So you're saying you don't fill the baskets with mountains of candy, so what do you fill it with??? Here are a few ideas that we have done in the past (this year's is still being worked on):
0-18 Months Old:
- Baby food
- Board books
- Finger foods (yogurt melts, Puffs, crackers)
- Onesies
- Socks
- Sippy Cup
- Light up toy(s)
- CD with kids music or lullabyes
- Cabbage Patch Cuties
- Stuff animals
18 month old - 3 year old:
- Books
- Blanket
- Duplos
- Little People
- Hex Bugs (3+ years)
- Play Doh (I am actually not a huge fan of Play-Doh because it crumbles and smears all too easily into the carpet. I prefer Crayola model magic above all else but it's pricier)
- Play-Doh accessories
- Fisher Price Wheelies
- Dress up clothes (3+ years)
- Purses/bags/backpacks: toddlers love to pack things away in bags. Don't ask me why, but the bin of bags are the most played with toys in our entire house
- Bath toys: squirters, bath crayons, paints, etc.
4+ years:
- Legos
- Camelbak water bottle
- Imaginext figurines or playsets
- Easy reader books
- A new bike (yes expensive, but it's also the time of year when parents realize that junior('s) have outgrown last year's bike....just sayin')
- Stickers
- Melissa and Doug art activities: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Rainbow-Garden-Through/dp/B009B7F6EI/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1396466935&sr=8-23&keywords=melissa+and+doug+art
- Wii Sports Resort (our 5 1/2 LOVES these games and I love that he's not sitting around blankly staring at a screen)
- Sport equipment (for the younger crowd, there's always Little Tikes first sports equipment packages, but by the time they're 4 years old, most kids have outgrown that and in need of the next step of sport equipment. Baseball glove/bat/ball, basketball, etc.)
- Camping items
- Comic books
- Build Your Own kits (check out Lowe's or Wal-Mart for decent selections such as bird houses, cars, trains, and more)
- Art supplies
- Fruit (apples, oranges, and the take along applesauce packets are favorites here)
- Starburst jelly beans: Best. Jelly beans. Ever.
- DVD (I highly recommend any of the Leap Frog dvd's)
- Outside toys/activities: sidewalk chalk, a new sprinkler, sand toys, beach ball/toys
- Clothes/shoes (when I was little, it was a tradition that my grandma got all of the grandkids a basket full of new summer clothes to wear--so practical, useful, and appreciated by parents)
- Fish: yes, a fish. Skip a bunny or baby chic (the Animal Rescue League will appreciate it) and opt for a fish.
