Easter might just be the best day of the year for children. Chocolate for breakfast, chocolate for lunch and for some, chocolate for dinner! With family and friends giving out chocolate bunnies and eggs all day long, a child can end up with a serious sugar overload. Of course Easter and chocolate come hand in hand but there are some alternatives we as parents can try so that the amount our kids consume in one day is reduced.
In our household, the Easter bunny only brings one big egg and a handful of little ones as fillers for the kids baskets. We then go in with some alternatives that I think balance the baskets out pretty well. Especially considering that throughout the day children will receive a chocolate surprise from each grandparent and every aunt and uncle at the family gathering. Then we have cousin chocolate swaps and Easter egg hunts and my goodness the overload is crazy!
Reducing the amount of chocolate the kids consume isn’t just for our benefit as parents, my children don’t generally consume much sugar at all so when Easter rolls around they end up with sugar highs that are too much for them to handle. Not to mention when they start coming down off the sugar and crashing. With these alternatives below, we can help teach our kids
Chocolate alternatives for easter baskets
- Winter pj’s
- A book to read
- A keepsake or plush Easter toy
- Easter ears
- Winter throw blanket
- Slippers for winter
- and my favourite, a new toothbrush!
The toothbrush idea is something we started a few years ago and it’s my favourite! It reminds my kids of the sugar in the chocolate they’re getting and that they need to look after their teeth, especially when consuming sugar.
What to do with leftover chocolate
There’s no way you can really reduce the amount of chocolate they get from family members so we have a few tricks we use to help the kids with a healthier balance.
- The kids have a container each and all chocolate received is broken up into their own containers and popped into the fridge.
- Chocolate can be consumed at any point AFTER meals are eaten, for up to 3 days after Easter day.
- After 3 days, left over chocolate is then used to make choc chip muffins. Then they’re frozen in an air tight container for school lunches, afternoon tea etc. (The kids help do this every year as part of their Easter activities)
Whichever way you decide to let your child handle their overload of Easter chocolate, I’m sure there’s also one option that most of us parents would be lying if we said we haven’t done. Help the kids by eating some yourselves!
Happy Easter Everyone! Be sure to check out our blog for more tips and tricks.
