Easter Basket Gift Ideas

Fill your child’s Easter basket with toys that are as entertaining as they are educational! These products from VTech® and LeapFrog® offer learning and fun for children from 3 months to 12-years-old!

It’s hard to decide what to put in your child’s Easter basket every year, so this year, why not give them gifts you can appreciate as much as they will? These toys from VTech® and LeapFrog® help children learn colors, numbers, letters, shapes, and more while building social skills and exploring their creative imaginations.

Easter basket gift ideas for babies and toddlers 3 - 48 months:

VTech® Snug-a-Bug Musical CritterTM (ages 3 - 24 months)- This little critter is so soft and cuddly, your baby will give him a big hug right out of the package! The Snug-a-Bug Musical CritterTM features two modes: one for engaging playtime and a second for sleepytime comfort. In Playtime mode, the belly lights up in an array of colors, plays melodies, and sings songs. The eight fabric legs each have a button to teach colors, shapes, and music notes. In Sleepytime mode, the soft bug plays soothing melodies and five minutes of lullabies. The soft corduroy tummy, fabric legs, and embroidered face gives babies a variety of textures to experience as they develop a sense of touch. He is perfect for snuggling to sleep!

VTech® Twist & Spin LionTM (ages 6 - 24 months)- This adorable, musical lion suction cups to your table or highchair for some hands-on fun for your baby! He has a hula hoop full of beads that your baby can spin 360 degrees while building fine motor skills. He also has a soft, colorful mane for touchable texture exploration. Your baby will love to hear him “Roar!” and dance along with his 45+ songs, melodies, and phrases.

VTech® Pull & Sing PuppyTM (ages 6 - 36 months)- Move over Fido! This singing, walking, talking musical puppy will be your little one’s new best friend! His catchy songs and sweet little barks will win your child’s heart. Grab the storable cord and pull the puppy to hear him sing, sniff, and giggle while his little legs move! Answer some learning questions like “can you find my yellow button?” and push the colored buttons to learn numbers and hear melodies. It even shuts off automatically when not in use.

VTech® Drop & Go Dump TruckTM (ages 6 - 36 months)- Honk, honk! Get ready to load and go with this rolling, singing dump truck! It comes with three “rock” balls that your child can drop into the hole in the cab and the truck counts them as they roll into the bucket. By pulling the lever, the rocks tumble out like a real dump truck! Your little construction site or truck fanatic will learn counting and colors while building imagination though fine motor play.

LeapFrog® Level Up & Learn ControllerTM (ages 6 - 36 months)- Now your littlest gamer can join in on the fun! The Level Up & Learn ControllerTM is shaped just like a real video game controller with easy grips for little hands. The buttons make gaming sounds and teach shapes! It also features 13 learning activities, a pop-up tiger “bonus” game, and it even teaches Spanish! The six animal buttons sing the alphabet, count, name rhyming words, play “I Spy”, and make their animal sounds for endless fun and learning!

LeapFrog® Chat & Count Emoji PhoneTM (ages 18 - 48 months) - Come play with Scout! Watch cute little videos with your little one about Scout’s day, play guessing games, and even add some emojis like a real phone! Then you can sing along with Scout’s manners song and learn right/left by following his bouncing ball. Don’t forget to answer the phone when it rings and check for voicemails from Scout!

LeapFrog® 100 Animals BookTM (ages 18 - 48 months)- If your child loves animals, then this is the only animal book you will ever want! This talking, singing book features six double-sided pages of animals and their environments. Learn names, sounds, habitats, and fun facts about 100 different animals in both English and Spanish! Do you know what sound a lemur or a panda bear makes? I learned using this book!

Easter basket gift ideas for children ages 2- 6 years old:

LeapFrog® Blue’s Clues & You!TM Really Smart Handy Dandy Notebook (ages 2 - 5 years old) - The Blue’s Clues & You!™ Really Smart Handy Dandy Notebook with non-removable crayon looks like Josh’s Handy Dandy Notebook from the show. Learn through pretend play with 14 light-up app icons that introduce toddlers and preschoolers to colors, counting, shapes, weather, health and hygiene. The Really Smart Handy Dandy Notebook features phone, music and mail apps for pretend play with Blue, Josh and Mailbox. Pretend to talk to Josh and Blue on the phone, check your email with Mailbox and use the music app to dance to fun Blue’s Clues & You!™-inspired tunes. Press the button with the picture of Blue to hear a variety of her fun barks.

VTech® Go! Go! Cory Carson® Mini Character 6-Pack (ages 2 - 5 years old)- Zoom along with all your child’s favorite characters from the Netflix original show Go! Go! Cory Carson®! This mini-character pack comes with Cory Carson, Halle Helicopter, Timmy O’Tool, Kimmy O’Tool, Freddie Firetruck, and Frannie Fenderson. Each little car character rolls when pushed for role-play and imaginative play. They unlock phrases and sounds when placed on PlayZoneTM locations on Go! Go! Cory Carson® playsets (sold separately).

