If you're looking to pack up the perfect Easter basket, look no further than the HERSHEY'S brand. Seriously. Just buy up all their yummy choices and you'll be all set. 

I was sent some delicious things to make my own basket. In the basket pictured above, I have

• HERSHEY'S Solid Milk Chocolate SNAPSY Bunny
• REESE'S Peanut Butter Eggs
• JOLLY RANCHER Wild Berry Jelly Beans
• YORK Peppermint Patty Eggs
• HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Eggs
• CADBURY CREME EGG Candy

The YORK Peppermint Patty Eggs and JOLLY RANCHER Wild Berry Jelly Beans are new this year and absolutely delicious. I'm partial to the YORK eggs, myself but that's just because I love YORK everything. :) 

The hubster prefers his REESE'S Peanut Butter Eggs. He thinks they're the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter...and he's very upset when Easter is done and these leave store shelves. And please don't get me started on Cadbury creme eggs. I just love sneaking one of these to snack on during the day. 

The new HERSHEY'S Snapsy Milk Chocolate Bunnies are made to be easy to share. There are scored parts of the bunny that easily snap off. But really, I'm not looking to share this bunny in my house. How could I share something that tastes like a giant HERSHEY'S Kiss? Impossible! {I'll have to make sure everyone has his/her own.} ;)

Also new this year are the JOLLY RANCHER Jelly Beans. I tried out the Wild Berry flavors. These are way too good for a sweet tooth like mine. {Watermelon is my favorite of the flavors but they're all delicious.}

Finally, I HAVE to tell you about the Celebrate with HERSHEY'S website. On this site, you'll find a complete listing of what HERSHEY'S products are available for Easter, as well as basket ideas, crafts, recipes, and more! They have the cutest ideas there so you'll want to visit for sure. 

Speaking of crafts, I saw a cute wreath craft on that site. The wreath is fully covered with HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Eggs. I wanted to do something similar to that craft but do it in a way that is a little easier for little ones to help out with. 

What you'll need:

• 1 Bag o HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Eggs
• 1 piece of cardboard you can reuse {If you want to cut an exact circle, you may want to use a compass.}
• 1 box cutter
• 1 Glue gun
• Ribbon
  
  

I started out by making my circle and cutting it out. {I used an old box lid left over from moving and grabbed my compass so I could make a perfect circle.} Then, I used the box cutter to cut it out. 

Grabbing my ribbon, I cut about a 2 foot length and folded down about 2 inches, securing just the bottom of the loop with my hot glue gun to create a tab for hanging. 

 I then used my hot glue gun to secure the ribbon completely to the front of my "wreath" and also secured the excess on the back. Now, if you have enough ribbon, you may want to wrap the whole wreath to make a pretty background for the eggs. I didn't have enough, so I grabbed a marker and colored the the wreath.

This is a good part to let the little ones help out on. 

Finally, finding the back seam on each egg, I put a bead of hot glue from top to bottom and placed it on the wreath until it was full. I finished off the wreath by cutting a length of ribbon to tie around the wreath and add a bow.

Tada!

This is a fast and easy project and it looks so cute. Just keep in mind, once the eggs are glued to the wreath, they're not going to be OK to eat. ;)

** Thanks to the PR firm or brand for the items to review. This review is based strictly on my experience and opinion. I was not compensated for the review itself or to influence my choice of words. Others may not agree or may have a different experience.**

HERSHEY'S Has All Your Easter Basket Needs! {review}

• DIY Easter easter basket Easter Wreath HERSHEY'S review tutorial
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I just love holidays, like Easter, that give me an opportunity to buy fun things for my kiddos. I'm a gift-giver and always look for ways to personalize gifts and tailor them to my children's specific interests. On Easter, I like watching the kids run around the house looking for hidden Easter eggs and opening Easter gifts. These traditions mean so much to me as these are days I don't get to do-over, I only get to enjoy them again next year...and my "little ones" won't be as little then. 

The other day, I took Alex with me to Walmart to gather items for Easter baskets. Our main goal was to find a Nickelodeon themed Colgate toothbrush for the kiddos and make them Easter baskets to encourage healthy #EasterSmiles.

Right at the store's entry, we found this pallet of Colgate oral health items. It was packed with Nickelodeon characters like Spongebob Squarepants, Dora, and Diego on items like toothpaste and toothbrushes. Alex was very excited and wanted to pick out his toothbrush right away. After selecting Spongebob for himself, he chose a Dora toothbrush for his little sister in her favorite color of pink. 

