Spring Snack Container Made From Popsicle Sticks

Easter is just around the corner and one of our favorite ways to get ready for any holiday is to make crafts and homemade decorations. I thought it would be fun to make carrot shaped snack containers. They are perfect for parties, family movie nights or any time really!

They are easy and fun to make with the kids. First, you’ll want to gather the materials needed:

  • Popsicle sticks
  • Non-toxic orange paint w/ paintbrush OR orange marker
  • Green Easter grass
  • Piece of cardboard or heavy card stock
  • Non-toxic glue
  • Scissors
  • A snack to put in the container (like Goldfish crackers!)

Directions:

Cut a third of the popsicle sticks in half. (I broke them in half since I couldn’t find the adult scissors but that left sharp edges which you don’t want since kids will be holding this.)

Paint or color two of the long popsicle sticks and one of the half pieces orange and set aside to dry.

Glue 2 popsicle sticks on the cardboard in the shape of a “V” and put 1 half of a popsicle stick across the top to make it a triangle. Continue layering popsicle sticks by gluing them on top of each other until you have a deep enough container to hold your snacks. Glue the orange popsicle sticks on the top as your last layer. Then glue some of the Easter grass on the cardboard near the top of the triangle to make the carrot leaves.

Let the glue dry for a couple hours and then trim the excess cardboard from around the carrot shape.

Once the containers are ready, fill them with a snack. We chose to add our favorite snack, Goldfish crackers, to our carrot container.

Does your family make anything special for holidays or seasons? Get additional inspiration and ideas from Goldfish crackers on Pinterest!

Spring Mini Pudding Pies

To celebrate National Pi Day today I wanted to share a super easy, fun snack for kids. This snack doesn’t require any baking and can be put together in just a couple minutes.

Ingredients needed:

  • 1 cup of premade vanilla pudding
  • Food coloring
  • Sprinkles
  • PEEPS
  • Mini pie crust
  • Whipped cream

Directions to make:

  • Add a few drops of food coloring to the vanilla pudding and stir to mix
  • Put vanilla pudding into the mini pie crust
  • Top with whipped cream, sprinkles and a PEEP

How are you celebrating National Pi day?

 Like this recipe? Check out my PEEPS nests featured in the Peeps-A-Licious cookbook.

Tastefully Simple Easter Celebration Menu Collection {Giveaway}

(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own.)

When I was younger, I would accompany my mom to a lot of in-home sales parties. My favorite one was the Tastefully Simple party because I enjoyed sampling everything. I loved their Bountiful Beer Bread Mix and also the sweet, fluffy fruit dip that her friends always made.

I haven’t had Tastefully Simple products for years but today we made some of the items from their new Easter Celebration menu collection and the memories all came back as the bread baked in the oven. It smelled so good and tasted just like I’d remembered.

Tastefully Simple is helping make Easter easy by selling a kit full of products made to help you create a memorable Easter dinner. They also provide recipes and the shopping list.

Here are my favorite ideas for the meal that can be made with products from the collection:

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Want to win a collection of your own? Valued at over $80, this kit includes:

  • Key Lime Cheese Ball Mix
  • Truffle Fudge Brownie Mix
  • Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup Mix
  • Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix
  • Rhubarb Strawberry Fruit Spread
  • Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce
  • Italian Garlic Seasoning
  • Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
  • Samba Sangria Slush Mix
  • Cinnamon Muffin Melt Mix
  • Bountiful Beer Bread Mix

To enter this giveaway please share this post on social media and leave a comment below with why you want to win and a link to your social share. This giveaway ends Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 11:59pm CST.

 

Baby’s First Easter (Babies”R”Us Events Nationwide)

This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own.

The biggest joy a parent gets is seeing their child’s firsts. No matter if it is their favorite holiday or baby’s first steps. those are the most precious memories. With spring underway all thoughts turn to Easter and a Baby’s first Easter is a most wonderful time that will turn into a great tradition for years to come.

Easter is a special time for me on a personal level and as a parent. Since we had kids it has become even more so. Lots of great memories and smiles and lots more candy and toys and Easter egg hunts and happiness.

 

My kids favorite part about Easter by far are the Easter baskets because to them it’s treasure. Every year they are filled with something different. As they grow older they try to guess what the Easter bunny will bring them. Most recently we made ‘baskets’ with super hero stuff, Legos and cars. We also included some fun outdoor things like shovels for their sandbox and water guns. All of the things were in big planters so that the fun could continue after Easter when the kids helped plant flowers in them.

