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Easter is just around the corner, and it is a great time to surprise your little, and maybe not so little, campers with fun and useful Easter basket stuffers they can use all camping season! I am always looking for opportunities to multi-task. I love when the Easter Bunny fills my kids’ Easter baskets with items they’ll be able to use all spring and summer on our various camping trips. Two birds, one stone – am I right?? Plus, the kids love getting this stuff. They know it means better weather, adventures and fun are headed our way. We recommend the Easter Bunny include these items on his basket list for all the camping kids out there!
Ideas for Preschool to Early Elementary Aged Kids
There are so many great options for fun items to put in an Easter basket for younger camping kids. In general, they love being outside, so it’s easy to find things they’ll love while camping.
Sidewalk chalk
What kid doesn’t love sidewalk chalk? The Easter Bunny gives our younger kids sidewalk chalk nearly every year. We tend to lean toward the buckets of chalk so that it lasts all season and is easy to store. This one is a great affordable option. During a recent Michael’s run, I saw these chalk pucks and thought it was an interesting concept, so our youngest might find a couple of these in her basket this Easter.
Bubbles
Another classic that is a perfect Easter basket stuffer. Seriously, any bubbles. Bubble wands (you can literally grab these from the dollar store). Bubble toys. Fubbles. Bubble makers. Bubble guns. You cannot go wrong with bubbles.
Kite
Again, all kids love kites. You can grab one from the dollar store, which is what our younger kids usually get. We know they’ll probably get trashed or lost, but we don’t mind since they are so inexpensive. Or, you can grab some better quality ones such as this.
Kinetic Sand
Our kids absolutely love Kinetic Sand. Even our teens will sit out with the younger ones sometimes playing with sand. We really like this set, because it includes a box which comes in really handy with storage. But there are loads of sets and colors, and the kids love them all. It’s a great activity for the kids while we have campground downtime.
Color Wonder
We own a gazillion Color Wonder products. They are great for traveling. The markers are mess free. You can find so many options as far as characters and even accessories. So, the kids don’t seem to get bored with them. We try to always have a decent selection on hand while we’re traveling. They also do a great job in occupying them on rainy days in the camper. Our almost-five-year-old has had this set for a couple years now, and still uses it regularly.
Anything Glow in the Dark
Another item that can be found at the dollar store. I included this for the younger kids, but, let’s be honest, kids of nearly any age love to glow in the dark! If it glows in the dark, it’ll be perfect for any campground!
Outdoor Explorer Kit
Little kids love to explore. They tend to love nature. Most love to get dirty. And they generally love feeling like a big kid with big kid toys and gadgets. I think that’s why my kids have always loved explorer or adventurer sets. Our youngest also loves catching bugs. She received this kit last year, and I think she used it every trip we took.
Ideas for Your Older Elementary Aged Kid to Tween
Need some camping Easter basket stuffers for your tween? We’ve got those covered too! Honestly, I have always found this age to be the toughest in terms of gift ideas. They get to the age where they aren’t playing as much with toys. But, they haven’t yet acquired a teen’s taste in fashion and accessories.
Rainbow Loom or Friendship Bracelet Kit
These kits can keep kids busy while traveling. They’re also great for rainy days. Heck, my kids even like sitting outside at the campground picnic table making them. They end up being a lot of fun, because we will put in bracelet “orders” for different colors or designs. Our girls love making bracelets for each other and for us. Our current tween tends to enjoy the rainbow loom more while one of our teens has always preferred the friendship bracelet kits. We simply bought her a pack of various embroidery floss colors, and she used her water bottle to make bracelets. Or you could buy a more extensive kit like this. Our tween has this basic rainbow loom. But they also have combo kits and even mega combo kits!
Boomerang Ball
Our tween received this flying orb boomerang ball from her grandparents for Christmas, and she absolutely LOVES it! It’s a perfect camping Easter basket stuff. It’s small and lightweight. She loves that it lights up. Plus, it boomerangs so she’s less likely to lose it. So far, we play with it in our house. But, she can’t wait to take it camping. It’s a super fun toy that boys and girls alike will love!
Tween Coloring Books/Gel Pens
No matter their age, it seems that my kids enjoy coloring. They may not color every day. With a family of 6, life can get chaotic for all of us. But, I notice a sense of calm that comes over them when they do sit down with a coloring book and a bucket of gel pens. Again, it’s something they can do in the car while traveling. Or, they can color on a rainy day. Mine have even taken their coloring books to the beach. You can find countless themes and patterns. My kids tend to prefer patterns or animals, but there is pretty much a coloring book for anything. You can even find camping themed ones! Our kids seem to prefer coloring with gel pens, but colored pencils work great too.
