Hi there! Thanks for dropping by! Today I’ve got a FREE PRINTABLE for your child’s Easter basket preceded by a little rabbit trail, of course. 😀
The Basket Blues
I was majorly dragging my feet a few weeks ago in planning the annual Easter hoopla.
“What am I going to put in their Easter baskets?” I moaned in my head as I tried not to look at my calendar. The problem? Actually, there was no problem. In fact, there was the exact opposite of a problem. Our kids have . . . everything! Well, at least everything I want them to have. Our kids are well taken care of, possibly leaning toward being spoiled; needing nothing and wanting only for things they desperately . . . ummm . . . don’t need.
To complicate matters further, our family doesn’t do storebought candy. I know, I know, I’m a total killjoy. In my defense, we do MAKE candy leading up to Easter, but homemade sweets can’t really be popped in Easter eggs the way bite-sized, individually packaged, preservative-laden, diabetes-seeded candy can. The Candy Man can! Ok, moving on.
So, what then to put in the Easter baskets and eggs?
Finally, it dawned on me that I had not one but TWO first-world, Easter-mom problems. These problems are also known as blessings, by the way.
“I wish we could give them, you know, experience gifts for Easter somehow,” I brainstormed aloud to my hubby who had merely shrugged and suggested we just put coins in each one like we did last year. He doesn’t subscribe to first-world fretting sessions. Then, slowly, a concept began to form.
“A summer fun bucket list but more like a journal!” I thought to myself. “Something like a summer fun scrapbook, but with stickers. I know . . . a passport to summer fun!” The passports, I postulated, could go in the Easter baskets along with some new books, and each sticker could be put into an Easter egg!
No candy or plastic junk required. BOOM!
So, I created a little printable passport and found some ADORABLE summer bucket list stickers on Etsy for a quick and easy download at a fraction the cost of a bag of high fructose corn syrup!
I’m pretty pleased with how this little idea has come together, so I decided to share it with all of you! I hope it might be helpful to any of you last minute Easter preppers out there like me. Enjoy!
SUMMER PASSPORT TO FAMILY FUN
How to use this printable:
- Print page one onto colored cardstock or onto white cardstock for you or your child to color!
- Add your child’s name to the top of the cover above the title.
- Print as many copies as desired of whatever version of the journal page you choose; there are three versions to suit when you plan to have the child use their journal during the summer, either the day of, day before, or week of a planned activity/outing.
- Fold the cover as well as the inserts to make a little book. You can print the inserts front to back if you like.
- Secure with staples or twine like I did! Simply tie twine around the innermost leaf with all the others within, and then pull around to the outside and tie there to make a gentle binding. Alternatively, you can punch little holes and weave or tie in a binding to make it a bit more secure.
- In the blank space of each journal page under “we’re planning to,” your child can make a little sketch, paste in a cut out, or pop on a sticker! You can either make your own cut outs /stickers or pay out a few bucks and print a digital sticker file from Etsy!
- In the blank space under “here’s something to help me remember this day,” your child can paste a photo, make a sketch, or paste in a memento such as a feather, theme park bracelet, ticket stub, etc.
Download my FREE pdf file here:
Here’s the SUMMER FUN STICKERS we went with:
PRO TIPS:
- Only include the stickers/cut outs for the activities that you actually foresee doing this summer. However, do save aside the ones that are less likely, just in case! That way you can supply them along the summer if need be.
- Put the passport in your child’s Easter basket along with a new package of colored pencils!
- Pop one sticker or cut out into Easter eggs to reduce or replace candy!
- Encourage your child to use the passport as a line-a-day/line-a-week journal or whenever a fun activity is planned!
- Use in conjunction with our Summer “MORNING WATCH” CLUB!
Please reach out if you have any questions!
HAPPY EASTER, dear friends! Please hop to it and share this post with “somebunny”!
With love, Candace Arden
