Dollar Tree Easter Basket Haul Ideas For Toddler Boy + Preschool Girl (NO CANDY!)

Looking to make an adorable + affordable Easter basket for toddlers, preschoolers, and babies? Discover how to DIY a Dollar Tree Easter basket with these ideas for boys and girls!

Best part? All of these Dollar Tree Easter basket ideas feature NO CANDY! ANDDD I linked Amazon alternatives if you don't have a dollar store near you!

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But first…

How do you make Easter fun for toddlers?

Keep it simple and engaging! The Dollar Tree has a great selection of plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt on Easter morning. No need to add a favorite candy to kids' Easter baskets or sweet treats to the already hyped up day!

Even without candy, you can set up festive Easter decorations, or make a bunny trail with baking soda on the floor that leads to their easter basket. Fill the basket with fun things you know they like, work fine motor skills, and will engage them (not entertain them) throughout the day. If you want even more ideas, be sure to check out my round up of the BEST Easter Toddler Activities!

Most of the activities can be set up in under 5 minutes, using everyday household items or Easter themed items you probably already have! Plus each activity has tips for customizing for a 1 year old, 2 year old, 3 year old, and so on all the way up to 6 or 7 years old!

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Dollar Tree Easter Basket Ideas for Toddlers, Preschoolers, + Babies (NO CANDY!)

Crafts

The dollar store has a ton of easy Easter crafts right up front. These include varying skill levels. I went with this simple foam Easter bunny craft since the pieces are stickers and my 18 month old son can do it alongside his 4 year old sister working on a bunny face.

You can find some “bulk” buys if you have multiple kids here and here on Amazon for less.

Bubbles

What kid doesn't love bubbles?!? The Dollar Tree has a ton to choose from in this department. We are testing out these bubble guns this year (Amazon Alternative here). As a backup, I also got these large bubble trays too (Amazon Alternative here). Of course, they always sell those bubble wands too.

Chalk

Sidewalk chalk is always great to have on hand and works for such a wide variety of ages. The Dollar Tree sells easter egg shaped chalk pieces for a festive twist (alternative here).

Balls

My daughter is OBSESSED with balls! And the Dollar Tree has a pretty wide selection. In the spring they put out these larger bouncy balls, which she loves, in square vertical bins in the middle of the store or at the aisle ends/butt caps.

They also typically have a four pack of “sports” bouncy balls that are about the size of toddler hands – these are a HUGE hit. These are typically in the toy aisle.

The only balls I recommend staying away from are the foam balls. Every single baby/toddler I know who has received one of these from the Dollar Tree has bitten a chunk out of it.

Books

Dollar Tree has a great selection of books. Sometimes you'll even find major name brand books if you dig/go on a delivery day. You can obviously include an Easter themed book from Amazon like these (swipe for all my picks!):

Personally, my daughter has been getting into activity books lately, so I got her a Blue's Clues coloring/activity book that looked well suited for a 3 year old (definitely flip through because some of them are better for older kids).

Stickers

What toddler doesn't love stickers?? I recommend peeling off the backing of the sticker sheet. This makes it easier for tiny fingers to get the actual sticker off. They can use the stickers with an activity book too if they are on the younger side and don't understand the actual “activities” yet. We also got this pack of butterfly stickers.

As kids get older you can get this sticker nail art from the Dollar tree (or Amazon Alternative here).

Fine motor activity

Toddlers are really mastering gross and fine motor skills. The dollar store has a ton of spring and Easter themed items to really refine fine motor skills.

I went with this little spring colored Etch + Sketch pad that has a pencil attached. I figured it'd make a great car seat toy and she could work all those tiny finger muscles in the process!

They also have Easter themed painting kits (in video).

Last year for Easter when my daughter was 1 year old, we got her these wind up chickens and she loves them. The twisting motion to wind them up is fantastic. This year they have some bunny ones too.

And honestly, just letting them play with plastic easter eggs, like in this Easter Egg Stacking STEM Challenge is an awesome engaging activity for the day! If you want to put something inside of the Easter eggs (honestly though, most 2 year olds will be perfectly happy using the Easter Eggs from their basket in any of these Easter Toddler Activities), you can pick up little Easter bunny erasers, cars, or other miniature animals or toys to fill the eggs with.

Speech Activity

Toddlers are obviously working on speech at this age. Our speech therapist had brought this bunny where you push the belly and the “nose” (a ball) pops out to work on her “p's” My daughter LOVED this toy. I was thrilled to see it back in stock at the Dollar Tree in the Easter aisle. This little bunny comes with 3 balls. You put a ball in for the “nose” and push the belly to make it pop.

Pushing the belly in itself is a great motor activity, and if you play with your child you can use this to work on some speech exercises like “pop” and “in/out.”

Sensory

This year we are testing out Dollar Tree's version of play dough kits. I got the basic cookie cutter one for the toddler, and the more advanced load and push tool for the preschooler.

You can also get this starter kit which is the Play Dough brand for a comparable price.

Of course, the Dollar Tree has Play-Doh (better price here on Amazon) and sticky/moldable foam for sensory play.

Additionally you can go outside the Easter/toy themed items and use containers to make bubble foam (wash the Easter eggs could be a great activity!) or tissue paper for some fun sensory play. And of course, the crinkle shred gift paper you'll probably stuff your Easter basket with, provides a great sensory experience as well!

Lastly, for older children, upgrade their sensory play for some Easter themed silly putty.

Something to wear

Personally, I just grabbed a fun, colorful, spring themed pack of socks from the Dollar Tree and a headband! But you could also go with any of these options:

Construction toys

Both of my kids love these construction toys from the Dollar Tree. They are super basic, but work great for the beach or at home. You can get a comparable pack on Amazon here.

Final thoughts

It's really easy to DIY dollar tree easter baskets thanks to the wide selection of seasonal items and cool stuff like toys, crafts, and sensory items. You can easily skip the jelly beans and opt for something a bit more fulfilling! You can also find tons of fillers for egg hunts and have a great Easter Sunday with family members or friends.

You can also get some plain bins from the Dollar Tree, bust out your hot glue gun, and DIY the easter basket itself as a fun gift without spending a lot of money.

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originally published 3/4/21; Updated 3/13/23