VTech® Go! Go! Cory Carson® Two Scoops Eileen Ice Cream Truck (ages 2 - 5 years old)- This little ice cream truck is so adorable that I couldn’t stop playing with it myself! Roll along with Eileen as she lights up and plays 55 fun phrases, songs, and melodies. It also comes with the Cory and Chrissy characters, complete with two scoops of ice cream on each roof! Drive them up to Eileen’s window and press the counter for more interactions. This is the perfect addition to Bumperton Hills and your child’s imagination!

PAW Patrol Marshall Learning WatchTM (ages 3 – 6 years old) - Join the PAW Patrol and protect Adventure Bay with the PAW Patrol Marshall Learning WatchTM. This interactive kids’ watch includes four exciting games you can play to recognize patterns, identify animal tracks, and pick the right tool for the job with the PAW Patrol. Hear Ryder call the pups into action, cool sound effects, and popular phrases from the show. The learning watch includes a clock, timer, stopwatch and alarm.

Easter basket gift ideas for kids ages 4 - 12 years old:

VTech® Myla’s Sparkling FriendsTM Mia the Unicorn (ages 4 - 8 years old)- Mia the Unicorn is a colorful and cheerful new bestie! This unicorn blows kisses and features positive, upbeat phrases. Your favorite unicorn lover can comb Mia’s hair and add cute clips with the included accessories. Change and customize her light up colors by pressing her necklace then touching her eyes, horn or wings, which flap by squeezing her back legs! Mia is endless fun as you tell her your wishes, sing magical songs, and pretend to fly through the air!

VTech® Switch & Go® T-Rex Truck (ages 4 - 8 years old)- “No one can stop a T-Rex!” Transform this prehistoric creature into a tough, off-road truck. It is very easy to transform with just a few clicks and features 30 cool phrases and roaring sounds. Collect other Switch & Go® dinos (sold separately) for a match-up! “Teeth, claws, and jaws? Don’t mess with Rex!”

VTech® KidiZoom® Smartwatch DX2 (ages 4 - 12 years old)- This kid-friendly watch looks just like Mom’s and Dad’s but with way cooler features like Monster Catcher and Silly Me face filters! Help your child learn to tell time with 55 digital and analog customizable watch faces and explore time concepts with the calendar, alarm, and timer. Parental controls allow you to disable games or set a daily limit. You can also download free learning games, easily recharge the battery, and upload photos and videos using the included USB cable and your computer. The watch has a touchscreen, two cameras, and a voice changer. It is even splash-proof for everyday play (but do not submerge or bathe with it of course!). My favorite feature of the watch has to be the motion apps to get kids moving. Motion-controlled games and a pedometer make for entertaining games and active movement. I love to see the kids moving and having fun!

VTech® KidiZoom® Creator Cam (ages 5 - 10 years old)- My kids were so excited to open this camera and get creating! The KidiZoom® Creator Cam is a photo camera and 720p HD video camera in one. It includes a built-in microphone, rechargeable battery, and tabletop tripod/selfie stick. It easily connects to a computer with the included USB cable (which is the only way to upload photos, at a parent’s discretion) and has a slot to add a microSD for even more storage capability. You are going to want that extra storage when the kids find out there is an included green screen with 20+ animated backgrounds for them to use. They can even make themselves “disappear” with special editing effects. This KidiZoom® Creator Cam really lets children express their creative imaginations with photos and videos as well as backgrounds, on-camera editing tools, a time-lapse creator, and awesome trick effects!

Tara is a mom and the author of the blog Living In Happy Place. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Science and spent many years in the medical and corporate worlds before deciding to share her love of motherhood with other moms through her blog.

Dinosaur Themed Valentine's Day Breakfast

Making memories with your family is what Valentine's Day is all about. You want your kids to feel special and loved. You want to do something fun to celebrate. You also want something that is easy to put together.

That's why you should surprise your kids with a dinosaur themed Valentine's Day breakfast!

It's the perfect way to ROAR into Valentine's Day. These fun dinosaur themed foods and activities are sure to help you create wonderful holiday memories with your kids.

Dinosaur Themed Breakfast Food Ideas

No dinosaur themed Valentine's Day breakfast would be complete without dinosaur pancakes and dinosaur waffles. You can make both the pancakes and the waffles from scratch, but the frozen versions work just as well. Do whatever works for your family!

