Ever since we began observing the liturgical year, we do it up big for Easter. After the 40 days of Lent, it’s time for the biggest party of the year in celebration of the Resurrection! We try to find ways to help our kids understand the Christian Year and having simple meals during Lent and then really celebrating with food and gifts for Easter helps them learn to participate in those seasons.
I thought it would be fun to share how we fill our kids’ Easter baskets and offer some simple ideas for fun fillers that are outside the box of typical sugary treats. So here we go!
Easter Egg Votives by Toadily Handmade Beeswax Candles:
These are just too adorable and as soon as I saw them at Toadily Handmade, I had to have them! Each of our kiddos will have two candles in his/her Easter basket. Before I could put them away until Easter, the kids went wild over them and the two oldest picked out what colors they want (the baby will get the leftovers, but she won’t mind this year). After the kids find them in their baskets, I’ll put them up on our dining room table as our Eastertide centerpiece to enjoy at mealtimes. (I’ve mentioned before how much I love beeswax candles, it’s a bit of an obsession. You can see the beautiful candle from Toadily Handmade that is part of our Lenten centerpiece in this post. And I always order their Advent candle making kit.) To win your own set of 100% Beeswax Easter Egg Votives from Toadily Handmade Beeswax Candles see entry guidelines at the bottom of this post!
(Little Lucy jammin’ on some Easter morning chocolate.)
Fair Trade Sweet Treats:
If there is a day to enjoy a sweet treat, it’s Easter Sunday! After weeks of simple lenten meals, we want to feast and celebrate! But we try to fill our baskets with fun gifts and treats that are free of food dyes and are fair trade. You can read all about the moral problems with many of the brands that produce chocolate and easy ways to find ethically-sourced chocolate candy in this great post at The Art of Simple. Usually we buy some small chocolate bunnies from a local chocolatier and I make some sweet goodies (last year it was coconut macaroons for my gluten-allergic kids). The truth is, fair trade chocolate is more expensive, so our chocolate bunnies are tiny, but the kids haven’t complained yet! 😉 We also stuff the baskets with Fruit Leather which the kids love and it’s just dried fruit, so I can’t feel too bad about that.
(Last year’s baskets)
Picture Books:
We buy picture books and board books for the baskets that the kids can enjoy all year long. This year, our five-year-old son is getting The Story of St. Patrick, our two-year-old daughter is getting Lucia, Saint of Light (her name is Lucy), and the baby is getting a Daily Prayers board book from my favorite series of Catholic board books (St. Joseph’s Board Books).
Toys:
They will also each be getting a fun toy or activity: a Solar Print Kit for my outdoorsy boy, a St. Therese Paper Doll book for little Lucy who always wants to add “my fwend Saint Tuhwes de Widdle Fwower” to our nightly litany of the saints, and a Shining Light doll of Our Lady of Guadalupe for Baby Gwen Stellamaris (her middle name means Star of the Sea and I loved this little doll’s starry mantle).
Accessories:
In the past we’ve bought sunglasses for our son and hair bows or shoes for the girls. For hair accessories, I love Lilla Rose hair jewelry (because it’s so sturdy) for little gals. I really like this pretty cross flexi-clip.
(I won’t lie about being really excited that Baby Gwen will be big enough to wear this little hand-me-down Easter romper this year! I can’t believe how little Lucy looks in this picture!)
Giveaway Instructions:
GIVEAWAY CLOSED
Disclosure: Toadily Handmade Beeswax Candles is a Carrots sponsor. They provided complimentary review product and giveaway product for the lucky winner. All opinions are my own and I only share about products I love. And links to Amazon are affiliate links.
I love how those eggs are so detailed! I shared them on my Fb page 🙂
I pinned the Easter egg votives!
And I shared the Easter egg votives on Facebook!
Pinned the beautiful eggs! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/143341200614446428/
I think my favorite is the pumpkin votive: http://www.toadilyhandmadebeeswaxcandles.com/pumpkin-votive/ But that may be because I have a pumpkin patch (www.facebook.com/MaylandPumpkinPatch, for those who are interested). Still, I was mightily tempted to say the Easter egg votives are my favorite, because they are just gorgeous!