When they were younger their baskets were simpler. I remember when we made Jacob’s first Easter basket. We included things like board books, bubbles, crayons and small toys. The little guy was thrilled.

To make things easier for parents, Babies“R”Us is helping celebrate Baby’s First Easter in a big way at stores across the country.  Babies“R”Us stores are stocked with everything parents and gift-givers need to make this Easter special, such as Easter-themed apparel, My First Easter products, gift basket ideas and more.

This Saturday, March 28th from 10-11am, parents can bring their little bunnies – dressed in their Easter best – to Babies“R”Us stores nationwide for festive, interactive activities for the family. Attendees can experience a Bunny Hop around the store, photo opportunities and craft and story time, as well as receive Pampers giveaways (while supplies last), participate in raffles and meet other local families and babies.

What is your favorite memory with your little ones at Easter time?

5 Candy-Free Easter Basket Ideas From Crayola

Can you believe Easter is this weekend already? Though it’s later in the year, it completely snuck up on me. We still have to see the Easter Bunny and color eggs! One other thing still on my list is to put together the Easter baskets for the boys. Every year I try to incorporate things my kids can use past the Easter holiday. Crayola helped me get off to a great start by sending me a box full of goodies. My kids are going to be so excited!

Here are 5 wonderful Easter basket filler ideas from Crayola:

1) Crayons and Markers. Crayola crayons have always been a staple in our Easter baskets but now that the boys are a little older they also enjoy using markers. If your kids are really little, Crayola has egg shaped crayons that are perfect basket fillers.

2) Bubbles. Crayola makes colored bubbles for outdoors. The boys are going to LOVE these!

3) Color Wonder products. Color wonder products are great for those times your kids want to do art but you want to keep them (or the area they are in) clean. Perfect for Easter morning because the kids can be dressed in their finest outfits while they color! I am going to use these on our upcoming roadtrip since Lucas tends to drop his markers on the floor and I prefer to keep my car color free :)

4) Chalk. Now that the weather is getting nicer, the boys insist on playing with chalk every day while they wait for the school bus. Crayola sent a box of 48 different colored chalk pieces and Jake was in Heaven. Now they can create anything their little hearts desire on our sidewalks.

5) Games. I’m putting a couple travel sized games in the Easter baskets this year. One of the games is a chalk grab n’ go game from Crayola. Such a fun item to add!

What are you adding to your Easter baskets?

Easter Celebrations With HoneyBaked Ham

(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own.)

I love hosting celebrations. Creating a party around a theme, spending time with family, and enjoying good food makes me happy. Cooking though? Not so much. When it comes to food I tend to stick to easy to eat main course dishes. For past birthday parties I have had things like hot dogs, chicken and burgers.

Some occasions call for more than BBQ-type foods. Easter is coming up and I don’t think a big family meal of burgers is going to cut it so we decided to get our food from the local HoneyBaked Ham store. Sinisa bought a ham dinner complete with side dishes. This is the perfect way to make sure I get my big fancy meal but still don’t have to do much cooking.

Everything is ready to heat and serve and then all I have to do is transfer it to some pretty dishes and enjoy the yummy food with my family. It’s easy to prepare and easy to clean up- my type of meal!

We chose to get both ham and turkey. Though ham is more popular for Easter, I like giving people a choice. Lucas, my four year old, who has not ever liked ham when he has had it in the past, devoured this ham. He loved the sweet outside skin on it and I think the fact that it was nice and juicy helped a lot.

We chose to get three different side dishes: cinnamon apples, sweet potato souffle, and potatoes au gratin. They can be microwaved or heated in the oven. We chose to make them in the microwave but for the sweet potatoes I would suggest making them in the oven so the top gets crunchy.

The sweet potato souffle was a big hit with both the boys (that extra brown sugar I sprinkled on top may have swayed them). It didn’t cook properly in the microwave but we stirred it instead of having it like a casserole and I think that made it perfect. Personally, I enjoyed the cinnamon apples the most and the sauce from the apples made a delicious dip for the ham and turkey.

