This Animal Easter Basket is the perfect gift idea for kids who love animals!
Do you have a child who just LOVES animals? My daughter does, and even wants to become a veterinarian when she's older. This Easter Basket is filled with all kinds of animal figures and playsets that are great for both imaginative play and education. In fact, I'm going to be sharing some fun facts throughout this post that might teach you a thing or two about our furry friends!
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Instead of the traditional Easter basket, I decided it would be fun to use a mini wooden crate instead. It seemed a little more appropriate to go with the animal theme, and it gave me a chance to use this gorgeous Rose Gold Bushed Metal paint! The crate needed a little bit of sanding beforehand, and then I painted it with 2-3 coats of paint. Another great thing about this little crate is that it can be used for storage after Easter is over!
Schleich Farm World sets are a fun way to add animals and animal accessories to your basket. For example, this Rabbit Hutch is perfect for Easter! The set comes with a mother rabbit and 2 bunnies, a rabbit hutch with opening doors, a fenced rabbit run, a tunnel to play hide and seek in, and food/water accessories. I love the attention to detail and how everything looks so realistic!
Fun fact: Rabbits really do love dashing through tunnels, but they also go inside to find shelter from the sun.
**Speaking of rabbits - if you come across the Schleich Easter Red Rabbit on shelves at participating stores in your area, snap a selfie with it to win one of 20 Schleich playsets like this one!
This Schleich Shiba Inu Mother and Puppy set is too cute!! The mother Shiba Inu and her puppy can snuggle up close in the blue dog bed, and the set comes with a bone for them to snack on. These hand-painted figures are incredibly detailed and will be so much fun for kids of all ages!
Fun fact: Shiba Inus are small, agile dogs that were originally bred for hunting and cope very well in mountainous terrain.
You can also find individual animals to add to your basket. The Lion Cub, Rooster, Lamb, and Rabbit are all great choices that will be fun to play with and learn about. You can even pair this rabbit with the Rabbit Hutch Set!
All chickens have a crest on their head made of a flap of skin, but rooster crests are larger and more noticeable.
Sheep younger than one year are referred to as lambs. Their wool begins to grow a few days after birth.
Rabbits don't only eat carrots. Some of their favorite foods are juicy herbs, fresh clover, salad, twigs and peelings.
We couldn't forget including my daughter's favorite kind of animal - dinosaurs! This Velociraptor will be a great addition to any dinosaur collection. This isn't your typical dinosaur figure. Mr. (Mrs.??) Velociraptor is colorful and detailed and has moveable arms and jaw, which makes playing and learning about dinosaurs even more fun!
Fun fact: The velociraptor is considered to have been one of the most intelligent and fastest dinosaurs.
It worked out great that a lot of the animal figures and playset accessories are small enough to fit into plastic Easter eggs. You can place the eggs into the basket, or hide them for the kids to find instead.
When I was arranging the basket with the Velociraptor in front, he seemed a little suspicious... So I moved his little, clawed hands up under his chin and closed the mouth into a grin. That made him seem a little more innocent. I couldn't stop laughing after taking this picture, so I wanted to make sure to share it with you all!!
I filled the bottom of the crate with some white tissue paper so that nothing would escape through the slats. Then, I added some white crinkle paper on top for a little faux Easter "grass". The rooster figure didn't fit into an egg, so I placed him next to the Rabbit Hutch in the crate. Last, add in the filled plastic eggs and some candy (if you want). Who wouldn't want an Easter basket like this?!
Be sure to visit a Schleich store near you to find all kinds of fun animal figures and playsets to fill your own Easter baskets!
Be sure to visit a Schleich store near you to find all kinds of fun animal figures and playsets to fill your own Easter baskets!
What are your favorite animals?
