How To Create A $5 Easter Basket For A Toddler!

This isn't actually my son's first Easter, but it's the first Easter that he'll remember! We wanted to do something special for him each year, that wouldn't take away from the true meaning of Easter. We decided on a little Easter basket. If you've ever searched Pinterest to get inspiration, you know how intimidating those baskets can look. I mean, I'm pretty sure one basket was actually a wading pool filled with toys..CRAZY! 

I decided to challenge myself by giving my Easter basket a $5 budget. Yup, $5! Luckily, I have a great Dollar Tree in town, so this wasn't hard to stick to at all. If you don't have a Dollar Tree in your area, let me explain. Dollar Tree is a store that carries food items, little toys, books, beauty products, etc.. For $1 each! It's probably heaven on earth to a frugalite like myself.

No that isn't a ghost child in the picture. It's my son wanting his toys! :) Guess he wanted to be in the photo shoot, too. I thought this was SO adorable. 

My son's basket is something he can use for more than just Easter decoration. It's a little Spider-Man sand bucket and shovel! He loves bath time, so for his toys I included this Easter ducky and a board book called "Thank You, God" which is not pictured. 

His "eggs" are these adorable race cars that I found. Candy is one of the most expensive things to include in an Easter basket, but I found a way to do it frugally. I bought a 4-pack of jelly beans and used them to fill the eggs. The eggs that the jelly beans didn't cover are being filled with Cheerios and leftover tootsie rolls I had lying around the house. There were about 8 eggs in the package I bought, so it really did fill up his basket nicely.

If you wanted to spend about $5 more, you could fill a bigger basket. Some Dollar Tree items that would be perfect to include in an Easter basket:

•  Craft items like glitter, jewelry kits, special pens
• Snack items like cookies, chips, gum
• Beauty items like body wash, nail polish and makeup
• Toys like cars, dolls, and novelty items
• Decorations like pictures, candles, etc
• Kitchen items for the adult or little chef
• Pet items like collars, treats, dishes, clothes

The possibilities are endless! I might just stick to my $5 per basket budget to keep Easter priorities in check.

What are your frugal Easter basket tips?