Want someone else to make your Easter meal this year? HoneyBaked Ham has some great deals going on right now. They are currently offering:

In-Store Specials:

  • $54.99 Easter Ham & Turkey Combo – Pair a Turkey Breast (approx. 3 lbs.) with your choice of a Boneless Ham (approx. 3.5 lbs.) or Quarter Ham (approx. 4.5 lbs.)
  • $22.99 Turkey Breast (with any Half or Whole Ham purchase)
  • $24.99 Easter Brunch Bundle – Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake and Honey-Spice Bacon
  • Heat & Share Sides: Two for $13.99, three for $19.99

With Coupon:

  • $5 OFF Half Ham (Bone-in) or Become a HoneyBaked VIP at honeybakedfoods.com (Save an extra $1 when you sign up to become a HoneyBaked VIP at honeybakedfoods.com: $6 OFF )
  • $3 OFF Boneless Ham or Quarter Ham

 

Sensory-Friendly Easter Bunny Visits {National Locations}

If you have a little one with sensory processing disorder or Autism you know how hard some things can be for our kiddos. Something as seemingly simple as standing in line or being in a large crowd can be very difficult for some. Knowing this, AbilityPath partners with Simon Malls across the country to host a special morning each Easter season for Easter Bunny visits (sidenote: they do Santa visits each December as well!)

These private, RSVP only, FREE events are designed to support special needs children and their families. Children will be able to pose and visit with the Caring Bunny™ in a calm, comfortable environment during mall private hours. They have taken great care to consider the sensory, physical and other developmental needs of children of all abilities.

Please note: This event is free with professional photo packages available for purchase.

See if the Sensory-Friendly Easter Bunny is coming to a location near you here.

A Sense of the Resurrection: An Easter Experience for Families E-Book

(Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links but all thoughts are my own.)

I have super exciting news!! I just found out this morning that Amanda, who created the Truth in the Tinsel e-book that myself and so many of my friends and readers LOVED, has come out with an Easter e-book! The e-book is called “A Sense of the Resurrection: An Easter Experience for Families“. Go beyond Easter baskets and bunnies and give your children a look at why we celebrate Easter and a sense of what the Resurrection is about. 

A Sense of the Resurrection

The e-book features 12 simple activities to be done the few weeks before Easter that will turn your home into a memorial to Jesus’ death and resurrection.  You’ll experience Jesus’ anointing, the Last Supper, Peter’s denial, the cross, the empty tomb and more. Memories will be made as your family uses their five senses to understand and believe the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This simple eBook includes printables, Scriptures and specific conversation and starting points so you and your kids can get a sense of the resurrection.

This book is a little different than the Christmas one because it’s not only crafts. This e-book is more about activities and conversations. It can be used with younger children but older siblings can enjoy it as well so I think it’s really great for the whole family. I know for us, we won’t go into much detail about how Jesus died with my four year old since I don’t think he will understand it but we may say a bit more to my 5 year old who has a deeper understanding of things.

The e-book is somewhat similar to the Christmas one in the way it is setup. It has a list of materials you will need, some which can be found around your home. Printables are included as well for those (like me) who just can’t draw. She makes it easy for busy moms and dads to do the activities and provides step-by-step activities and talking points.

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Find the ebook here.

 

Easter 2013 {Wordless Wednesday}

I hope all of you who celebrate Easter had a wonderful one. Here are some of my favorite pictures. Finally pulled out my Christmas gift to use so I got some decent, non-cell phone pictures to share!

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Easter Basket Fun With Hershey’s

(Disclosure: Hershey’s sent me an Easter basket but all thoughts are my own.)

What’s an Easter basket without a little chocolate? Hershey’s recently invited me to hop the “Virtual Bunny Trail” and create an Easter basket for myself. Since the Easter Bunny doesn’t bring Mommy a basket anymore I was more than happy to do this.

Once I had chosen my basket color and the color of the Easter grass it was time to choose the chocolate I’d put in it. I love chocolate! My very favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter cups so I was excited to see one of my choices was a large Reese’s Egg that was about the size of my hand. I also chose a Cadbury rabbit, Reese’s bunnies, Cookies n’ Cream eggs, and a snap-apart chocolate bunny.

I was excited to eat all this candy but, literally as I type this, the boys and their daddy are at the kitchen table eating my chocolate! Sinisa bit the ears off the Cadbury bunny, Jake is trying to open the snap-apart bunny, and Luke is peeling the wrapper off of a Cookies n’ Cream egg. Thankfully I have the Reese’s Egg by me or that might have been gobbled down, too!

What Hershey’s products would you put in your Easter basket?

Bakers Square Pies {Giveaway}

(Disclosure: I received free pie but all thoughts are my own.)