Speaking of gorgeous, how adorable is Lucy in that Easter romper? I can’t wait to see a picture of Gwen in it!
And “my fwend Saint Tuhwes de Widdle Fwower”? Cuteness overload!!!!
Shared on my FB page! https://www.facebook.com/anne.sweden/posts/10152214453331676?stream_ref=10
The floating sunflower candle is wonderful! Definitely my favorite.
Oh my gosh, I can’t even handle how much I love those candles!!! They’re glorious.
Also, that doll for little miss Gwen is absolutely lovely.
As much as I’m in love with the Easter egg candles, the solid rose pillar candles have to be my favorite. So gorgeous!
Shared the easter egg votives on Facebook!
I shared the Easter Egg Votive Page on my FB timeline.
Also, just a note that I really enjoy your blog and thank you for all your posts! You share a part of your life with us and it is always very inspiring to me, especially as my husband and I are expecting our first child this September. Great ideas for bringing the faith into our daily life with our growing family! God Bless you!
I also just pinned the votives to my “dig it” board on Pinterest!
Pinned it: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/283726845250859667/
Shared on my FB page.
Love the hand rolled tapers – we loved our Advent set from them, and I’d love to buy more at some point when the budget allows.
Pinned… http://www.pinterest.com/pin/5207355793845095/
Shared on FB!
I love the detailed leaf pillar. So pretty!
I’m really loving these Easter Eggs! So cute!
I shared on Facebook and pinned a picture from their website.
I pinned it to my Everyday Catholic Ideas pinterest page 🙂
I shared on my Facebook page as well 🙂
I’m loving the basket weave pillar candle! And pretty much everything else lol
Love these! Pinned to my Easter board on Pinterest.
The sushi candles are cracking me up. My hard to buy for teen would love a few.
I liked it on FB!
I really love the orchid candles, though the eggs are a close tie!
I shared on Facebook and pined it on Pinterest! =)
The adorable beeswax eggs are pinned to my board about the Faith.
My favorites are the DIY Sheets — I think that would be a fun date night activity with my husband who LOVES bees!
I like the rose tea light candles; they are really cute.
My favourite TH candle is probably the tree frog candle!
Pinned it – loved all the details in this post Haley! Besides really making me want real beeswax this time, you are inspiring me to think of Easter basket goodies early so I’m not just buying up the CVS aisles whatever I can get my hands on!
These are gorgeous! I pinned them on Pinterest, and if I don’t win them I may need to buy a set anyway 🙂
I pinned the Easter egg votives! So beautiful!
The detailed rose pillars are beautiful!
Also, love that sweet little Easter romper – so cute.
I love their beeswax sheets! They’re so versatile and they last a super long time. I used those to make our Advent candles this year!
It’s so hard to pick a favorite! I think I’d have to go with the Tree Frog votive.
Pinned ’em 🙂
I pinned the eggs to Pinterest. They’re so lovely!
I shared the votive eggs on my FB page:)
I love your blog! I found it when I was looking up Flannery O’Connor. I wish I could have been surrounded by moms like you when my 5 kids were little.
Not entering the giveaway, just let’s be honest for a second: those egg votives? Amazing.
I don’t even have children yet, but I want all of these things for their Easters. A St. Therese paper doll book?! Whaaat? It is perfect! I may or may not be considering gifting myself with this….
Thank you for this incredibly cute and inspiring Easter post. 4 weeks to go!
I just love the hand rolled tapers, but the sushi candles are adorable too!
Shared on Facebook
Pinned on Pinterest
And I just noticed the wedding candle section on the website, the bell candle is just gorgeous! Had to pin that as well. I’ve loved beeswax candles since visiting a honey shop at a renaissance faire a couple years ago and i just recently ordered some to give out as favors to guests that came to my daughter’s baptism in January. I love spreading the beeswax word!
Really liked the hand rolled tapers, what a broad color selection and perfect any time of the year! Wow, found out they are located only 1 hour away from me too! 🙂
Oh I love the egg candles! Totally pinned them! 🙂
Shared on FB! I know I have friends who would love these!
