Easter Basket Filler

by Sherry Holetzky | More from this Blogger

23 Mar 2006 10:54 AM

When I decided to discuss Easter basket fillers, I had in mind items that could be given as holiday gifts and trinkets, instead of simply filling baskets up with candy. I still plan to cover these kinds of ideas, but I also want to include "fillers" that you and your kids can make to use instead of Easter grass.

One idea is to use curling ribbon. Nearly any corrugated ribbon, the kind used for wrapping packages, can be curled by scraping a pair of scissors against it. Obviously, you'll want to use round-nosed scissors with small children and make sure the scissor blades are not very sharp. A butter knife will also work.

Shorter pieces of ribbon are easier to curl, but if you want to use long strands so there are fewer to clean up, simply start curling from the middle of the strand and work your way to one end. Return to the middle and work your way to the other end.

Crepe paper streamers also make cool filler. Just cut strips of party streamers lengthwise down the middle. You can mix different colors and arrange strips in the bottom of a basket, or you can use the directions below to make them look more like grass.

• Unroll a roll of streamers about one foot, and cut one piece off, unroll another one-foot length and cut. Continue until you have enough strips to fill all your baskets.
• Lay the piece lengthwise and begin cutting slits from bottom to top, being careful not to cut all the way through. Each slit should be about ¼" thick. Leave about ¼" of uncut crepe paper across the top to hold it together.
• To make it easier, and to make sure kids don't cut all the way through, you can draw a straight line across the top of each strip about ¼" from the top.
• Fill baskets as you would with Easter grass.

*You can use wide ribbon, strips of pastel fabric, or colored construction paper, instead of crepe paper to achieve the same effect.

Learn more about Sherry Holetzky

Sherry Holetzky is a work at home mom and freelance writer. Married to her best friend, Sherry and her husband are raising their family in a quiet rural setting in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

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