I feel like I have been dropping the ball on just about every holiday basically since Thanksgiving, but now that we’re [mostly] settled into the new house I feel like I can finally start getting back into my planning groove!
Sophie is now old enough to actually “open” gifts (and play with them!) which it made me even more excited to put her basket together this year. Here are this year’s picks:
I absolutely LOVE Sophie’s basket… so much so that I would totally use it for home decor throughout the rest of the year! 😅 It’s a bit of an investment piece, but I honestly think it’s pretty enough to repurpose beyond just the Easter holiday!
I did buy this liner for it to use when filling it with Sophie’s treats. I wanted a specific style (simple cream scalloped edge) and thankfully I was able to source one that fit my beloved basket!
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In Sophie’s Basket:
Pajamas
It seems like pajamas are the thing that Sophie grows out of faster than anything else so I find that I end up buying them almost quarterly trying to keep up with her growth spurts. 🤣 These are a the options that she will be receiving in her basket this year — I recommend going a size up in LAKE pajamas! I also linked a few more cuties in the widget below.
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Swimsuit
Growing up in Florida, Easter was THE holiday that our mom would gift each of us with a new swimsuit for the year because it was typically around the same time that the weather started to be perfect for swimming again. Even though we don’t have NEARLY the same number of swimming opportunities in the PNW I wanted to carry on the tradition and make sure that Sophie has a swimsuit that fits her for the rare occasions that we do get to go swimming throughout the year. 🤣 Minnow is our all-time favorite swim brand for the whole family! Sharing all of the prints I wish I could stock Sophie’s swimsuit supply with!
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Warm Weather Shoes
As I mentioned in the swimsuit section, we consider Easter to be the official kickoff of the warm weather seasons which means a change in footwear! We will still be wearing rain boots (which continue to be necessary), but I thought that a pair of sandals and some sneakers in Sophie’s next shoe size (because she grows so damn fast 🤣) would be great for her basket too! Sophie LOVES clothes and shoes (her mother’s daughter 💁🏼♀️😂) so while these items may be considered “boring” gifts for some, I know she’ll be super excited about them.
Native shoes are a staple in our household and are especially excellent for toddlers as they are lightweight, cushy, and easy to clean. Sophie just needed the next size up because she’s grown out of last year’s pair.
I also wanted to get some sandals for her this year so I just ordered a few sport sandal styles (with necessary heel strap) which I’ll share more details about if we like them! I’ll link all the ones I shopped below.
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Tubby Todd Soap
We have used Tubby Todd products since Sophie was born — we love the brand and how effective yet gentle their products are. I couldn’t resist grabbing a bottle of this seasonal Lemon Créme scent. Sophie’s bottle of Coconut Vanilla Hair & Body Wash from last year is nearly gone so I jumped on a bottle in this returning seasonal fragrance! Admittedly, this is just as much for me as it is for Sophie (haha!), but I am calling it an Easter gift for her nonetheless. Their fizzy bath bombs are also so fun and would make a great Easter basket option!
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Bubbles
Soooo excited to finally have a backyard / outdoor space and blowing bubbles will be such a fun activity for Sophie to do out there. I mean, who doesn’t love bubbles? This big tube / wand is especially great for toddlers because they can wave the wands around and still get a decent amount of bubbles even if they haven’t totally mastered blowing air from their mouth yet.
I also recommend a soap refill for the adults because of the inevitable toddler spilling. 😉
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CRAYONS
I think that Sophie has finally reached the age where things don’t ALWAYS go directly in her mouth and she actually has an interest in exploring / playing with them so I’m excited to introduce her to crayons. Crayola crayons are hands-down the best in terms of quality and color selection and I love this easy-for-tiny-hands-to-use shape while they are fine-tuning their motor skills (and it doesn’t hurt that they’re in the shape of an egg for this holiday! 😉). I considered just getting a long ream of paper, but ultimately decided to get this pad instead because it’s the perfect size for her little helper tower table. We will likely get the ream of paper as she gets older and maybe expresses more of an interest in making art!
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Fisher Price Little People sets
Sophie already has the house and school bus, so I thought I would just get her some more Little People packs (the Barbie set for #GirlPower) and some farm animals to use in the Melissa & Doug barn that my mom kindly bought for her first birthday. I think that the farm animals that come with the M&D barn are super cute, but the Little People versions of the animals will be better for handling at her current stage.
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Matching / Sorting Eggs Game
I always enjoy incorporating a little Montessori play into Sophie’s toy collection. This may be a little bit advanced for her right now (regarding aligning the shapes), but it was so cute I couldn’t resist. We’ll just adjust for her current developmental stage by learning colors / shapes and generally matching them (with a parent helping to put the pieces together).
Other Ideas:
(items that Sophie already has and loves, but would be great for an Easter basket!)
Spinners / Pop-it’s
These are good little “filler” items for an Easter basket. Sophie enjoys playing with these stuck to windows, glass doors, the front of the refrigerator, her high chair tray, etc. They’re great to have on the go too because those suction cups stick to just about any flat surface which is great for hotel rooms, restaurant tables, airplane windows, and so on.
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Squigz
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Stuffed animals
I know this is kind of cliché, but Sophie really does love her bunny… she snuggles with her, “puts her to bed”, and brings her everywhere. Jellycat stuffed animals are cute, ultra soft, and heirloom quality; I can’t recommend them more.
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Lovevery subscription
I would say that one of my biggest parental regrets is not starting this subscription sooner. The toys are perfectly curated for Sophie’s development stages, are beautiful / high quality, and just arrive on our doorstep (instead of me having to research and source toys every 3 months). I can’t recommend these toys enough and they make such great gifts!
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Easter-related books
We always want to foster a love of reading with Sophie so it’s important to us to continue getting her books. It’s especially fun to get books related to holidays because then she’ll make observations when we’re out “in the wild” and can spot things and interact with them after having learned about them in her books!
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Highlights subscription
I think this suggestion makes it into all of my child gift roundups because we’ve loved them so much. We received the subscription as a super thoughtful gift and have enjoyed every issue we’ve received! They’re especially great for tossing into your bag for travel / on-the-go as they take up hardly any space but are chock-full educational information and activities. They’re also practically indestructible, and if you’re a parent you know how it goes with books… inevitably there’s a lot of tearing. These may sustain wrinkles, but are totally baby and toddler proof!
We plan to also tuck a few applesauce / smoothie pouches into Sophie’s basket in lieu of candy! We aren’t opposed to giving her sweets, but we’re going to hold off on candy until they don’t pose such a choking risk. Maybe we’ll utilize her toddler helper tower and bake some carrotcake muffins together as a little festive treat instead!
Hoppy Spring, friends!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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