Joke or Riddle Books
Our tween loves to pass time while traveling by telling jokes. She loves books that include jokes, riddles or even pranks. I’m pretty sure we’ve heard every joke in this Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids book a few times now. I think I’m going to ask the Easter Bunny to add the Don’t Laugh Challenge Interactive Joke Book to her Easter basket this year for a new joke book for our camping travels! She loves challenges as much as jokes, so I think she’ll really enjoy it. Our tween also loves to prank us. This isn’t exclusive to camping, but she loves to do it then too! She actually just bought this 101 Hilarious Pranks and Practical Jokes book from the book fair at school yesterday and is already pulling off some of its practical jokes. And, she’s warned us that she will be taking on trips with her. So, if your lil camper is also a practical jokester, this could be a fun idea for his or her Easter basket too.
String Art
I’m not sure if this is more of a girl trait, but I’ve noticed that my tween girls typically love crafty activities. And, honestly that often fits perfectly into traveling and camping. During this phase, they seem to end up with a lot of different craft sets. It’s great, because they have a lot of options, and it keeps them entertained. You can pack different types of crafts for each trip, so they don’t get bored! String art is another really fun, almost calming craft that is perfect for tweens. There are so many different sets that can appeal to everyone. From unicorns to rocket ships to Harry Potter, you can find string art kits that you’re tween will love.
Fidget Toys
Will the fidget mania ever subside? I think my tween has over 100 different fidgets! She typically packs a bag of a few of them when we travel. And she’s always on the hunt for new ones. My tween literally loves all the fidgets. Pop its. Spinners. Stress balls. Squish balls. Infinity cubes. Snap tracks. Pop tubes. A bunch of others that I don’t remember the names of, but seriously I think she has at least a handful of all of them. You can even really blow their mind with a fidget set! I’ve heard the Easter Bunny might slip one of these fidget gyros in her basket this year. It’s a kind she doesn’t yet have. These Shape Shifting Boxes look really cool, and I think she’d love them, but they’ll a little pricey for an Easter basket…maybe a birthday gift!
Portable Art Kit
As I mentioned, my tweens tend to be pretty artsy and crafty. I found this DIY portable art kit idea that I think tweens will absolutely adore. And what a great idea to include in a camping Easter basket! Obviously, you can mix and match the items to include in your tween’s kit, but the concept is fantastic. We have not tried the Kwik Stix paint sticks, but we picked up some of these Crayola ones for our tween! We have a couple trips planned this year with some longer travel days, and I think my tween will be crazy excited for a kit like this. I might even try to modify it and make one for the preschooler too! This idea is absolutely genius!
Ideas for Your Teen
I don’t know about you, but I feel like the older my kids get, the more expensive the things they want become. For Easter, we try to stick with budget-friendly options while still getting them things they’ll love and actually use. If you need some ideas to send the Easter Bunny for your camping teen’s basket, we’ve got some great ideas for you!
Travel Size Bottles of Their Favorite Products
Again, I have all girls, including two teenagers. They each have incredibly different personalities. My 14-year-old is super into products – skin care products, hair care products, all the products! My 16-year-old is more into fragrance products. But, with 6 of us in a camper, we obviously have limited space for all their various products. Cue travel size bottles! Obviously, this depends on what products your teen prefers and whether they have travel sizes, but if they do, they make perfect Easter basket stuffers for them to take on camping trips!
Earbuds
On one hand, what teen doesn’t already own a pair of earbuds? But, on the other, what teen hasn’t lost their earbuds…repeatedly!? I have one who swears her AirPods are in our house, but she hasn’t seen them for months. My teens have both gotten AirPods, either by buying them with their own money or getting them as gifts. And, hey, my husband absolutely swears by his. I have these Sharper Image Wireless Earbuds. They work great and are a fraction of the cost. They don’t have noise canceling, but if I’m being honest, that feature drives me crazy with my teens anyway! Either way, your teen will be singing the Easter Bunny’s praises if he leaves them wireless earbuds in the basket ahead of this camping season!
Crossbody Bag
Crossbody bags are all the rage now with teens. I’m not convinced it’s not just a new name for a fanny pack, but that’s a whole other blog post! My oldest teen was super excited to buy this Lululemon Everywhere Belt Bag with a portion of her paycheck. And, she does carry it everywhere. This off brand crossbody bag seems pretty similar, has fantastic ratings, and is nearly a third of the cost. Another option, which my other teen chose, is to go the clear crossbody route. She likes to go to hockey games, and only clear bags are permitted in the venue. This one is very affordable, has great ratings, and is stadium approved. If your travels are anything like ours, we like to check out local events, including sporting events. So, when we travel, she takes her clear bag just in case we hit up a game.
Portable Charger
Our teens constantly bicker over plugging in their phone chargers when we travel. One way to stop the bickering is to let one charger with the quick charger while the other uses a portable charger. This is the one we use, and it’s great. It doubles as our Disney World saving grace while we are in the parks. We also have a couple of these smaller chargers to keep on us when we’re hiking and want to pack a bit lighter. The teens appreciate each person having their own charger. They truly come in handy while traveling.
Lens Kit for Phone
If your teen is interested at all in photography. Or at least interested in getting great Insta-worthy travel pictures, a phone lens kit is a super fun gift. This Pro Lens Kit is compatible with all iPhone, Android, Samsung, and Google phones and tablets. Your teen can take phenomenal pictures using the wide angle and macro lens. Or if they’d prefer even more lens options, this is also an incredibly popular option. It comes with 11 lenses, including some that have super fun effects, like the fishbowl and the kaleidoscope lenses. With either option, your teen will have a blast taking fantastic travel pictures they can show their friends.
Drone
Teens (and many adults as well) love flying drones, especially while traveling. There are a gazillion drone options out there. Drones that take pictures and video. Drones that don’t. Mini drones. Full size drones. Models that cost less than $30. Models that cost thousands of dollars. And everything in between. The options feel endless. If you’re looking for a solid, non-photo-taking, pocket model for your teen to tinker around with, this incredibly affordable one is perfect. Or this one comes equipped with a 720P HD wi-fi camera your teen can use to take photos and videos. Both are small, travel-friendly, and affordable. Both will provide tons of fun for your teen during your travels.
Tripod for Smartphone
I feel like there’s a solid electronics, photo trend when it comes to what teens want! Again, there are a lot of options here. To be honest, I’m not going to post the one we have. The tripod itself works fine. However, the remote to take selfies with never worked properly and is incredibly fickle. Instead, you could try this one, which has remarkable reviews and is about the same price as what we paid. We actually may try this one next. It also has great ratings but seems much more versatile. I think either of our teens would love it!
Ideas for All (or at Least Most) Ages
In general, there are some things that all campers, no matter the age, could probably use in his or her Easter basket! The Easter Bunny often replaces things they might need or want for the camping season. Or, sometimes, he brings them new things he thinks they could use. I’m pretty sure he’s brought them pretty much everything in this section at least once!
Sunglasses
All kids can use sunglasses, especially if your camping family enjoys hiking as well. Even when our youngest rode in the Osprey while we hiked, we tried to put sunglasses on her to protect her eye. Or, when that didn’t work, we ate least put a sunhat on her. Now she loves sunglasses. This is a great set, because it comes with pair, so they can easily be replaced if lost or broken. Plus, you can get them in different colors. Ellianna prefers the pink and teal pair, but to each their own! The tweens and teens are a little harder to provide specific recommendations, because it’s such a personal style choice. My tween loves bold colors, shapes and bedazzles. My teens tend to prefer more neutral, conservative choices. Regardless of your kid’s style, sunglasses are a great Easter basket stuffer.
S’mores Kits
If you ask our youngest why she loves camping so much, she’ll candidly tell you it’s for the s’mores. The second we park the camper, she starts asking when we can make s’mores. If you don’t already have a set of extendable roasting sticks, like these, then it’s a great basket stuffer. They’re compact so great for easy camper storage. We have a set, so sometimes we’ll go with different s’mores ingredients. Our kids each like their s’mores a little different. Some like Hershey’s while at least one prefers Reese Cups. They like different flavors of graham crackers, or even waffle cones instead. Even the size and flavor of the marshmallows do not receive unanimous votes in our family. So have fun with it, and put together a s’mores kit for each based on their individual tastes. And to tie it altogether, you can even get a s’mores caddy. It would be a fantastic option for a family Easter basket as well.
Magical Flames
All of our kids have loved these Magical Flames fire color packets. Our youngest actually believes that she uses her own “powers” to make the fire change colors. It’s so fun. Just make sure that you’re not going to roast or cook anything on the fire after throwing these into the flames.
Water Bottles
Last Easter, each of our kids got an Owala water bottle in their Easter baskets. They are insulated, durable, and have a built-in straw. We love them. They have gotten a ton of use out of them. However, we are going to Disney this year. Typically, when we’re hiking, everyone is responsible for their own backpack and water bottle. But I don’t expect everyone to lug around a backpack all day at the Disney parks. So, we’re going to try out these Brita plastic filtered water bottles. They’re much more lightweight and have great reviews. Plus, for those of us who are not accustomed to the taste of Florida water, the filter is supposed to help in that regard as well.
Journals/Adventure Logs
One of my favorite gifts is a camping journal that Eric and the girls gave me the first year we started traveling. I still write in it every single trip. Some of our kids like to journal as well, and it’s something we certainly encourage. Our oldest actually journals pretty regularly, beyond traveling, so she likes journals that are not specific to traveling. This one is great because it has quite a few cover options to fit your kid’s preferences. Our tween is just started to express interest in journaling, so I think we might start her with this camping journal. It provides some prompts, gives her space to write her experiences, plus space to draw. I’m excited to see her document our travels through her eyes and experiences.
Backpacks
A couple years ago, the Easter Bunny actually used hiking backpacks as the Easter basket ahead of our camping season. Each kid received this lightweight daypack in a different color. Two years and countless hiking miles later, they’ve held up remarkably well. When we go out for a hike, each kid is responsible to pack their own essentials they’ll need, such as snacks, water bottle, portable chargers, and any hike-specific items like a bathing suit, towel, or change of clothes. They work great, and it keeps me from having to pack everything for everyone. We highly recommend them.
Portable Hammocks
Every kid that camps wants a hammock. The second we arrive at our camping site, our kids immediately start to scout good hammock trees. When we camp with other families, they’ve been known to create what we call hammock cities. Obviously, the Eno hammocks are incredibly popular. We opted for this brand, and we’ve been happy with them. Each kid has one in a different color. We’ve had them a few years now, and they’ve held up well. They can put them up mostly on their own. We honestly can’t complain about them at all.
Hiking Sandals
We hike quite a bit while traveling, so we make sure to have good hiking shoes for everyone in the family. Particularly for the younger kids, we absolutely love these Keen sandals. At this point, I think we’ve bought them in nearly every color and size over the years. They are a little pricey, but we’ve had great experiences with them. We still use them with the younger kids. The older ones don’t think they look cool enough so they prefer these Skechers sport sandals. I grabbed a pair of these last year too, and I have to say that I do really like them. They’re super comfortable, and we haven’t had any issues with blisters. Now, for real hiking, I don’t know that I’d recommend them, because there’s no ankle support nor toe protection. But for walking or easy trails, they’re great.
Bonus Ideas for Beach Travels
If any of your camping trips include a trip to the beach, the Easter Bunny may want to include some fresh beach items in your kids’ Easter baskets. It helps your pocketbook a bit. Plus, it gets the kids even more excited for spring and summer. These are not uncommon Easter basket items in the G6 house!
Lightweight beach towels
We have this set of Turkish beach towels that dry quickly and are sand free. I think they’re great for camping. They’re light, fold up small, dry quickly. To be honest, our kids don’t love them. But, it’s because they prefer big fluffy towels, which obviously don’t pack as well when you’re trying to keep everything compact. Other options that have great ratings are these microfiber towels or these that have really fun patterns. Because they’re microfiber, they could be softer than the Turkish option. But they still seem to be compact and quick dry.
Sand toys
If you are heading to the beach this year, I definitely recommend asking the Easter Bunny to add some sand toys to your kids’ basket. Last year, we made the unbelievably rookie mistake of buying sand toys once we got to our destination. A small set cost nearly $40 from the local Walmart! Here is a much more cost effective set that will keep or kid busy at the beach all day. Or this one. Both come with storage bags and all the sand toys you’re kid might enjoy.
Flip Flops
Flip flops go great in an Easter Basket. For my teens (and myself), we really like the Sanuk Yoga Joy flip flops. They’re super comfortable and very durable. For teen boys, these are a great option too. Another popular option among my teens are crocs. These are not my favorite. I don’t understand the hype, but they swear by them. You can get them in kid and even toddler sizes too. Admittedly, I do usually get my youngest clogs because they stay on her feet better than flip flops.
New Bathing Suits
My kids love getting new suits in their Easter baskets, especially the older ones. But even the younger ones, who typically don’t enjoy getting clothes as gifts, don’t mind. I think because it’s a sign that we’re getting close to “swim season” that just brings excitement to everyone. I typically grab suits for all of my kids from Macy’s, but it obviously depends on your kid’s individual style.
Skip Ball
We always like to take games or toys that will entertain all of us. This Skip Ball fits the bill perfectly. It’s small and doesn’t take up much room in the camper. The kids get a kick out of how it skips across the water. This set actually comes with two balls and a disc, which helps eliminate that pesky sibling bickering of who gets it. It’s a great family gift!
Every year, the Easter Bunny typically puts something in each of our kids’ Easter baskets that they can use camping and traveling. It’s become a bit of a tradition, and they truly look forward to it. Plus, it helps all of us get super excited for the upcoming travel season! Is there anything we missed? Leave us a comment with any additional suggestions you have for a camping themed Easter basket. For additional Trip Essentials, check out our other gear posts. Or to follow our travel and camping adventures, click here.