When it comes to pie I don’t think there’s any place that makes it better than Bakers Square. My favorite is French Silk. Each bite is like a mouthful of fluffy chocolatey goodness! Other favorite flavors of mine include pumpkin and apple.

Pie is a great dessert to have at Easter {my mom already pre-ordered two for our Easter celebration}. Bakers Square says their best Spring sellers are coconut cream, strawberry and fruit favorites, meringue, and chocolate. They shared some great tips about fun ways to serve the pie that I wanted to pass on:

  • Platescaping: Decorating the plate adding colorful and/or flavored whipped cream.
  • Sprinkle jelly beans atop a lemon meringue to get both the kids’ and adults’ taste buds excited.
  • Add chocolate shavings or chips to a strawberry pie to create that perfect combination of chocolate and fruit. Dark, milk, white or even a combination add color, texture and taste.
  • Serve your pie from an Easter basket! Makes a great gift and is a fun take on the tradition.

Picking up already made pies is an easy way to cross one thing off your list in minutes. Bakers Square makes pie pick-up easy and convenient with their online pie reservation system. Visit www.bakersquare.com/easterpies for the full list of pies and to pre-order.

GIVEAWAY:

I’m giving away 6 Bakers Square Free Pie Coupons

3 winners, each winner gets 2 pie coupons

HOW TO ENTER:

{Do any or all of the following, leave a separate comment for each you do}

1) Tell me which pie flavor is your favorite

2) Share this giveaway on a social network

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Subscribe to this blog via email (look in upper right corner)

Giveaway ends April 10, 2013 at 11:59pm Central time. Winners must be U.S. residents, 18 years of age or older.

Easter Entertaining Tips From an Expert‏

The following tips are from lifestyle expert, Rachel Hollis.

  • Personalize your party – for a simple and chic Easter seating card simply write your guest’s names on plain white eggs and place on their folded napkin.
  • Put Spring on display – wheat grass is available at most grocery stores and fairly inexpensive. Just add some fresh floral or dyed eggs for easy décor!
  • Take the credit for gourmet treats – Gourmet cookies and brownies are a crowd pleaser, but get crafty and take the credit yourself (and deserve it!). Add toasted coconuts to your favorite treats to create a “nest”. Put jellybeans or egg shaped candies on top to complete the Easter feel.
  • Surprise your guests with flowers – edible flowers are easy to find in the produce department of your grocery store. Use them to add a little “springtime” to your desserts, cocktails or even salad!
  • ‘Eggs’ mark the spot – create a little map of your yard or house where you can easily mark how many eggs the, er, “Easter Bunny” left in each area. That way the kids don’t miss out on any of them.
  • A new twist on an old favorite – consider serving your Easter recipes in a unique way… an Easter ham becomes pork tenderloin, use quail eggs instead of chicken eggs, or maybe you turn Grandma’s favorite pudding into a pie. Guests always love to be surprised with something new!
  • The more, the merrier – rather than going with just one Easter dessert, consider creating a dessert buffet with candies, cakes and your favorite sweets. Don’t have the time to bake it all – order a premium assortment at Cheryls.com.

What are your favorite tips for entertaining? I’d love to hear them :)

(Disclosure: This is not a compensated post. All tips are courtesy of the lifestyle expert listed above who is affiliated with Cheryl’s cookies.)

Hot Wheels & Barbies {Giveaway}

(This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own.)

 

I grew up playing with Barbies and my brothers played with hot wheels so I’m really excited to be working with Mattel this Easter season. Candy is great but let’s save the chocolate bunny and put some toys in our children’s Easter baskets!

Every year the boys have received more toys than candy in their baskets and they love seeing what special toys the Easter bunny brought them to play with. This also makes their time off during Spring break go quickly because they have fun, new toys to play with.

Want to win a Barbie Doll and Matchbox Cars for your children? Enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mattel’s Easter Toy Basket Giveaway

Mattel’s “Save the Chocolate Bunny” campaign is promoting “toys instead of chocolate” to encourage creative, healthy, sugar-free play for kids! Visit Mattel’s Save the Bunny website where you’ll find more giveaways and coupons.

Enter below to win a Mattel Easter Basket with Hot Wheels, Barbie, Thomas & Friends, Fisher Price, Monster High and more! PLUS there are 10 second place prizes of either a Hot Wheels multi-pack or Barbie Madison! (And keep an eye on this site because I’ll be having another Mattel giveaway in the next week that’s just for Making Time For Mommy readers!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Disclosure: This is a compensated post.)

