Many of us have looked forward to putting together Easter baskets for our kids each year, and even if the Easter Bunny isn't part of the picture, we want to continue this fun tradition. As kids get older, it gets a little more challenging to come up with Easter gifts. You find yourself asking: what should I put in an Easter basket for a 10 year old??

No worries! We've got some great tween-approved gift ideas for you! Easter baskets are great for older kids. Tweens (preteens approximately 9-12 years old) are at an age where their own interests and preferences are really starting to shine. One of the exciting things about Easter baskets for tweens is you can support their interests, ideas and creativity with gifts they can use.

How to Put Together the Perfect Easter Basket for Tweens

Here are a few quick tips for putting together an Easter Basket your middle schooler will love.

1. Consider Their Interests

Think about your tween's hobbies and interests. What are their favorite hobbies? For instance, middle school sports are popular with many 11 and 12 year olds – is there an accessory like shoe laces or a ball pump that would support that? Little items that add to current interests often make great Easter Basket fillers.

2. Try One of These Alternative Basket Ideas

With tweens, you can try something out of the ordinary for Easter Baskets and wind up giving gifts in a “basket” that will be able to be used for years.

• Decorative bins – A cute bin like this can be used later to store things in their room.

• Hats – Whether they need a new sun hat or they have a favorite team, you can use a new hat as an Easter basket.

• Supply caddies – super useful for tweens who like to sew, do crafts or gardening. And then you can fill the supply caddy with fun craft or gardening supplies.
• Tackle box – We have one of these tackle boxes for my  11-year-old who likes to paint. He likes the fact that you can see through it to easily spot your supplies. A tackle box or toolbox could be a great Easter basket for kids who like fishing, woodworking, or working on cars.

3. Personalize

Choosing basket fillers in your big kids' favorite color or style can be a fun way to personalize (one of my kids loves anime, for instance, so that's a possible fun theme). Decorating their basket with their name, or adding a cute family photo can also show your love.

The Most Popular Easter Basket Gift Ideas

The popular Easter basket gifts from younger years are usually still hits. Most tweens do still love:

• cute stuffed animals,
• chocolate bunnies,
• marshmallow chicks,
• jelly beans,
• little toys and games.

The trick is finding toys and games that are age-appropriate to hold their interest. And what do you put in an Easter basket for a kid who doesn't like chocolate? That's where our big list of ideas comes in. Whether your older kid is into art, science, or adventures, we've got ideas for their basket treats. Read on for non-candy ideas.

Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas for Tweens

Baking Supplies

For older kids who like to bake, you can give them real tools, ingredients for a favorite recipe, or a cookbook to learn something new.

• Baking utensil set – bright colors make these baking tools fun for an Easter gift.
• Silicone baking molds – Tweens can use non-stick silicone molds like these to bake pretty shapes. They're also probably making their own lunches, and these baking molds can work well in a lunch container for dividing food.
• Cookie cutters – This colorful set of cookies cutters will have your kid set for baking cookies. We love gifts like this for kids entering their teen years, because they're practical, they get you kids working on life skills like cooking and your teen can take with them when they leave home.

Arts and Crafts Items

These Easter goodies are great for encouraging artistic tweens. You might give them a new supply they haven't tried before to add to their art collection.

• Sketch pencils
• Watercolor brush pens
• Markers
• Acrylic paint set or Brush and pallet
• Origami paper
• Bright Rolls of Duct Tape for Crafts like making wallets or for marking their notebooks or tools.
• Washi tape – for journaling or scrapbooking
• A book of Doodle Ideas

Sewing Basket

Adolescents is a great time for learning new skills and sewing is a super satisfying life skill to have. There are some great books on the market now too for kids just beginning to learn. Sewing School 2 focuses on machine sewing for kids.

• A bundle of beautiful fabrics – your local sewing shop will likely carry bundles of matching fabrics that your tween can add to their stash.
• Decorative scissors
• Singer sewing kit

Games and Puzzles

We have a selection of family games here that we love for the whole family. One of the fun thing about older kids in your life is they can play much more complex games. Here are some game choices specifically for older kids from my friend's 12 year old and 14 year old. We asked them what they'd put on their wish list.

• Fungi
• Hive
• One Night Ultimate Werewolf
• One of these math/thinking games from our list of favorites
• Amazon coins (with a hand made card) so they can add things to their favorite apps.
• Fidget toys

Gardening Basket

If your child love to get out in the dirt, you might fill a supply caddy with gardening tools, seeds or even plants.

• Strawberry Plants
• Flowers
• Gardening Gloves – It's always nice to have a pair of work gloves. Your Teen may really get a kick out of this pair that has ABS plastic claws so you can dig right in without even using hand tools.

Tween Beauty Basket

Preteens are often just starting to experiment with makeup. This can be a fun time to try out various bath and toiletry items

• Nail polish (There are some great non-toxic options available now. You can even find Piggy Paint at Target)
• Bath bombs
• Makeup
• Face towels
• Lip gloss
• Nice smelling soaps or lotions

Gaming and Tech Gear

Got a gamer in your family? Here are some tech and gaming items that make fun Easter gifts:

• Ear buds 
• Gift cards to Steam or Roblox
• A spare charging cube
• A battery pack for charging on the go
• Video games for their Nintendo Switch or DS

Outdoors Fun Basket

If your preteen loves hiking, biking or camping, Easter basket fillers can revolve around those interests. It's a great time of year for picking up a few new camping accessories to try as the season starts getting warmer.

• Flashlight or headlamp
• Bike Light
• Hand warmers
• Socks
• Marshmallow toasting sticks
• Bike tube
• Mini First Aid Kit

Books Make Great Easter Basket Stuffers

We love to put a book in an Easter Basket. The following allow your tween or teen to learn more about their world. You could also choose a book from their favorite Manga series, Graphic novels, or a blank journal or drawing book.

• The Pocket Scavenger – this is such a fun one for encouraging creativity and flexible thinking.
• Trail or nature guides for your area
• Pocket Genius Guides – Is your child into collecting rock? Learning about space, the human body, plants or animals? DK has a Pocket Genius Guide for nearly any interest.
• The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys or The Pocket Daring Book for Girls

Happy Easter! We hope you have a blast putting together an Easter basket that your Tween will love!