Dinosaur Fruit Pancake

• 1/4 to 1/2 banana

• 1 round pancake

• 1 mini pancake

• 2 blueberries

• 1 strawberry, cut into a heart shape

• Syrup or whipped cream

Assemble the pancake dinosaur by using the regular size pancake for the body and the mini pancake for the head. Cut the banana to fit between the pancakes as the neck. Use the blueberries for the feet and add a strawberry heart. Serve with syrup or whipped cream.

Dinosaur Fruit Waffle

• 1 round waffle (we used frozen)

• 1 mini pancake

• 2 blueberries

• 1 blackberry

• 1 strawberry, cut into a heart shape

• Syrup or whipped cream

Cut the waffle in half and use one half for the body. Cut the other half into fourths and use 3 of the fourths as spikes on the back of the body. Add the mini pancake as the head. Use the blueberries for the feet and the blackberry for the tail. Add the strawberry heart and serve with syrup or whipped cream.

Dinosaur Footprint Cookies

• Store bought or homemade sugar cookie dough

• Heart shaped cookie cutter

• Small dinosaur

Use the cookie cutter to cut the dough into heart shapes. Place the heart cookies on a cookie sheet. Use a small plastic dinosaur to make footprints in each of the cookies. Bake according to recipe directions. Let cool and serve.

Dinosaur Valentine's Day Themed Activities

A dinosaur themed breakfast is adorable and yummy, but you don't have to let the Valentine's Day fun stop there. After you eat, gather your family together for some dinosaur Valentine's Day activities!

Make your dinosaur themed Valentine’s Day even better by incorporating VTech®’s Switch & Go® collection, which allows kids to transform dinosaurs into tough vehicles, like the T-Rex Truck or the Velociraptor Helicopter. When you change the dinosaur into a vehicle, its eyes transform into a driver. Each dinosaur has a special skill, like the strongest bite ever, and has unique sound effects. You can also include these fun items as part of your Valentine’s Day activities.

Dinosaur Balloon Love Notes

Use a permanent marker to turn plain balloons into special love notes!

• Helium filled balloons

• VTech® Switch & Go® dinosaurs

• String

• Permanent marker

Tie helium filled balloons to each of the VTech Switch & Go dinosaurs. Use the permanent marker to write things you love about each other on the balloon. Display the VTech Switch & Go dinosaurs and balloons for the kids to read during breakfast.

Dinosaur Valentine Mailbox

• Cardstock or construction paper

• Box with opening (we used heart shaped)

• Tape

• Googly eyes

• Marker

Use scissors to cut out a dinosaur shaped head and tape it onto the box above the opening. We cut out a triceratops head and used heart shapes for the horns, but you can design yours in any way you would like. Add feet to the bottom and googly eyes to the face. Use the marker to draw a smile and fill the box with valentines for each other!

After breakfast, untie the balloons from the Switch & Go® dinos and use them to create a balloon bouquet. Then use your favorite dinosaurs for a Dino Heart Roll and Race game!

Dinosaur Heart Roll and Race Game

• Switch & Go dinosaur for each player

• 20+ heart cut outs

• dice

Place the heart cut outs on the floor in two parallel lines. Give each player a VTech Switch & Go dinosaur and a die. Roll to see who goes first, highest roll begins. Take turns rolling the die and moving your dinosaur along the hearts until someone gets to the end and wins. Restart after you get a winner and keep playing!

Using these simple ideas to create a dinosaur themed breakfast is a sweet way to kick off Valentine's Day and make memories with your kids.

You can never go wrong with a dinosaur theme!

Megan is the creator of Coffee Cups and Crayons, a blog full of simple fun and learning. She believes that kids’ activities don’t have to be complicated to be fun and that learning is better with play.

Teach Your Kids the Joy of Spreading Holiday Cheer

This is the perfect season to get jolly and make life magical for kids and adults alike. We are now at the tail-end of the longest year of our lives and parents throughout the world are especially tired. The collective need and longing for magic and holiday cheer can be felt everywhere you turn.

As the mother of four boys, I can tell you that our kids are no different. Their wish lists were carefully curated long before Thanksgiving. The countdown to Christmas is ON several weeks earlier than normal.

This year, more than ever before, I feel a great responsibility to make the next month not only memorable, but also magical beyond compare. Our family has decided to take our usual Christmas traditions and turn them into cheer-spreading opportunities.

We are determined to sprinkle happiness and joy as far and wide into our community as possible. 2020 was a trying year for all of us. Thankfully, these ideas are easily implemented and best of all, they don’t cost a lot.

How Your Kids Can Spread Joy This Holiday Season:

1. Write cards to the elderly.

During the past year, kids everywhere are missing the special connection they have with their grandparents and the elderly are longing for the love and attention they usually get from their grandkids. Due to worldwide COVID restrictions, nursing home residents have been left without face-to-face visitors for months. This holiday season, “adopting a grandparent” in a local nursing home may just be the type of cheer and happiness the elderly in your community need.