 

Easter Pennant {Free Printable}

Though it doesn’t seem like it because it’s snowing here in Chicago today, Easter is less than a month away! Just wanted to share this absolutely adorable printable from Paper Coterie. Head on over to their blog to download and print it for free.

 

 

FREE 40-day eBook Devotional

I heard about this ebook devotional from the MOB Society and just had to go check it out. The Seed Company is offering a free 40-day devotional for people to use during Lent. I was unfamiliar with The Seed Company so I poked around their site a bit.

Did you know that nearly 2,000 languages – 300 million people – worldwide still do not have one verse of scripture in their language? I mean, I knew there were some people that didn’t have it, but 300 million? That number is too high. I literally have tears in my eyes right now at the thought of all those people who have never, ever heard the word of God. 300 MILLION.

I knew I had to do something. An obvious way to help is to donate money. Another way to help is by praying. The Seed Company wants prayer partners for the different projects going on throughout the world.

While you are on the site getting your free devotional, I’d ask you to take a look around the site, check out the prayer requests, and, if you feel led to, sign up to pray for this vital ministry.

Gift With Purchase At The Children’s Place {And Spring Fashions}

I love dressing my boys up in cute clothes so I’m really excited to announce that I am a Blogger Ambassador for The Children’s Place! This means I will be sharing great promotions, sales and giveaways with you this year!

With thoughts of shopping for Easter clothes coming up soon I thought I’d go back in time and share some of my favorite Spring looks from there modeled by my children over the past few years :)

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Apparently I love green and blue at Easter and argyle is my go-to look in Spring for the boys :) This last little outfit even had argyle socks with little linen pants. My kids just prefer to wear no clothes in the house apparently.

If you need to go shopping for some new clothes, The Children’s Place has some great promotions right now. The monster sale I talked about weeks ago is still going on–prices are up to 80% off! They have a Spring sale and a Valentine’s Day sale going on as well. {I love a good sale!}

One new promotion is a special gift with purchase. From today, January 22nd , to January 31st (while supplies last) if you make an in-store purchase of $75 or more you will get a free plush Bunny. How cute would this little bunny be in your child’s Easter basket?

(Disclosure: As an Ambassador I receive promotional items from The Children’s Place. All thoughts are my own.)

 

Easter 2012 {Wordless Wednesday}

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He Is Risen! {Happy Easter}

He is risen indeed!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter :)

Quick & Cheap Easter Craft

I found this craft kit in the Easter section at Walmart last night for less than $2. Jacob really enjoyed putting it together this morning. It came with the plain white Cross with black lines making it into a puzzle of sorts. You then had to find the matching pieces that fit in each space and stick the foam pieces to the Cross.

If you aren’t planning on trekking to Walmart today {and I don’t blame you since it will probably be a madhouse} you can recreate this at home. Just cut a Cross out of a stack of 3-5  colored pieces of paper. Remove one Cross from the pile and ut the rest of the stack of Crosses into pieces. Each time you cut the stack of crosses take one colored piece and place it in the corresponding spot on the uncut Cross so you can trace the shapes to make it puzzle like. Hand the pieces over to your child and see if they can match the pieces to the layout on the Cross. {If you have younger children I’d recommend taking a picture of the Cross with the pieces on it so they can look at the picture to figure out where the colored pieces go.} Once the pieces are all matched up, your child can then glue them onto the Cross.

Here’s one I made in about 5 minutes. I only used 3 pieces of paper but I’d recommend using a few other pieces to make your Cross more colorful.

Have fun! :)

#Pin4Autism And Make A Difference {Autism Awareness Month}

I am a huge fan of any company that donates money to a great cause on behalf of it’s consumers so I’m really excited to share about what Lindt is doing. For the third year in a row, Lindt is partnering with Autism Speaks to raise money for Autism Awareness and it’s simple for you to be a part of it.

For every re-pin on Pinterest that Lindt gets {between now and Easter} they will be donating $10 to Autism Speaks {up to $10,000}. I know the majority of you are as Pinterest-obsessed as I am so why not raise money for a good cause while doing something that you enjoy?

All you have to do is visit their #Pin4Autism board on Pinterest and select and re-pin the Easter tradition photo that you enjoy most. Pin donations are limited to one per person but you can maximize your impact by inviting friends and family to get involved by sharing about #Pin4Autism on your Facebook pages, in your Twitter feeds or anywhere else that you connect with others.

