Easter Basket Buying Guide for Easter Egg Hunt

We all love an Easter Egg Hunt but how difficult has it become to work out what basket to buy?!  These classic containers are more than just decorative...they are an integral part of the fun!  

These have become more and more elaborate as Easter has become a greater event in our calendar and there is everything from a traditional basket to buckets, bags, crates and more to choose from! However throughout this post I have just referred to them as baskets for ease!  I hope you can forgive me!

To help you through this minefield of choice I have whittled down the key factors for your Easter Basket, ending with my own verdict on what to choose!

Durability 

If you're a parent with young kids you are probably going to be doing an egg hunt of some description for many years to come so investing in something which can be used year on year is probably worth doing.  This doesn't mean that is has to be expensive, however getting something which isn't going to fall apart would be a good choice.  If you are going for something to use again think about being able to clean it...lots of woven baskets it is essentially impossible to clean them, so you may want to consider some sort of liner.

Scale 

You need to consider the goodies you are planning on distributing when thinking about what baskets to buy.  Remember that an Egg Hunt is a Thrilling and fast moving event, you don't want the basket to be piled too high as things will come out of it, and may end in tears!  On the other hand be wary of getting anything too enormous as an easter basket which dwarfs the prizes will make the egg hunt feel much less satisfying.  Getting that balance of filling to size will be crucial.  Buying online it can be easy to see something beautiful and not realise it is tiny!!  Check those dimensions before buying!

Identification 

This is one many parents don't think of, but getting easily identifiable baskets is so important.  These baskets will be containing some highly prized loot!  You don't want any confusion about whose is whose! Ensuring each child has one of a significantly different colour or ensuring it can be really clearly named - I'm talking really noticeable, not written on the bottom in a sharpie so you have to turn it upside down to work out who it belongs to!  This needs to be foremost in your mind when purchasing.

Fit for purpose 

Make the basket fit for the Hunt!  It's really easy to buy something which looks spectactacular...but is a really rubbish egg hunt basket!  You want a big wide opening so goodies can be slung in whilst looking for the next at pace.  It shouldn't require elaborate opening or closing while on the route.  Also you must have a basket with handles, not a traditional round basket without any carrying method like you may use for a hamper.  Those handles also need to be strong and sturdy so not at any risk of ripping or falling off during the activity -crying over spilt milk has nothing on cying over spilt chocolate!

My solution? SEASIDE BUCKETS!

When I say seaside buckets I mean the things you take to the beach with you with a space and make sandcastles with!  Now you can either raid your beach supplies and use them for double duty at easter (love a bit of thrift!) or have a set which you use just for easter.  If you are having big kids you can use a full sized bucket, decorated in some easter theme!

So why do I advocate these?  Firstly they are strong and durable, they have good handles as designed for carrying heavy sand, they come in a range of colours so each child's loot can be easily identified and they are also wipe clean so can be easily kept hygienic to be used for foodstuffs year on year. 

The shape is perfect as they get wider towards the top, meaning less chance of stuff spilling out.  And lastly - they're really cheap!  You could argue they aren't very 'easter' but you can get some lovely easter stickers so each child can personlise their bucket or make it an activity to decorate their bucket in easter theming! 

I think it is easy to over-complicate the easter bucket and spend a lot of money on stuff which is more for looks than for its actual purpose.  No child ever said an easter hunt was rubbish because they didn't have a beautiful basket and that is good to remember!

Do you agree?  What do you think is the best Easter Basket?  Let us know in the comments!

Don't forget to read our 4 part series on the Essential Guide to organising a GREAT Easter Egg Hunt HERE