Easter Gift Ideas – Kids Gardening Kits & Tools
Easter Basket Gifts – Science and Nature Toys
Mar 1, 2009
Instead of filling children's Easter gift baskets with candy or generic stuffed bunnies, parents can select quality educational toys that are geared toward kids' interests. For example, give children who like raising plants science and nature toys that will allow them to grow plants indoors and outdoors, such as kids gardening kits and kids gardening tools.
Easter Gift Ideas – Kids Gardening Tools
Children interested in starting a spring garden will appreciate an Easter basket full of gardening tools. Both ToySmith and Schylling offer Garden Tote with Tools sets that include a small canvas tote and a set of three small wooden-handled metal tools (a rake, a shovel, and a trowel). The Schylling tote also includes a small metal watering can. Add a child-sized pair of gardening gloves and a pair of rubber clogs, and children are ready to start gardening!
Ideas for Easter Basket Stuffers – Seed Kits
Pick up a variety of seed packages from the local nursery or get Seedballz®, clusters of seeds rolled into one easily sown clump of fertilizer and dirt. For more organized growing, get a scatter garden kit that is full of a mix of seeds that will grow plants perfect for attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, or other birds. Children may also enjoy growing herbs, fruits, or flowers with a Garden in a Bag seed kit.
Recommended unique seed kits:
- the Stone Soup Seed Kit ($25.00) includes seeds to grow all the vegetables needed to cook stone soup, plus recipe cards for each plant and for stone soup.
- the Growing Wishes Seed Kit ($19.00) includes eight different kinds of seeds, each which grows a plant with a different wish and meaning, such as joy, hope, and peace.
- Fairytale Garden Sets (each set $12.00) come with the seeds and materials (activities, growth chart, recipes, etc.) children need to grow Cinderella's Magic Pumpkin, Jack's Magic Beans, or the Princess' Pea.
Easter Basket Gifts – Kids Gardening Kits
If children do not have space for an outdoor garden, provide them with indoor gardening kits. A Grow Your Own Plants kit will allow kids to grow a variety of plants ranging from giant sunflowers to Venus flytraps. Children can also grow lily pads or start a cactus garden. Many terrarium kits and micro-terrariums are available, as are eco-friendly bulb and herb garden kits.
To encourage scientific learning and discovery, pick up a plant biology activity kit with which kids can perform growing experiments to learn about the characteristics of plants. EIN-O Science and little labs™ both offer such beginner experiment kits.
Recommended unique plant growing kits:
- Toysmith Garden Root Viewer ($9.95), which comes with a wooden holder, three clear plastic growing tubes, instructions, and three kinds of seeds (carrot, onion, radish).
- Fairy Triad Garden Kit ($25.00), which comes with seed packs and tiny fairy accessories to use inside an included sprouting and growing dome.
Ideas for Easter Basket Stuffers – Make Art with Plants
After growing plants, children may enjoy toys that will let them make art with what they have grown. A wooden leaf press will allow children to dry and press flowers and leaves. A sunprint kit will let children use photosensitive paper to make interesting prints from the outlines of various natural objects.
Easter Basket Gifts – Children's Books About Gardening
Young children interested in gardening will also enjoy books about growing plants. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert [Red Wagon Books, 2003] will provide kids with simple information about growing a flower garden, while Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert [Voyager Books, 1990] explains the process of growing vegetables. Good nonfiction books with information about gardening projects for children include The Gardening Book by Jane Bull [Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd, 2003] and Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite [Barron's Educational Series, 1995].
Unique Easter Baskets for Kids Interested in Gardening
Instead of placing garden-themed presents in a regular basket, creative parents can arrange them in a garden-related container instead. Fun options include:
- a personalized Easter pail.
- a big watering can.
- a kid-sized wheelbarrow.
- a decorated flower pot or other painted planter.
Kids interested in science, nature, and gardening will learn from and enjoy any of the garden-themed educational toys suggested above. Parents can finish Easter baskets off with garden-themed sweet treats such as flower lollipops and edible Easter grass.
Parents can also check out Easter gift ideas for kids interested in animals and insects, or other ideas for gifts and activities for celebrating Easter.
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