Fun Easter Baskets + Homemade Sweet Easter Snack Mix

This post is in partnership with Mars Wrigley Confectionery. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You guys already know from all the gushing I do that I absolutely love springtime. And one of my favorite parts of springtime is putting together fun Easter baskets for my little ones. This year, I decided that I wanted to make a special snack to put in the baskets and came up with the most delicious recipe for a festive, colorful Easter snack mix made with popcorn and M&M’S® Pastel Milk Chocolate and M&M’S® Pastel Peanut candies. Today I thought I'd share the recipe with you, and also show how I create fun, festive Easter baskets using the snack mix and other goodies.

The first thing I did was head over to Sam's Club to pick up the most important part of the mix: M&M’S® Pastel Milk Chocolate and M&M’S® Pastel Peanut Sam’s Club pantry jars. These resealable jars are an incredible value and are perfect for all of the decorating and baking I love to do around Easter time. They're also great for filling my candy dish with fun colored, festive M&M'S® candies for spring. Being able to able to get items in bulk for incredible members-only prices at Sam's Club is so convenient, especially for recipes like this when I'm planning on making a bunch to hand out to friends as well. Sam's Club also rocks when I'm in a rush. I can order items online on their app and drive right up for them to bring them out for me. So good!

SWEET EASTER SNACK MIX 
8-10 cups popped popcorn
1-1/2 cups vanilla baking chips
1 cup mini pretzel twists, broken up
1-1/2 to 2 cups M&M’S® Pastel Milk Chocolate and M&M’S® Pastel Peanut candies
Easter-themed sprinkles


In a large bowl, combine the popped popcorn, pretzels, and M&M’S® candies. Melt the vanilla baking chips in the microwave (30 seconds at a time between stirring) or a double broiler until completely melted. Pour the melted vanilla chips over the popcorn mixture while stirring. When well combined, spread the mixture evenly on a wax or parchment paper covered baking sheet, and immediately cover with sprinkles. Gently stir so sprinkles stick to the vanilla coating. Allow to fully cool and break into pieces. Fill party bags with the snack mix for baskets (more on this below) and store the rest in an airtight container.

So easy. So delicious!

And now on to my favorite part, the Easter Baskets! (NOTE: I realize it might be a little silly to word this like a DIY when in truth, you're just arranging some things in a basket, but for the sake of staying organized, let's just go with it.)

EASTER BASKETS 
baskets (duh)
filler (either Easter grass, tissue, or pieces of fabric)
cellophane party bags
ribbon
small toys*
small stuffed animals*
Easter eggs (we usually do a mix of real colored eggs and plastic eggs filled with M&M’S® candies)

*Obviously these items can be changed out to best suit the interests of the receiver. My kids are young so we usually go for small toys and stuffies, crayons, bubbles, etc.

If you're super crafty, you can always make a basket, but I'm more of a "I love to decorate but not from complete scratch" type of person, so I buy them. I have a thing for baskets in general, and when I choose which Easter Baskets to use for the kids each year, I try to pick ones that are well made and pretty, so they can use them beyond just the holiday. For the items to fill the baskets, I usually go for small toys and stuffed animals that I also know will be used and not viewed as disposable. I also go back and forth on Easter grass... When I do use it, I choose the paper kind (much more eco-friendly), but lately, I've been trying to avoid it all together and just use tissue paper or pieces of fabric.

Before you put together your baskets, fill clear cellophane party bags 1/2 to 2/3 full with the Sweet Easter Snack Mix. Cut pieces of ribbon and tie bows to close.

Next, place all of the items on a table (or if you're like me and really like to spread out, the floor) along with the baskets. Start with filler, then add the bag or bags of Sweet Easter Snack mix, followed by the toys and stuffed animals. At this point it's pretty much subjective in terms of finished appearance, but I recommend displaying the goodies at varying heights, with the smallest items toward the front. There are no rules other than to have fun. And that's it!

I hope you guys love this yummy Sweet Easter Snack Mix as much as I do! It's so easy, and something your kids can help make as well. Just head to your local Sam's Club, grab some M&M’S® Pastel Milk Chocolate and M&M’S® Pastel Peanut pantry jars from their snack area, get a couple baskets and some small toys, and you're pretty much good to go.

Enjoy, and Happy Easter!

Nutritional Information: Ingredient and nutritional information can be found on packages.

This post has been sponsored by Mars Wrigley Confectionery. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Bubby and Bean possible.



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