Now don't go and think that everything that we did for the kids' Easter baskets was eco-friendly, but we did do a couple of things that were friendly to the Earth and our budget.
First, we reused the baskets from last year. I just stack them on a shelf in the basement after every Easter, and they wait to be used annually. It always amazes me how many people are too bothered to just put something on a shelf! (Here's the math: 4 kids, 18 years each, conservatively estimating $2.99 per basket = $215.28. Yep, I can find the shelf space.)
Secondly, instead of Easter grass, we used shredded paper to fill the baskets. I shred the pre-approved credit card offers I get in the mail anyway, so why not put them to good use? (A side benefit to this is that I'm not vacuuming up that darn Easter grass for six months. I hate Easter grass!) The kids think it's cool to shred the paper and leave the baskets out for the Easter Bunny to fill.
Third, I shop at Goodwill for some of the kids "filler" items. I can pick up paperback books at a steal. My kids love to read!
Lastly, and this isn't as eco-friendly as wallet-friendly, I put a few useful things in their baskets. Pencils, crayons, hair bands for Grace (I should branch out to cool toothbrushes next year!), items that aren't junk. (Really, how much play does a child get out of a wind-up plastic Easter bunny that hops? And how long does that item spend in a landfill after that 3 minutes of play?)
Yes, they still get candy. Yes, they get dyed eggs. I use Russell-Stover chocolate crosses instead of chocolate bunnies - I like to keep Jesus front & center. We reuse our plastic "filler" eggs every year. Hubby insists upon jelly beans every year. In other words, there is no horrid suffering and depravation taking place because we've chosen to be crunchy and thrifty.
1 comment:
Now that's a great idea!!! And I have a shredder full of paper here....I should have read your blog before I did easter baskets :)
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