Updated: 2/4/2020 With Easter only a few days away, there’s still a lot of preparation needed to make this Easter one of the best for your grandchildren. But how do…
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A Healthier Easter for Your Grandchildren
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Holiday Dental & Health Tips
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Updated: 2/4/2020

With Easter only a few days away, there’s still a lot of preparation needed to make this Easter one of the best for your grandchildren. But how do you do that? Buy a lot of candy? That’s the typical fallback, but there are actually many ways to make this Easter a little healthier while still allowing your grandchildren to have a great time.

How to Have a Healthier Easter

  1. Easter Egg Hunts. Take your grandchildren to multiple Easter egg hunts this year. It’s a fun way for them to be active. Look for Easter egg hunts in your community, or host one yourself. Make sure you have good boundaries set so kids don’t end up where they’re not supposed to be.

  2. Homemade Easter Brunch. Some families like to go out for lunch on Easter, but one healthier recommendation to consider is having a homemade Easter brunch. Cook some healthier food, have the family over and enjoy your time together. You’ll probably save money this way too, especially if you have everyone bring something.
  3. Be Like the Easter Bunny. Bunnies like carrots, don’t they? Tell your grandchildren about how much the Easter Bunny likes eating carrots and they may want to eat them too!
  4. Take Care of Their Oral Health. Whether you stuff their whole Easter basket with candy (not something I recommend) or if you just have a few pieces of candy in the basket with some of the other items listed in this article, make sure you are taking care of their oral health.
  5. Make a Healthier Easter Basket. Fill their Easter baskets and Easter eggs with fun treats and toys that won’t rot their teeth or detract from their health. Here are some ideas:

Entertainment

  • Movie tickets
  • Movies
  • Books
  • Comic books
  • Magazines

Toys

  • Tonka trucks or Hot Wheels (depending on their age)
  • Silly string
  • Legos
  • Play-Doh
  • Barbies
  • Silly Putty
  • Action Figures
  • Slinky
  • Blocks
  • Magnetic Letters/Numbers

Games/Sports

  • Baseball cards
  • Video games
  • Sport bats and balls
  • Activity books
  • Frisbees
  • Puzzles
  • Travel card games and board games

Summer Activity Essentials

  • Jump rope
  • Chalk
  • Bubbles
  • Seed packets
  • Gardening tools and kits
  • Watering can
  • Water balloons
  • Water guns
  • Pool toys
  • Sunglasses
  • Beach toys
  • Flip flops
  • Beach towels
  • Bathing suits
  • Flash light/other camping gear equipment
  • Kites
  • Sunblock
  • Hula Hoop
  • Binoculars

Hobbies

  • Science Kits
  • Craft Kits
  • Knitting/crochet needles and yarn
  • Crayons
  • Markers
  • Coloring books
  • Watercolors
  • Finger paints
  • Stencils
  • DIY wooden airplane kits

Food

  • Raisins
  • Fruit snacks
  • Silly straws
  • Jerky
  • Goldfish crackers
  • Sippy cups
  • Trail mix
  • Pretzels

Personal Hygiene

  • Bath toys
  • Bubble bath
  • New toothbrush
  • Hair accessories
  • Nail Polish
  • Makeup

Clothes and Accessories

  • Socks
  • Slippers
  • Jewelry
  • Hats
  • Dress-Up Sets

Other

  • Stuffed Animals
  • Headphones
  • Temporary tattoos
  • Gift cards
  • Stickers
  • Character Band Aids

(Source: https://savingdollarsandsense.com/easter-basket-stuffers/)

You don’t have to keep the Easter baskets and Easter eggs completely candy free—a few treats won’t hurt—but this will give you some other options for their Easter basket and Easter eggs. Instead of an entire basket full of candy, give them a few pieces of candy and some of these other fun gifts. They won’t miss the candy with these items in their place.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a lot of ways to make this Easter a little healthier. It all starts with a slight change in tradition. We’ve changed many traditions throughout the centuries. Did you know pretzels were originally given out at Easter? Many people thought the twists of a pretzel resembled arms crossed in prayer. Hot cross buns (a special sweet bun made with currant and raisins) used to be an earlier Easter treat as well. They were made by European monks and given to the poor at Lent.

Here are some other fun Easter facts:

  • In 2012, Americans spent nearly $2.1 billion on Easter candy.
  • Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps every Easter season.
  • Back in 1953, it took 27 hours to make a Marshmallow Peep. Now it takes 6 minutes.
  • Nearly 16 billion jellybeans are consumed every Easter.
  • 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made every year.

(Source: https://www.infoplease.com/spot/eastercandy1.html)

How will you make your grandchildren’s Easter healthier?

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Natasha is 1Dental’s managing editor and copywriter, focusing content on dental and health news, advice and tips straight from the experts. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has since been a book editor and now copywriter and managing editor on dental and health. You can find her on Twitter and all of 1Dental’s social networks.

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3 Comments

  2. That is what I did this year for my son’s easter basket. He will enjoy toys far more than the candy and will last longer. He did however get some peeps (so mom could have couple) and of course chocolate bunny.

    Reply

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