10 ideas for filling the kids' Easter baskets

Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 11 2008 9:54 am

The Easter Bunny is coming to town but it doesn't mean a mom has to fill the kids' baskets with chocolate eggs and sugary yellow chick-shaped Peeps. Here are 10 ideas for sprucing up the kids' Easter baskets without giving them a sugar buzz before church:

• FurReal Friends Baby Duckling, $14.99 at amazon.com and Target.

Just like a real duckling, this mechanical fuzzy yellow bird flaps his wings and makes little quacking noises. Kids can feed the duckling a bottle, but there's no poo to clean up, unlike with a real duckling that often seems like good idea at Easter but turns out to be a lot more work than the Easter Bunny thought.

• Carrot jump rope, $3.99 at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores.

This green and white striped jump rope with two plastic orange carrots in place of handles will have the kids jumping like bunnies.

• Doodle Pro, $5.99 at Target stores and www.target.com.

A Doodle Pro shaped like an egg will be a favorite year round. It's the perfect size to tuck into mom's handbag or to keep in the back of the car for road trips.

• Splat Back! Egg, two for $5 at Arizona Mills in Tempe or www.splatback.com.

It looks like a clear egg, with a yellow yolk floating inside. But slam this sticky ball against any surface and it flattens like a fried egg before returning in seconds to its original shape. There's also a cute white bunny, too, but it just doesn't seem right to slam the little creature into a pancake.

• It's Happy Bunny Does Su Doku by Jim Benton, $4.99 at Borders and www.borders.com

"Yay! They make my brain hurt" says It's Happy Bunny of the puzzles in this book sure to please tweens and teens. The cartoon character is popular with kids and now he wants them to do math. This paperback offers page after page of mind-bending grids, along with helpful advice from It's Happy Bunny.

• Junie B., First Grader, Dumb Bunny by Barbara Park, $11.99 at Borders and www.borders.com.

Junie B. is an Arizona favorite since the author lives in Paradise Valley. In this book, Junie B. goes to an Easter Egg Hunt at her friend Lucille's mansion. The winner gets a play date to swim in Lucille's heated indoor swimming pool, but Junie B. is slowed by her oversized pink bunny costume.

• The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town, DVD, $12.99 at www.amazon.com.

From the same crew that wrote and directed the classic Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, this Easter staple narrated by Fred Astaire will be a hit with parents who remember watching it in the 1970s. The hour-long story teaches kids about the origins of such Easter traditions as egg hunts, egg rolling contests and bonnets.

• Bunny T-shirt, $5 at Target stores and www.target.com.

This pink T-shirt for girls features a bunny outlined in rhinestones. A pale turquoise blue shirt for toddlers features a picture of two bunnies with the words "Best bunnies" beneath for $3.99.

• Funny Bunny Feet by Roberta Edwards, $9.99 at Barnes & Noble stores and www.barnesandnoble.com.

In this chunky board book, adorable bunnies don't just hop but also bebop, twist and shout. Boxed with the cutest little yellow socks with bunny faces on the toes. For ages 1 to 4.

• Little People Easter Train by Fisher-Price, $34.95 at Toys R Us and www.toysrus.com.

The teeter-totter in the middle car goes up and down while the Easter basket in the caboose spins around. Kids can press down on the conductor in the engine car to hear a springtime tune. The three-car train comes with a conductor, two Little People friends, bunny and Easter basket.