Being sugar free is hard. Being sugar free on the holidays is even harder… so try to keep some perspective when your family wants to celebrate like most other people, and not “miss out”… a sugar free Easter is completely manageable, and can be done without deprivation.
Literally days away from my (barely) year old son’s first Easter, people keep asking if he will be attending the church Easter egg hunt. Family asks if he will be allowed to participate in the traditional hunt held at our house for the other kids. And, of course… the big question. If he can’t have candy and other sugar, what are we supposed to put in the plastic eggs?
Are you considering Saying No to Sugar? It’s a fine parenting tightrope and everyone has an opinion, but holidays and birthdays are (in my opinion) some of the hardest times of the year to stick to those principals.
Church Versus Home Egg Hunts
It truly is a blessing that this year he will be too young to feel deprived that we didn’t have the time (or energy) to put a plan into place for him to fully participate in the Easter festivities… although he will receive an Easter basket (containing a battery-operated, bunny shaped bubble blower) and will be allowed to participate in our church Easter egg hunt, he won’t know (at this age) that he isn’t getting what the other kids are.
He will (likely) be thrilled just picking up the eggs at the church hunt, and any “stuffing” that is not age appropriate or sugar free will be carefully taken after the eggs are “discovered”.
At our personal egg hunt, at home, there will be very little if any stuffing this year… again, for a barely-toddler, just finding the eggs will be exciting. But next year… that’s where the real planning comes into play.
Sugar Free Easter Planning
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links, which may earn me a small commission if you decide to make a purchase using the link. Your price does not change. Thank you for helping support All Behind A Smile!
With that being said, the planning has to happen in advance if we are going to pull off a sugar free Easter next year.. so we have already started the scheming.
A big part of our plan for next year is HOW to stuff the eggs and remain sugar free (or reduced sugar if not a Trim Healthy Mama or sugar free purist). After a genius idea I saw purchasable online, we have decided to make tokens to fit inside the plastic eggs as part of the stuffing.
Although you can buy these tokens pre-made, we have decided to go to a craft store after Easter (during the sales) and buy blank wooden tokens that would fit inside plastic eggs, and write our own rewards on them.
Token Reward Ideas and Other Stuffing
Your imagination (and rules) are the limit with reward ideas, so I will briefly mention our other sugar free Easter stuffing plans before outlining our basic plan for “token rewards”. Essentially, I’m planning for sugar free or reduced sugar candies (age appropriate), dark chocolate is a possibility, and small toys. One could also include money, but that is up to the person stuffing the eggs.
So. Sugar free Easter tokens. Here is a basic outline of some of our ideas:
- Watch one T.V. episode or movie (screen time is a special treat)
- Make a dessert together (of course THM friendly)
- Read a book together
- Pick recipe for dinner (THM friendly)
- Play a game together
- Skip one chore
- Make a craft together
- Picnic lunch
- Video games with dad
- Visit the park
- Pancake dance party (THM pancakes and music to dance to while cooking)
- Have a friend over (return token for later use if friend can’t)
- Get a soda (Zevia or other sugar free option)
- Go for a walk
- Dessert for breakfast (THM dessert of course)
- Extra bedtime story
Although I could continue listing ideas, you get the picture. It’s so easy to pick and choose what fits you and your lifestyle for customizing your own tokens, and very cheap if you don’t use “money” tokens or paid events/shopping as rewards. The possibilities are practically endless, and I feel like tokens make a sugar free Easter egg hunt even more fun since they increase the potential for what can be hidden in the eggs… plus, the tokens don’t expire, so the kids can enjoy them longer instead of a sugar binge!
Are you planning a reduced sugar or sugar free Easter? How are you anticipating making it happen? Have you done so before? Let me know in the comments below!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
Leave a Reply