I love the egg votives, but, honestly, the homeschooler in me couldn’t resist a beeswax candle making kit to do with the kids. 🙂 Thx!
I shared on FB. Adorable.
I don’t think I can pick a favorite. The eggs are absolutely adorable, but I also love all of the floating candle, especially the honeybee!
The eggs are definitely my favorite! Can’t wait for spring!
I really love the advent candle making kit! Me and my girlies would have great fun with those 🙂
I shared their link on my facebook!
I pinned the Egg votive candles to my Pinterest account.
Pinned the candles!
Shared on Facebook
I think the Easter eggs are probably my favorite. Love the colors! And I appreciate the fact that they’re unscented. Pretty unscented candles are hard to come by.
Heller! I pinned the egg beeswax candles on my pinterest! 🙂 My favorite product is the rose votive.
The Easter egg votives are adorable. I pinned them as a great gift idea. Haley, I think I need to create a liturgical calendar board for all of your great ideas.
Pinned the candles. So cute!
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/35677022022767380/
I love the basketweave pillar!
Spreading the good word about Toadily Handmade via Facebook.
My favorites are the roll-your-own Advent candles. We had so much fun making and enjoying those this year!
I just pinned 🙂
Pinned the egg votives…adorable
And facebooked
My favorite product from Toadily Handmade Beeswax Candles is their advent candle kit. It was beautiful on our table this past advent. Would love to win the eggs!
Shared the egg link on facebook. Thanks!
just pinned the votives!
Love the diy advent candle set: http://www.toadilyhandmadebeeswaxcandles.com/beeswax-advent-taper-kit-makes-one-set/
I just shared them on my Facebook page.
Also, I think my favorite is the detailed rose pillar. But I’m not sure I’d have the heart to burn it.
Pinned!
I love those egg candles! I pinned them.
I think the rose pillars are my favorite.
Shared
on Facebook.
I think the eggs are actually my favorite.
We do similar things for our Easter baskets. Love those books! Another big hit with my kids? Stained glass coloring books like the ones below. We’ve done everything from intricate eggs to the life of Jesus to saints and cathedral windows:
Eggs:
http://www.amazon.com/Artful-Around-Stained-Coloring-Design/dp/0486480259/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395258148&sr=8-3&keywords=stained+glass+coloring+book+easter
Saints:
http://www.amazon.com/Saints-Stained-Glass-Coloring-Holiday/dp/0486479099/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395258188&sr=8-1&keywords=stained+glass+coloring+book+jesus
Cathedral windows:
http://www.amazon.com/Cathedral-Stained-Glass-Coloring-Dover/dp/0486240274/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395258290&sr=1-4&keywords=stained+glass+coloring+book+cathedral
And I love those egg candles!
I pinned the Easter Eggs! They are so cute!
My favorite product is their rolled tapers. I bought that Advent Candle Kit last November (thanks you to, Haley!) and enjoyed making them with my family.
http://www.toadilyhandmadebeeswaxcandles.com/beeswax-advent-candle-kit/
My sister and I started a new tradition last year in which we have “Christmas craft day” on the Friday after Thanksgiving with our mom and our adult daughters. Three generation of crafting and family fellowship instead of participating in the secular retail madness. 🙂 These advent candles were a huge hit.
I’ve been a lurker for a while, and I just love these pretty eggs! I pinned them 🙂
Okay so those candles are absolutely adorable. I went to order some… and then was very sad to see they don’t ship to Canada! 🙁 Hopefully winning will get them to me!
Checked the site and the easter eggs are definitely my favourite!!
Pinned! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/132152570290266042/
And shared on Facebook!
Pinned it. I am LeighPF
I like the 1″ x 4″ Solid Candles
My favorite is the little toad votive–so cute!! Thanks for the giveaway!
I pinned the image!
I shared on Facebook!
I pinned and love the large pillers!
Seems like I’m cheating but I really did go to the website and browse around…yet those eggs are still my favorite! So beautiful!!
Oh my goodness! These are so cute!
