make your own Easter baskets instead of paying a lot of money for a wrapped basket that pushes a few items to the top, but is mostly empty. You pay a premium for the fancy wrap. You can fill your own container for far less money and include items your kids may need or appreciate more than a few cheap toys and tons of low-quality candy.

For girls, toss in a few colorful lip gloss tubes or some nail polish. Many of the personal care and pampering products for sale come in bright, happy colors that will dress up a basket. Boys and girls will enjoy card games, dice and small distractions they can share with siblings. A good book is another great idea and can serve as a backing to help keep items from tumbling out of the back of the basket.

For all kids, you can choose necessities that they may need any time of year to fill in the space around candy selections. Colorful erasers, a new toothbrush and floss...Most kids won't feel disappointed and won't see these as anything other than more treats.

Throw a couple of pieces of fruit into each basket. A little box of raisins, an apple or even a juice box will still be a treat, help you fill the space and sneak in some healthy choices alongside the sugar.

Many companies sell Easter treats for kids who have special dietary restrictions. Vegan chocolate, gluten-free and sugar-free candies are available from several Internet sellers, including Chocolate Decadence, Vegan Essentials and Rose City Chocolatiers.

For homemade cakes and seasonal goodies, Pig in the Kitchen has gluten free recipes that can be easily adapted for vegan use.

Avoid giving children live animals for any holiday or celebration. This sends a terrible message about the value of a life and such animals often face homes that lack the basic conditions the animals need. Most do not remain with the children and many wind up dead or in an animal shelter once the holiday passes.

If you must include animals, try a visit to a petting zoo, farm, park or even a local feed store when the brood stock comes in--with the caveat that none of the cute creatures will be coming home.