I reached out to our local nursing home and spoke with their lead nurse. I explained that I would like to send a card or a letter to their most lonely residents. Well, due to their visitation restrictions, ALL their residents are lonely. Before I knew it, I had committed to giving the nursing home 40 letters, one for each of their residents. Thankfully, I have a wonderful network of friends. Through social media, my campaign to “adopt a grandparent” has spread far and wide. This year, I may just be able to bring each resident TWO cards or letters. Many of the cards include a return envelope, so the elderly recipient can write back and hopefully start a pen pal relationship.

2. Make ornaments for relatives.

It is a Danish Christmas tradition from my childhood to have the kids add ornaments to the family’s Christmas tree decorations every year. These ornaments are handmade, often times of paper, felt or supplies found in nature. This year, as we get creative with our ornaments, we will make extras to give to relatives near and far.

3. Bake cookies for friends and neighbors.

Santa isn’t the only one who loves freshly baked cookies and milk. Kids and adults alike are tempted by homemade cookies and desserts. Nothing says “we are thinking of you” like dropping off a box of cookies on a neighbor’s doorstep.

We like to add a handwritten recipe card and a story about where the recipe came from. Knowing that someone’s grandmother passed down a recipe gives it a special personal touch.

4. Record each other reading a favorite book for a friend or classmate.

This holiday season, our two youngest kids have had a great time with their VTech® KidiZoom® Creator Cam. They take turns recording each other reading their favorite books and then we send the videos to their friends via email.

Due to continued COVID-restrictions, our kids have not set foot inside a school since March. Our kids miss their friends and the connections they made last year with their amazing school-family. Creating these videos with the VTech® KidiZoom® Creator Cam for their friends has allowed our kids to feel more connected, while sharing their favorite books, silly stories, and funny riddles and jokes.

5. Put together a care package.

The holidays this year will most likely be spent in much smaller groups than in years past. Putting together a personalized care package for your loved ones not only says “we are thinking of you”, but also gives them a chance to enjoy delicious food, drinks and baked goods as if you were there with them.

Our Thanksgiving this year looked quite a bit different from previous years. However, before the big day we delivered a personal care package for the grandparents and our other relatives. Our kids loved helping me put the care package together, picking things they thought the recipients would truly enjoy.

Care package ideas: local coffee, home baked cookies, snacks for the kids, kid-friendly crafts, a plant or flowers and a card signed by everyone in the family.

6. Decorate with Christmas lights for the neighborhood and community.

One of my favorite memories from when our kids were younger, was going for walks through our community during the month of December and admiring our neighbors’ Christmas light displays.

This year, our new neighbors challenged us to a friendly “Christmas light feud” and it is the best idea of 2020. My husband and our oldest teen were outside most of the day, decorating our entire front yard with Christmas lights in all colors, shapes and sizes. As I took our youngest kid out front to admire our Christmas lights, I found two families gathered outside our house, admiring the lights with their young kids. Remember, decorating for the holidays brings as much joy to your community as it does to your family.

Let your kids capture pictures and videos of the Christmas light decorations with their VTech® KidiZoom® Creator Cam. The images will be a great way to recall the happy memories you shared this holiday season.

7. Allow siblings to buy presents for each other with a small set budget.

As finances may be tighter for a lot of families this year, we are focusing more on quality over quantity when it comes to gift giving. We will sit down with our kids and have each of them pick gifts for their siblings, while sticking to a budget. I can’t wait to see the holiday magic flowing as each of them think about their brothers and their specific likes and interests.

Looking back on my favorite childhood Christmas memories, it’s the thoughtful Christmas presents that stick out to me. One year, my sister made a box out of craft paper and filled it with the small plastic figurines I loved to play with, scented pencils and coordinating erasers. I remember opening the box and being unable to focus on anything else for the rest of that holiday. Her gift came straight from her heart - and went straight to mine. It is my hope that our kids will give each other gifts as perfect and meaningful as my sister’s present was to me.

The holiday season is about giving. Giving your time and giving love. What a wonderful gift we give our children, by teaching them the joy of spreading holiday magic and cheer.

While this year was challenging in a lot of ways, it has also given us the unique opportunity to teach our kids gratitude for the things we have, appreciation for the things money can’t buy and a deeper love for holiday magic.

Tove Maren Stakkestad is a Danish/ American writer and author with a unique, sarcastic and relatable voice in the parenting community.

After spending over 20 years in the financial services industry, Tove followed her true calling in 2015 and started writing full time, primarily on her blogs Mama in the Now and Hygge in the Now.

As a mother of four boys, she reports live from the trenches of motherhood and successfully helps parents everywhere to parent with heart, humor and lots of Danish hygge.