Here are the steps Lindt would like you to take:

  1. Visit our #Pin4Autism board on Pinterest
  2. Select the “Re-Pin” button on the tradition photo that you enjoy most.
  3. You can even customize the caption of the repinned image so that it includes your own personal message. Just make sure to keep the #Pin4Autism hashtag along with the donation text within caption to ensure that your donation is included.  Example Caption (bolded portion must remain):  “Egg decorating is my favorite Easter tradition!    [I just donated 10 dollars to the Autism cause by pinning this photo.  Learn how you can #Pin4Autism too by clicking on the image above.]”
  4. Select “Pin It”
  5. You’ve donated!

Want to help even more? Recreate one of the Lindt inspired projects {could be a recipe or craft} that incorporates Lindt products on Lindt’s Pinterest page  and email Lindt and include the image or link to your creation, along with the subject line:  #Pin4Autism Donation.  The amazing folks over at Lindt will donate $25.00 to Autism Speaks in return

And as an added bonus…. if you re-pin something as part of Lindt’s #pin4Autism you get one extra entry into my giveaway for the $125 gift card & Eucerin lotion! All you have to do is follow Lindt’s directions above and once you are done go to my Eucerin/Visa gift card giveaway {found here} and leave a comment saying “I pinned 4 Autism!” AND you can get this extra entry in every one of my Eucerin/Visa Gift Card giveaways in the future {there are about 9 or 10 that will be posted in the months to come}! That is how much I want you to #pin4Autism :)

(Disclosure: I wasn’t compensated for this post. Autism Speaks is a charity I support as a mom of a child with Autism.)

Fannie May Easter Chocolate Gift Basket Review & Giveaway

Chocolate automatically comes to my mind when I think about Easter baskets so I was really excited to get an email about reviewing a basket full of candy from Fannie May and giving one away to a lucky reader!

I was sent the Happy Easter Chocolate Gift Basket from Fannie May. The yummy treats came in a pretty flowered container that can be reused as part of our Spring decor. The basket contained just a sampling of Fannie May Easter favorites, including a milk chocolate bunny, white chocolate bunny, an egg shaped tin of peanut butter buttons, an assortment of cream eggs (one of each flavor: fruit & nut, chocolate butter cream “green may,” yellow butter cream and raspberry cream), a package of mint cookie clusters, jelly bird eggs and three chocolate bunny pops.

I had a hard time deciding what to eat first because it all looked good. I ate a mint cookie cluster expecting a chocolate mint cookie but was surprised to find chocolate with cookie bits in it. It was unexpected and delicious. Next, I opened the tin egg of “peanut butter buttons”. I found chocolate and peanut butter candies that  learned in my college years were called “buckeyes”. The peanut butter was so creamy and the chocolate around it was perfect. I am also claiming the chocolate buttercream eggs to myself.

I was tempted to hide the basket and give the rest of the candies to the boys in their Easter baskets but I couldn’t help myself and instead of hiding them I gave one of the chocolate bunny pops to Jacob the second he came downstairs from nap. As a blogger I of course pulled out my phone to take a picture of him enjoying it. {How could I not include this adorable picture of my kid with a mouth full of Fannie May chocolate!?}

BUY IT:

This wonderful gift basket (and many other delicious treats) can be found in Fannie May stores around Chicago and across the nation and also online at FannieMay.com.

WIN IT:

One lucky winner will win an Easter Chocolate Gift Basket from Fannie May {Retail Value: $49.99}

HOW TO ENTER:

1) Tell me who you want to win this for {it’s 100% acceptable to say yourself ;) lol}

2) Like Making Time For Mommy on Facebook

3) Like Fannie May on Facebook

4) Follow @aliciamarie112 on Twitter

5) Share this giveaway on a social network

6) Subscribe to this blog via RSS or email (look in upper right hand corner)

7) Enter another one of my giveaways (found here)

8) Comment on a non-giveaway post

9) Follow me on Pinterest

Giveaway ends on Easter, April 8th, at 11:59pm Central time. US only.

(Disclosure: I was sent a basket to review but all thoughts are my own. This giveaway is not associated with Facebook in any way.)

Easter Desserts & Treats

Enjoy these yummy Easter treats!

