22 of Our Favorite Easter Basket Ideas

Easter Sunday brings a wealth of surprises: Non-candy stuffers, like toys and trinkets, and sweet treats galore, all presented in a basket made specially for you. Why do we give Easter baskets to each other on this special Sunday morning? The tradition dates back thousands of years when pagan people would pray to the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre, who was depicted in ancient art as cradling a woven basket in the crook of her arm. Over the eras, this imagery and the symbolism of renewal associated with it evolved: To celebrate the end of Lent, early medieval Christians would arrive to church bearing baskets of delicious goods to be blessed by their priest. According to later European folklore, a mythological rabbit was believed to deliver a basket filled with colored eggs for good little children.

That brings us to today, when families still happily exchange baskets on Easter Sunday morning and share the gifts they carry. An Easter basket is stuffed to the brim with classic goodies: decorated eggs, marshmallow chicks, chocolate candy, and stuffed bunny toys.

There's a basket for everyone: For babies, their first Easter is made special with teething toys, stuffed animals, and reading books. For boys and girls, a basket of art supplies, windup toys, and candy will always be a joy. For the teenager, trendy accessories like "rabbit" headphones, egg soaps, and candy critters, all displayed in a beautiful basket, guarantee fun. As for Mom and Dad? Adult sweets and spa-like treats proves that no one is ever too old to appreciate the joy of a holiday basket. Even Martha herself receives a handmade basket from her friend Kevin Sharkey every spring—and over the years, they've proved to be spectacular.

Here, we pay tribute to springtime's riot of color with a collection of Easter baskets that would rival even the most vivid of rainbows. Each one is a celebration of a particular hue: green, orange, gold, yellow, blue, pink, silver, purple, and brown. The contents are also varied. Some baskets hold little bouquets or big chocolate bunnies; others, fluffy pom-pom chicks or polka-dotted eggs. They make excellent gifts and wonderful centerpieces. So, why not treat yourself to one? Remember, Easter baskets—these versions, anyway—are for grown-ups, too.

This sweet basket upgrade—inspired by a vintage design Living style assistant Jaclyn DeNardi had growing up—gives any round wicker style a hare's pair. Bend floral wire into two loops, add a center wire, stick the ends into the wicker near the handles, and secure them all with hot glue. Then work matching raffia ribbon over, under, and around the wires, from bottom to top. Poke taupe and coral raffia ribbon through the front to "stitch" on sleepy eyes and a scrunchy nose—a face so cute, it'll make any recipient believe in the Easter rabbit.

An eco-friendly mindset benefits everyone: you, the recipient, and the earth at large. In this naturally grown garden-in-a-basket, wheatgrass springs up quick as a bunny in just 10 days. The result is a basket that is sweeter and definitely more eco-friendly than those packed with artificial fillers.

An Easter basket filled to the brim with coordinated candy, cookies, and eggs creates a cohesive look. The trick to decorating these speckled Easter eggs is similar to the sponge-painted technique we used to decorate the egg-shaped sugar cookies.

Kids love magical stories and things gone miniature. In this handled basket, we turned the interior into a fairy tale garden complete with "gnome" decorated eggs, vegetable chocolates, and diminutive-sized toy accessories (a wooden wheelbarrow and watering can).

Is it somebunny's first Easter? We suggest a basket stuffed with snuggly, age-appropriate goodies like plush bunnies, teething toys, and handmade rabbit slippers.

What about a small child? These "treats" are better than candy (and better for your little one): wind-up toys to musical eggs to a carrot-and-spoon fork set made special for smaller hands.

This Easter basket, adorned with paper-punched butterflies, will help her tap into her creativity thanks to gifts like coloring books, a make-your-own bunny set, and bunny-shaped crayons. 

For Easter, a white metal bucket is all you need to package the toys and trinkets he loves. Fill it with model planes, transforming robot toys, and more of our basket stuffer ideas.

No one is too old for Easter, including your teenager! This year, give her a basket full of flavored beauty products, more sophisticated candy, and colorful school supplies.

