Handmade Heirloom Easter Basket Traditions

Begin a new family tradition by creating handmade heirloom Easter basket gifts for your little ones.

Easter Traditions

We love holiday traditions at Blythe House. I enjoy the decorating, the special baking and cooking, the hosting, and especially the giving! As a maker and artist, I’m always creating things to gift. Holidays are the best time to gift the things that I love to make, especially to my kids.

I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point between my childhood and now, the simple Easter basket tradition has inflated to some enormous commercial monstrosity. The stores start bringing out all the tacky, artificially bright Easter things in February, while here in Canada we still have mountains of snow on the ground. I don’t find it very cheerful, in fact, not to sound too “Charlie Brown-ish”, I find it downright depressing. Gone are the days when a few chocolates and a simple treat or two would be enough to thrill a small child.

A Return to Simplicity

Lately though, it seems the Mother’s have had enough of the commercialism and are retreating back to simpler traditions, which I think is amazing. If you feel queasy about buying disposable trinkets to delight your little ones, only to throw it all away a few weeks (or days) later, you’re in the right place. It’s time to bring back handmade traditions. Who’s with me?!

Pictured here are two of Oak and Marlow’s FABLE COLLECTION CRITTERS MOD PATTERN and the HEIRLOOM EASTER EGGS- FREE EMBROIDERY PATTERN and the FREE PRINTABLE EASTER GIFT TAGS

Heirloom Easter Eggs

It’s ideal to start traditions when your children are little of course, but it’s never too late, so I hope you’re encouraged to start a new one this year.

I decided long ago when my oldest was still very young, to not make Easter baskets a huge expensive ordeal, but rather to fill a few plastic eggs with chocolate, a marshmallow “peep” or two, a chocolate Easter bunny, and maybe a book. Then I would add something handmade. Some years it was an Easter accessory, like a hairbow or a bowtie. One year it was fabric puzzles for the boys and some homemade jewelry for the girls. Now, for the last several years, I’ve painted each of my kids a special personalized, fillable wooden Easter egg to slowly replace the plastic ones. I’ve kept this tradition for many years, and now my big kids are still excited to see the special egg I’ve painted for them each year. The last couple of years, I’ve started making them fillable, embroidered fabric Easter eggs. GET MY FREE PRINTABLE EMBROIDERED EASTER EGG PATTERN HERE.

Both types of handmade Easter eggs are wonderful because they don’t break, I can reuse them year after year, they look beautiful set out in their baskets, and my kids will each have an heirloom collection to use and pass on to their own families some day.

Handmade Gifts

Besides the Handmade Heirloom Easter Eggs, I love to add a handmade gift to an Easter basket. This is where my friend Jocelyn of OAK AND MARLOW, comes in. Jocelyn and I have been friends since childhood, and she’s always awed me with her artistic skills and creativity. Over the years we’ve had lots of opportunities to collaborate creatively, so it was so fun to be able to dream up some handmade Easter basket ideas for you, together.

If you’ve dabbled in the world of crochet at all, you’ve probably already made one of Jocelyn’s beautiful crochet patterns. Like this sweet BETH BUNNY PATTERN or BALLET BRIE MOUSE PATTERN both from the FABLE COLLECTION. Not only do the patterns produce beautiful little creatures, they’re sure to become family heirlooms and they are pretty quick to crochet for yourself. They’re also the ideal size to fit in an Easter basket and for little ones to snuggle up to. You’re going to want to head over to OAK AND MARLOW to take a look at all the amazing crochet patterns that she’s designed.

DIY Friendly

All of Jocelyn’s crochet patterns are beginner friendly and so loveable! Any one of them would make the perfect addition to any Easter Basket. My kids have all fallen in love with them and my ten year old daughter was inspired to learn how to crochet by following the famous MABLE CHICKEN pattern (Which, by the way, would also be adorable in an Easter Basket!).

Jocelyn is also incredibly generous, she’s created these beautiful FREE PRINTABLE EASTER GIFT TAGS that are the perfect tags for gifting or for your child’s Easter Basket.

Sometimes all you need is something little, and these ITTY BEATTIE BUNNIES and MINI MABLE CHICKENS fit snugly in little chubby hands. They are also cleverly designed to fit perfectly inside another one of Jocelyn’s creations, the FREE HATCHING CARROT CROCHET PATTERN. You can bet my youngest will be getting one of those chubby mini Mable chickens in her Easter basket this year!

Hand Painted Peg Dolls

Of course I can’t talk about handmade heirloom Easter gifts without mentioning my peg dolls or “peeps” as l like to call them. I’ve been painting and designing wooden peg dolls for years and I’ve also created a guide for painting “the Spring Fairies”. GET THE SPRING FAIRY PATTERN HERE.

I designed these little Spring Fairies several years back. This year I thought it would be fun to paint them in the Jumbo version and gift them to my youngest in her Easter basket. They’re the sweetest little heirloom toys that never go out of style and the mini ones even fit inside a fillable wooden or fabric Easter egg. The “Spring Fairies” are such a joy to create. I’ve included the entire supply list needed in the PATTERN HERE. They can be painted easily in about three to four hours. Don’t you think you’re little ones would be thrilled to receive something handmade by “Mommy”?

Here the SPRING FAIRIES and the BRIE BALLERINA co-exist happily together in a girly Easter Basket.

A New Tradition?

So are you convinced? Are you inspired to make something by hand for Easter this year? Will it be a fillable fabric Easter egg, or a mini chubby crocheted bunny or, do you have another handmade Easter tradition? I’d love to hear about your creations in the comments!

Happy Easter, and Happy Making!

Lindi Joe