We shopped around the store and finished selecting items for Easter Baskets. I tried to steer clear of sweets and looked more for things that my kiddos would enjoy playing with. Really, my goal was to stock up on items that promote smiles in my home. Instilling healthy oral care habits and limiting the candy is a great way to do that. {Don't you think?}

I spent just over $50 and was able to get great items for all three of my kiddos. I'll be honest and say that I felt really good spending that money on items they'll enjoy using rather than spending it all on candy. I think this is a wonderful idea and I fully intend to stick with this in the future.

If you'd like to see more about my shopping experience with Colgate and Walmart, see my Google+ album.

For Mikayla, I grabbed this adorable "Easter chick" onesie and headbands. Every baby needs a "baby's first" outfit and this was a steal at only $3.25 for the onesie and just under  $3 for the pair of headbands. 

Alex and Eliana both received a new toothbrush and small toys that fit their unique tastes. 

Alex really loved the Spiderman bucket he found. He really enjoys a good superhero and has been running around our home acting like he's Spiderman since he found this. He also found a Fisher-Price Batman toy, a cute puzzle and wind-up bunny toy, a Nascar toy filled with candy, and {his favorite} a Spongebob Colgate battery-powered toothbrush.

 Would you like to hear something wonderful about Alex's Easter items? He's been begging me to use his toothbrush since we bought it. I put all his items aside for Easter morning but I just know that he's going to want to use his new toothbrush right away. Also, his toothbrush matches his toothpaste that he currently uses every day. It's true. We're big Colgate fans in this house and Alex loves picking out his favorite toothpaste and toothbrush.

Eliana's bucket has all of her favorite things in it. It's filled with Disney Princesses and the color pink. Her favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty and I was excited to find items in Walmart featuring that princess. Also, we found an adorable set of hairclips for her with bright colors perfect for the Spring and Summer.

Making our way around Walmart to fill our buckets for Easter was easy as they have something for everyone. Also, being able to find items for my kiddos to enjoy that aren't strictly candy makes me feel great as a mom. I know these baskets will bring many smiles to my kiddos and their Colgate toothbrush will keep those smiles healthy while making oral health fun for them.

What are your traditions? Do you make Easter baskets for your family? How would you incorporate a Colgate toothbrush into your gifts?

Be sure to follow Colgate on Twitter and Facebook.

• • 
    
  • **This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.

  #CBias All opinions are 100% my own. Others may have a different experience.

Our Smiles-Centered Easter Baskets {review}

• #cbias #EasterSmiles Colgate Dora the Explorer Easter easter basket nickelodeon spongebob squarepants walmart
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I recently made a trip to my local Kmart store in search of items to use in decorating my table for Easter. I also needed to get Easter baskets for Eliana and Alex. I know this is a store I can count on to offer me a great price and the pre-packaged baskets can prove to be quite the time-saver for this mom of three.

In our home, holidays like Easter are a pretty big deal and just packed with activity and visiting. I enjoy adding things to my home to make it feel festive and get the kiddos excited for the day. And since the table is somewhere we spend plenty of time eating/snacking, I like to dress it up while still making it kid friendly.

Anyway, I found everything I needed at Kmart and enjoyed all of the deals I found while I was there. 

I have to admit, this wall of pre-made Easter baskets was quite wonderful. They had all different styles, sizes, and price points to choose from. As you can see, the ones in this picture were all $9.99. There were also a few other price points gathered on the shelves and I believe they went up to $19.99 in price. 

I found the Celebrations by Radko line of accessories to be super cute. I bought a few different items from this line to use on my table. They're great for Easter but I also thought they were perfect for a family table. They're really nice to have out but they're not too formal for little ones. Everyone can enjoy these.
{...And seriously, look at how darling that candy dish is.}

I was spoiled by my company when I was shopping too. Eliana loved helping me pick things out for Easter...especially candy. She told me what she liked and didn't like and even chose to sing a few songs to me while we shopped. It doesn't get any better than that. :)

If you'd like to read more about our shopping trip, please see my Google+ album. 

Once I got home, it was time to unpack my bags and start decorating! {I LOVE this kind of thing!!}

I was able to turn all of this...

into this. 

The Celebrations by Radko dishes looked so sweet at the center of my table with my DIY centerpiece.