It's spring! And that means, more time out in the garden. This Easter, give a basket (or more appropriately, stone urn) filled with one-of-a-kind gardening gifts, including a stone rabbit statue, custom tools, and seed bombs.

If they have outgrown Easter candy, try curating this gift for a more mature palate. Fill a woven basket with adult-friendly ideas like artisanal sea salt, imported olive oil, must-have gadgets and handmade recipe cards.

Know someone special in need of a little rest and relaxation? Treat them to a basket that packages everything they need for a spa day at home. They'll love indulging in a little "me" time with scented candles, bubbly body washes, and soft-to-the-touch towels.

A frilly alternative to a traditional basket, this rose has humble beginnings: Beneath the folds of pink crepe paper is a plastic bucket meant for mixing paint.

Not every Easter basket needs to be filled with candy: This one is just as sweet, thanks to clusters of mini daffodils planted in a bed of clump moss. Since the basket is lined with a plastic pot, the flowers can be watered so they'll blossom long past Easter. Add to the holiday tableau by resting a few eggs on the moss—and, if you have them on hand, a couple of Hotot bunnies.

This basket certainly is pretty in pink. The anchor of the display is a little basket filled with a mix of light-pink silk flowers (just tuck pots of them into the basket). Pink satin ribbon trails from the handle to the table, guiding the eye to a collection of foil-wrapped candy and jelly beans—all in the same pastel hue. The sweetest final touch: a set of sugar cookies shaped like bunnies and sheep.

An oversize egg doubles as an Easter basket, with smaller versions inside—one cracked and bearing a pom-pom chick. The shell is made with three layers of paper strips: Pink paper is revealed when the egg is cut open; two layers of plain newsprint are on top.

This fanciful green meadow vignette seems a fitting home for a chocolate bunny. His eyes (dabs of tinted royal icing) and bow-tie (ribbon with a glued-on rosette) match his surroundings. To assemble, set a plastic liner inside a vintage green basket, add some soil, and then plant a bed of clover. If you can't find a green basket, give a plain one a color wash. For a basket that's deeper than about six inches, fill the bottom with crumpled-up kraft paper before putting in the plastic liner. We nestled a collection of green-dyed blown-out eggs from quails, turkeys, and chukars (a type of partridge) among the plants. Green picot-edged silk-ribbon bows drape down the basket's sides.

Spring's pretty blue skies inspire this basket, tucked with shimmering German egg boxes. They make for an extra special family tradition—each year, every person can find a gift inside an egg. The eggs are made of sturdy cardboard, which are painted shades of blue and covered in glass glitter. Then we added silk and paper flowers and vintage velvet leaves twined around the handle.

Create an Easter basket display that resembles a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Metallic eggs, covered in varying shades of gold leaf sheets, were set atop a bed of spray-painted hay in a sponge-painted basket. For an elegant finishing touch, tie metallic vintage-ribbon bows on either side of the basket. 

When you're in the room with this extravagant brown basket every fragrant breath is like a moment in a chocolate shop. Set out for Easter, it would make a wonderful centerpiece—then dessert. And what a gift for anyone with a sweet tooth! First, we coated a plain basket with chocolate-brown paint to make the color richer. Then we filled it with shredded kraft paper and dark chocolates in the shapes of eggs, bunnies, and hens. We also put foil-covered eggs in the big bunny's basket by attaching them with dots of royal icing. And we wrapped up homemade fudge in a cellophane bag and secured it with a lavender velvet ribbon. Martha particularly likes the real eggshells filled with chocolate. Fresh flowers, such as this pansy nosegay, should be tucked in just before the basket is given or displayed.

This dramatic scene sets a new silver standard for Easter. There are whimsically polka-dotted and beribboned silver blown-out eggs, filigreed sterling silver "baskets," and, of course, dapper chocolate bunnies—here, white chocolate, tied with ribbons to match the dots. These eggs are decorated using dye, spray paint, and a few snips of ribbon. They're tucked into a bed of silver-plated tinsel, called lametta, more commonly seen at Christmastime. We mixed in a few solid-silver-painted eggs to break up the dots.