Use these eco-friendly Easter basket ideas and natural green living tips to create Easter baskets children will love!
Here’s a list of Eco-friendly Easter basket ideas and tips that make it easy to create high-quality Easter baskets for kids. If you are tired of cheap plastic store-bought Easter baskets that are filled with too much candy and other junk children don’t need, you’ve come to the right place. Reduce your carbon footprint and make your children happy on Easter morning with the eggcellent eco-friendly Easter basket ideas below. You might also enjoy this list of Family Easter Traditions.
Scroll down for a list of Eco-Friendly Easter basket ideas that make it easy to give children everything they want and more on Easter morning. This post includes links to step-by-step DIY project tutorials to learn how to make upcycled Easter baskets with recycled materials, organic Easter candy, natural Easter gifts, and eco-friendly Easter toy ideas. Use these eco-friendly tips and ideas to create natural Easter baskets filled with natural Easter toys and gifts that your children are sure to enjoy! Or look at this list of Easter art projects and painting ideas for kids.
Related: How to make an Easter Tree
How to make Natural Eco-Friendly Easter Baskets
Follow these simple tips to make gorgeous eco-friendly DIY Easter Baskets. On this list below you can find a few simple eco-friendly Easter guidelines. You probably use some of these eco-friendly ideas in your home or classroom. However, the list of Easter basket ideas below can help you make your Easter baskets and celebrations more eco-friendly.
- Reduce consumption, or buy less.
- Reuse. (Shop at thrift stores/garage sales/craigslist to find gently used Easter Baskets you can recycle.)
- Handmake, recycle or upcycle. (Learn how to make Easter baskets with recycled materials with this list of DIY Easter basket ideas.)
- Make or buy natural Easter basket supplies, foods, treats, crafts, and eco-friendly toys for Easter baskets.
- Scroll down to find out how to use these eco-friendly Easter ideas in several different specific easy ways to make natural Easter baskets that children will Love!
Related: Easter Art Ideas Kids LOVE!
How to Make an Easter Basket Eco-Friendly
Reusing old Easter baskets, or purchasing gently used baskets from thrift stores and garage sales is one of the many great options for making eco-friendly DIY Easter baskets. There are lots of beautiful used baskets available at thrift stores. But we recommend getting them early, or in the off-season, because they tend to sell out fast!
We have a few beautiful woven rattan Easter baskets that we store and reuse each year. One of our Easter baskets was handed down to us. While we found the other at a garage sale. You can see both in the photograph below.
Another easy and fun eco-friendly alternative is making DIY Easter baskets. Learn how to up-cycle one from something you would ordinarily get rid of or throw into the recycle bin or trash can. Check out this fun list of upcycled DIY Easter baskets made with recycled materials for lots of great ideas! You might also enjoy this list of Natural Green Living Tips to share with children.
Related: Spring Nature Table Ideas
How to Make Easter Grass Eco-Friendly
I don’t know about you, but I can not stand plastic Easter grass. But thankfully, when my daughter was an infant, I found recycled paper Easter grass that I store to reuse year after year. And, ten years later I am happy to report that it is still in perfect condition!
Alternatives to plastic Easter grass include:
- play silks or scarves,
- fabric or yarn scraps,
- paper Easter grass or shredded recycled paper (put scraps of colored construction paper through a paper shredder, or cut and crumple it),
- or anything else that would work from around your home or classroom.
Use Natural Fabrics to Make Natural DIY Easter Basket Liners
In the photograph above, the Easter basket on the left has a hand-sewn cotton liner and play silks for grass, while the Easter basket on the right has 100% recycled paper Easter grass and a play silk basket liner.
We like using play silks to make eco-friendly DIY Easter baskets the best because they can be used in three creative ways for Easter. First, use play silks as 1) an Easter basket liner, or 2) Easter grass. And after Easter is over, invite children to use the play silk from their Easter basket as 3) an open-ended toy for imaginative play for several years to come!
How to Use a Play Silk as an Easter Basket Liner
We prefer to use play silk scarves made with real silk to those made with polyester or nylon. For this reason, we like to purchase Sarah’s Silks. They have play silks available in tons of gorgeous colors and color combinations for lots of different occasions including Easter. Scroll down to learn how to make an Easter basket liner with a natural play silk or a piece of scrap cloth as shown in the photograph below.