 Yes, I love candy and I thought it would be fun to put it out on the table prior to the big, holiday meal being served. And really, jelly beans are harmless. Right?

This is as close as I get to having my own Easter basket this year so I wanted to "go big". ;)

You must take a look at the Celebrations by Radko egg holders I found for Alex's and Eliana's plate. The little girl matches my candy dish perfectly and the little boy is a perfect compliment to her. For now, I placed the Easter eggs I purchased in the holders but these will be holding the eggs we dye soon. 

On Easter morning, Alex will find this basket at his seat 

and Eliana will find this one.

 The toys in these baskets are things I just know my kiddos are going to like playing with, the price of $9.99 a piece was PERFECT, and there are just a few, small candy items at the bottom of the basket for them.

At the end of my shopping trip, here's how I did. {Drum Roll, Please...}

 I received a $5 gift card to the store and saved over $20 otherwise. I also stored up a lot of rewards points and I'm very excited for that! Many of the Easter items I purchased gave me double points. If you're not familiar with the Shop Your Way Rewards program, you have to check it out. It's free to sign up so you have nothing to lose.

PS...Keep up with Kmart on Twitter and/or Facebook to find out the latest and greatest deals.

Now, did you want to see how I put together my centerpiece?

I started with a glass pitcher {$6.99 at Kmart} but you could use a glass hurricane or vase if you like.

Put a pinch of Easter grass in the bottom of the pitcher.

Pour a bag of jelly beans over the grass.

Using the bunny Peeps, stand them up at the inside edge of the pitcher. I used 2 rows of attached bunnies and one bunny from the third row in the package.

Here's what it looks like looking inside the pitcher.

Stuff Easter grass in the middle of the bunny circle and let it spill over the top of them.

Pour a bag of jelly beans over the top of the Easter grass. 

Phew! All of that work made me want to sit down. When I sat down, my new candy dish offered me some jelly beans.

"I don't mind if I do, bunny. I don't mind if I do."

**This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. The opinions and experience shared are 100% my own. #CBias 

Decorating My Table The #KmartEaster Way! {and a tutorial} #cbias

• #cbias #KmartEaster Celebrations by Radko centerpiece diy DIY Easter easter basket Easter Basket Ideas Easter decor Easter Decorating Easter Tabletop Decor home kmart Kmart Easter pinterest tutorial
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When it comes time to fill the Easter baskets, I lean heavily toward the sweets and treats. And why not, right? There are so many to be had in the Spring season.

However, I thought I'd try something a little different from Red Envelope after given an opportunity to work with them. What I found looked delicious and, dare I say, nutritious compared to what I think of when I think "Easter".

For this review, I selected the Cherry Moon Farms Favorites for a healthy take on an Easter Basket. Online, it looked so tasty and had me "sold" on it when I saw a few sweets were included as well. {I can't completely give up the sweets, mmkay?}

I put in my order and received a confirmation email right away. Then, when my order was ready to ship, I received another email with information on shipping. I must say, it's really nice to be kept in the loop every step of the way, even after it's been delivered. If you're planning on sending a gift from Red Envelope to someone, you can be assured that you'll know what's happening with your gift the whole time.

Here's a look at my order after its arrival.

The recipient's gift message {that you can create through the check-out process} is clearly marked on the top of the box so before the box is even opened, he/she will know who it's from. 

After I opened the box, I saw a book of nutrition information as well as other items that could be ordered from Cherry Moon Farms. This is a great addition as I have a child with dairy allergies and I can be sure to keep him away from any snacks that may contain it.

Just LOOK at this beautiful layout. I wanted to dig in and have a big orange...and some jelly beans...right away. The fruit looked amazing, with not a bruise or mark to be found and the snacks found along the side of the box were the perfect companion. 

If you chose to order this for your own family, keep in mind how easy it would be to transfer the fruit, snacks, and "grass" to a beautiful basket. Can you picture it? I certainly can and I'm really happy with my order from Red Envelope.

Be sure to visit for many other gift ideas perfect for Easter!

**Thanks to Red Envelope who supplied the items to facilitate this review and giveaway. I wasn't compensated in any way for this post. In this post I share my thoughts and opinions of the items mentioned. Others may have a different experience or opinion.**

Shop Red Envelope for Easter Goodies {review}

• cherry moon farms Easter easter basket fruit red envelope review
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