Click on the pictures to be taken to the posts they come from :)

Little Lamb Cake Balls

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Macaroon Cookie Nests

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Easter Bunny Cupcakes

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Bunny In Carrots Cupcake

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Bunny Cake Pops

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Carrot Cookies In Dirt

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Sugar Egg Cupcakes With Edible Grass

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Bunny Cupcakes

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Fruity Pebbles Treats

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Homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs

Christ Centered Easter Crafts & Activities

I love bunny, chick, and egg crafts but, for our family, Easter is about more than that. I wanted to gather crafts and activities that focused on the reason we celebrate Easter, Jesus Christ. Here are some of my favorites I found online {click pictures to be taken to the posts they come from}:

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Make Resurrection Rolls

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Resurrection Garden

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Colorful Light Ray Cross

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Printable Resurrection Set

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Resurrection Eggs {For Toddlers and Preschoolers}

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Printable Resurrection Bible Craft

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Stained Glass Cross

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Cross Book

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Telling The Story Of Easter With Jelly Beans

Easter Crafts For Kids

Keep your kids busy with these fun Easter crafts!

Click on the pictures to be taken to the posts they are from.

Paper Easter Egg Basket

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Handprint Easter Chick

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Textured Easter Eggs

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Paper Plate Easter Wreath

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Sheep

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Stained Glass Window Egg

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Bunnies

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Marshmallow Easter Egg

Easter DIY Crafts

Here are some great Easter DIY crafts that I’ve found online.

Click the pictures to be taken to the posts they come from :)

Easter Wreath

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Egg Garland

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Egg Topiary

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Felt Easter Chicks

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Easter Egg Ornaments

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Recycled Sweater Easter Egg Basket

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Polka Dotted Plaster Easter Eggs

Easter Sensory Table

I can’t believe that it’s almost Spring! I put the Easter themed sensory table together today. The picture above shows most of the items that are in it but I added a couple other things as well.

Items in Easter Sensory Table:

Easter grass

Easter eggs w/ different designs

Easter themed erasers

Easter colored textured balls

Bunny figurines

White pom poms

Easter cups

The pom-poms were from the Valentine’s Day sensory table but I thought they worked for the Easter one as “bunny tails”. Most of the items I found were in the dollar section at Target and in Walmart’s Easter selection. Target’s Easter aisles, dollar stores, and craft stores are also a great place to find sensory table items.

Easter sensory table

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Close up of the Easter sensory table

Top 10 Tuesday: Frugal Easter Baskets

With Easter coming up in less than a week I wanted to share ways to make Easter baskets on a budget.

1) Buy reusable “baskets”. Whether it’s a basket they use every year, a pail that they can then build a sand castle with, or a tote that can be used to organize their toys; buy something that won’t just get put on a shelf to gather dust. Last year I used large fabric bins that I could later use to organize toys. This year I bought planters on clearance for less than $4 each and we will use them to plant flowers in next month.

2) Buy cheap candy if you have young children. My toddler doesn’t know the difference between a piece of chocolate that costs a dime and one that costs a dollar. All he knows is he can have 10 pieces of candy or 1. I’m sure you can guess which he would pick…

3) On the flip side, buy the good chocolate if you have older kids. Just buy them less. When I was a teenager I much preferred a package of Reese’s cups over a whole bag full of those tiny little chocolate eggs.

4) Buy items your children need. Whether it be pajamas, sandals for the summer, or goggles for the swim lessons they will be taking, if you are going to buy it anyways you might as well stick it in their basket.

5) Homemade gift certificates. What things does your child LOVE that they don’t get to do often? How about 1 night out with mommy to see a movie, 1 cone at their favorite ice cream shop, or 1 bike ride with daddy?

6) If they are a little older how about giving them “get out of chores” certificates. Give them a week off from their least favorite chore!

7) Look under your couch cushions…and any where else that coins may be hiding. A dollar in coins will make any young child feel rich.

8) Check the dollar spot at Target and dollar stores for cheap “filler” items. Books, games, socks, toys, and pretty much anything else you can think of can be found for only a dollar.

9) Make a basket to give to a family who might not be able to afford one. This may not necessarily be “frugal” but teaching your children to give to others is one of the best things you can give to them.

10) Think ahead! After Easter everything goes on clearance so why not buy now for next year? You get it at a discount and your children probably won’t be able to guess that the Easter book you give them next year is a year old. {Obviously I’d avoid buying candy for next year’s baskets…}

There you go. Ten different ideas to play Easter Bunny on a budget. What other ideas do you have?

(This post is linked up to OhAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday)