Grapat Toys Review | 6-18 Months
A full review of the Grapat toys we’ve been playing with from age 6 to 18 months! We will recommend our favorites if you’re looking for ideas.
We have tons of great non-toxic Easter basket ideas for toddlers.
Our goal is to provide safe, non-toxic options. We like to focus on practical items, eco-friendly items, and products that have longevity.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. What does this mean?
In this article, we give non-toxic options for:
1. Easter Eggs
2. Easter Egg Fillers
3. Easter Basket Fillers
4. Easter Baskets
5. Easter Basket Grass
Most plastic Easter eggs are made in China, contain BPA and may also contain other harmful contaminants (like lead).
If you’re looking for a non-toxic alternative to Easter eggs, we’ve found two good solutions: wooden Easter eggs and Eco Eggs (made of “better” plastic.
Wooden Easter eggs are the more expensive option of the two, but are also better from the environmental and toxicity stand-point.
We like these wooden Easter eggs from the Etsy shop “Red Barn Toys“:
If you want plain wooden Easter eggs, check out this etsy shop. You can buy them in sets of 5, 12 or 40+:
“Eco Eggs“. are another great choice for Easter eggs. Though Eco Eggs are still made of plastic, they are made of recycled plastic and BPA-free. Eco Eggs are also made in America. Eco Eggs are meant to be held on to and reused year over year. We feel comfortable using Eco Eggs in our home for the purpose of Easter egg hunts. However, we don’t feel comfortable putting loose food products in the eggs because the plastic isn’t considered food grade.
Eco Eggs come in two different sizes, the standard size and jumbo size:
The jumbo size allow for more filler options for toddlers, but they only come in larger sets (the smallest being 6 12-count boxes) and are only available on the Eco Eggs website. If you want fewer eggs and a more affordable options, check out Eco Eggs in the standard/traditional size.
It can be hard to find non-food Easter egg fillers for toddlers that aren’t choking hazards or junk.
For the standard size Easter eggs, stickers and Eco-Dough (a non-toxic version of Play-doh) make great Easter egg fillers for toddlers.
If you get the jumbo size Easter eggs, you’ll have a lot more options for the Easter egg fillers. Here’s some ideas of non-toxic toys that will fit the jumbo sized eggs:
Books are a great addition to your toddler’s Easter basket. You can keep to an Easter theme (Spring, bunnies, etc.) or simply pick books based on you child’s interests. Here are some of our favorite books that we recommend for toddlers:
Elmo: This is a simple and vibrant book that our toddler requests again and again. There are not a lot of words (“Elmo is happy to see you”, “Meet Elmo’s friends”), but there’s plenty of opportunities to talk more about what’s on each page. On the “Meet Elmo’s friends” page, our daughter likes us to ask her to find each character. If you have an Elmo-lover like we do, we highly recommend this book. We plan on getting the “Abby” version of this book for our Easter basket this year.
Peek-a-Flap Moo: This is a fun lift-and-flap book all about farm animals. Our little one likes to lift all the flaps and point to the different animals. Perfect for practicing farm animal sounds too!
Animals (Touch and Feel): We’ve had this book for a while and it’s still a favorite. Plus, the bunnies on the front make it perfect for Easter.
We recommend sticking to open-ended toys for your child’s Easter basket. These toys will be played with for years to come. Here are some ideas:
Grimm’s is a German-based company that makes wooden toys. The Grimm’s rainbow is a very popular toy and we love the pastel version of the large, 12-piece rainbow. The pastel colors are perfect for Easter! There’s also a smaller, 6-piece rainbow (in original colors), which also comes in natural – so pretty!
We love these wooden balls by Grimm’s. They fit perfectly in a toddler’s hands but aren’t too small to be a choking hazard. And they come in an egg carton, so perfect for Easter!
Peg dolls are well-loved in our house. Toddlers can start playing with them in imaginative and creative play. We like the peg people from both Grimm’s and Grapat.
The peg dolls usually come in a pretty big set, but if you just want to try them out or save some money, we highly recommend the set of 3 peg dolls from Grapat (which they call “nins”).
Toddlers love anything with wheels! Consider a car (and peg doll). You don’t even have to own peg dolls, as these cars come with one! This is a perfect way to dip your toes in and see how your toddler reacts to peg people without buying a huge set!
Made by Grimm’s, they offer one-seater or two-seater cars (with people included!) in a couple different colors.
Our toddler loves wooden animals, and we love them because we know they’re safe and will get years of play! Ostheimer and Holztiger are both great brands.
Related:
The Grimm’s Pebbles are egg-shaped and come in a wide variety of colors that make them great for Easter baskets. As previously mentioned, the smallest pebble can also fit in a jumbo-sized Easter eggs.
We love our lacing toy from Red Barn Toys (Etsy shop)! We have the butterfly, but they also offer a bunny, car, tractor, heart & more. We like that you can choose the string color and it’s sealed with beeswax polish. Lacing toys are not only fun, but help with hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. We like to keep ours in our diaper bag to bring out in waiting rooms and restaurants. These make a perfect addition to a toddler’s Easter basket.
Water toys are a great addition to an Easter basket for a toddler. With warmer days ahead, they can be played with outside with a water table or swimming pool. Or they can simply be used as a bath toy. Our favorite water/bath toys are made by Green Toys. Green Toys are the few plastic toys we feel comfortable with, as they are made in the U.S. with recycled milk jugs.
Here’s examples of some Green Toys water/bath toys:
In addition to the water toys that can be played with outdoors, Green Toys makes other great toys that are perfect for outdoor play. We love toys that encourage kids to play outside and these toys will stand up to sand, dirt and mud!
Arts and crafts are a great addition to any Easter basket. At the toddler age, we keep our arts and crafts pretty simple. There are plenty of non-toxic options on the market, but here are some of our favorites:
If you’re looking for some practical items to fill your toddler’s Easter basket, consider:
We love putting pre-packaged snacks in Easter baskets for toddlers. Here’s some of our favorites:
For a non-toxic Easter basket, look for one made of natural materials as opposed to plastic. Also look for timeless designs that will grow with your child and can be re-used year after year. Even better if you can get use out of the Easter basket year round!
Here are some Easter baskets we found on the Target website that are not plastic and made with natural materials (click on image to buy):
Skip the fake plastic grass! You can skip the Easter basket grass in general, but if you’re loooking for a cute non-toxic alternative, consider using a play silk. Sarah’s Silks make a great alternative to Easter basket grass. You can keep with the grass theme and get green or switch it up and choose from a multitude of fun colors. We love the idea of using a play silk as Easter grass because it doubles as an open-ended toy and won’t be tossed to the side or thrown away.
Hope you and your family have a Happy Easter!
A full review of the Grapat toys we’ve been playing with from age 6 to 18 months! We will recommend our favorites if you’re looking for ideas.
Read our honest review of the Nugget couch (Nugget Comfort) after using it a year.
These toys will make an egg-celent addition to your Easter celebration!