Pinned it
…..and shared the link on FB!
I still think my favorite candles are the sushi candles! (although these Easter Egg votives are a very close second)
I pinned the egg votives.
Love the rose pillar.
Oooh! count me in too, these are beautiful! I have to say, the eggs ARE my favorite, but I do like their Liturgical colored Advent candles, plus just the simple basic bees wax votives are so simple and sweet. I bet they smell amazing!
And I love St. Lucia too 🙂 there’s a St. Lucia festival in kansas that my family has gone to that is so sweet, with all the kids singing and holding their candles. I love the concept that she brings light in the darkness.
I pinned it!
I love the easter and advent candles!
Pinned them!
Shared on FB!
I love the rosebud votive and all the floating candles 🙂
I went to the sponsor’s site and and I love the Detailed Rose Pillar $14.00.
Love the rose pillar candles!
Shared on facebook!
I love the hand made tapers! Beautiful colors!
Posted to FB
Pinned it to my Easter celebration page on Pinterest!
I pinned the Easter Egg votives to my facebook page!
I pinned the Easter Egg votives on pinterest!
I love the Detailed Rose Pillar – so beautiful!
I pinned them!
My favorite are the detailed rose pillars. I think I’m going to pick some up for my two daughters’ First Holy Communion party next month. Wow. What a lovely art.
I love the frog floating candles. Those egg votives are gorgeous.
I pinned it. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/260716265902904637/
I shared the link on Facebook
I definitely think the Easter egg votives are the cutest thing on the site! So much so that I bought a half dozen as an Easter present “for my husband.” If I win, they’ll be for my parents.
Haley, I have to say my favorite items from toadily handmade are any of the hand rolled items. I really like the honeycomb look in the pillar candles. So neat.
I pinned the easter egg candles! I really love the detail on them! Beautiful work. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/272116002459720177/
I also visited the website and really love the detailed rose candles. The red ones are gorgeous and spunky! I think they strike the same chord in my heart that adores vibrant red lipstick.
This is great, by the way. I love your basket ideas and enjoy reading about you celebrating this beautiful season with your family! My family never did anything for Easter which makes me really sad. My household was quite conservative and my parents never wanted me to put any stock in the Easter Bunny when I was growing up, so rather than just talking and explaining things, they stayed away from anything at all relating to Easter (with the exception of the Easter Church service and brunch). Converting to Catholicism has really enriched the season of Easter for me in such a good spiritual way!
I visited the website and I think the egg votives are adorable!
I pinned the Easter egg votives.
There are so many lovely products on the Toadily Handmade website! I think the hand rolled tapers are my favorites.
I like the sushi by the peice and the detailed rose candals, yellow.
Pinned it!
I love the Easter Egg candles and the floating candles. Now if only I had a pool…and kids who would leave a bowl of water alone on the table so that the candles could float. 🙂
Pinned it.
I pinned the Easter egg votives.
I shared the Easter egg votives on my Facebook timeline.
I think the rose pillar candle is my favorite. But it is hard to choose one.
I love the detailed rose pillar
I like the egg votives best! What a fun gift idea for Easter! Very unique!
My favorite item from their site is the tree frog candle!
I pinned the adorable votives to my “Allergen Free” board! With multiple food allergies in the house I am ever looking for festive ways to celebrate without candies since my kids cannot have the vast majority of them. I love these!!!
Those votives are lovely. Pinned!
I shared the egg votives on my facebook and tagged my husband so he’d be sure to see them too!
I think I *need* the sushi candles because they are so cute, but I will certainly be ordering the advent kit. My family will love making the candles, so special!
Pinned 🙂
Love the rose candles!
http://www.toadilyhandmadebeeswaxcandles.com/bloom-raw-honey-buckwheat/
I just love buckwheat dark honey. Those egg candles are darling. And you, Haley, stole my heart with the kids at Mass post. Thanks. I think about it every Sunday and smile at the little ones.
Thanks,
Nina
My fave is the basket weave pillar, though I also love the Easter eggs!
Shared on Pinterest!
beautiful! I also like the Detailed Rose Pillar candles!