Related: Easter Egg Decorating Ideas
How to make an Easter Basket with a Natural Fabric Liner
Making eco-friendly Easter baskets with a large piece of scrap fabric or a play silk basket liner is easy, looks gorgeous, and is eco-friendly–woot! Gather the natural Easter basket materials and follow the simple step-by-step instructions below to learn how to turn a play silk into a beautiful basket liner for an Easter or gift basket.
Eco-Friendly Easter Basket DIY Supplies:
- Re-use an old Easter basket, make a DIY Easter Basket, or purchase a basket made with natural materials to use as an easter basket.
- Find a square or rectangular piece of fabric or play silk large enough to stretch across and fit inside the eco-friendly Easter basket to use as a liner.
Step-By-Step Eco-Friendly Easter Basket Instructions:
- First, tie two corners of a natural play silk (or another piece of fabric made with natural materials) around the handle of a natural, homemade, or recycled Easter basket.
- Then, tie the remaining two corners of the fabric around the handle of the Easter basket on the opposite side of the basket. (The natural fabric does not have to lie straight. Rumpled fabric sitting on the bottom of the basket is fine as long as there is enough of it to stretch across the sides basket to cover it, and fit inside.)
- Next, wrap the edges of the play silk or scrap fabric around the outside of the basket as best you can, and tuck the remainder into the Easter basket.
- Fill the Easter basket with recycled paper Easter grass, or another play silk or two, if desired (optional).
- And finally, fill the Easter basket with homemade Easter gifts (like these cute bead bunny crafts), natural eco-friendly Easter toys, and fresh local Easter foods and treats from your favorite natural food store, farmers market, or local roadside stand. Or, look at the excellent list of natural, organic, and eco-friendly Easter basket gift ideas below!
Related: Watercolor Surprise Easter Egg Art
Natural, Organic, and Eco-Friendly Easter Basket Gift Ideas
Fill children’s Easter baskets with natural options such as handmade or eco-friendly toys and gifts, organic or homemade treats, kids’ music, books, nature study supplies, art supplies, and more with the list of Easter basket gift ideas below!
- Handmade toys and gifts — We like to put, Easter chicks, bead bunny crafts, and decorated wooden Easter eggs in our daughter’s Easter Basket to reuse every year. And wooden Easter eggs make a great alternative to hard-boiled or plastic eggs for Easter egg hunts. (My daughter loves our wooden Easter eggs and is always just as excited to get them out of the Easter box as she is to get the handmade Christmas ornaments out of storage that we reuse year after year. Creating eco-friendly family habits is egg-citing!)
- Organic Easter Candy – Delicious candy options containing healthier sugar forms than the dreaded corn syrup.
- Spring Books for kids and Books That Teach Important Life Lessons
- Music for Kids that won’t drive you nuts!
- Organic Plush Easter Toys and other natural and eco-friendly Easter toys for kids
- 20 Playdough Recipes for Spring | Fireflies and Mudpies
- A diary or a nature journal
- Nature study supplies
- Easter coloring books
- Art supplies
Related: Easy Bunny Craft
Natural Easter Baskets for Kids (and the Young at Heart!)
Reduce your carbon footprint with these simple eco-friendly Easter basket tips and ideas. Don’t worry–your kids will LOVE them! And, if you have ever wondered how Easter baskets came to be associated with Easter, look at Easter Traditions to Start with Your Family, and don’t forget to hop over to look at our Spring Bucket List of fun spring activities to do with kids!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
Mae says
Awesome ideas. Last year we made music makers with left over Easter eggs. I think it is a better idea not to use them.
nell says
Thanks! I avoid plastic eggs but when we go on Easter egg hunts with groups we end up with some. We have found fun ways to reuse them too!
Livia James says
These tips are very helpful to making baskets more beautiful. Mostly kids love these types of baskets
nell says
I agree, Livia! So glad you appreciate making natural Easter baskets for the kids!
Dennis von EcoYou says
Hey Nell,
thank you very much for your great article!
I decided to continue with searching for present ideas for holidays when I was already busy with it because of Christmas.
I definitely will save your article for easter. 🙂
nell says
Thanks, Dennis! So glad you liked this article with our favorite eco-friendly Easter gift ideas. We have lots of ideas for the holidays too… check out our ultimate family gift guide linked above! In it, we share homemade DIY gift ideas and readymade favorite finds!