Easter baskets are a fun memory from when I was a kid.  An Easter egg hunt and a colorful basket full of chocolate bunnies and yellow Peeps.

My dog and I decided to create an Easter basket designed to delight a dog.  We may even turn our idea into a party for our nearest and dearest friends – with pups, of course – to celebrate the fact that spring is finally coming.

Creating the Perfect Easter Basket for Your Dog 

Toys and treats are the key elements of a basket for your pup, but don’t forget to include some adorable pet accessories to match the Easter theme.

A trip to the grocery store at this time of the year always includes the purchase of Peeps.  Are they sickeningly sweet – absolutely – but it wouldn’t be Easter without them.  Yellow and pink chicks, blue and purple bunnies.  But make sure you don’t share your sugary Peeps with your pup.

Here are some Peeps-related toys, treats, and accessories that are safe and fun for your dog.

And, of course, no respectable dog ever agrees to wear bunny ears for Easter – even for that perfect Instagram shot.  But I convinced my Westie, Beckham, to don his blue bunny ears for one quick photo so he could model his adorable “No bunny ears” bandana.

Pup Toys for the Perfect Easter Basket 

My dog and I visited a local pet store last week to buy a birthday present for one of his buddies, and we were so excited to find Peeps dog and cat toys.  How cute!  Of course, Beckham scored a toy for helping me pick out just the right Peeps bunnies and chicks for our Easter baskets. To purchase your own Peeps toys, just click on the pictures. And Zippy Paws always comes through with holiday-appropriate dog toys, so we included their adorable Easter egg toy – just click on the picture to purchase!

Dog Easter Accessories

Our company model looks pawsome in one of our Properly Posh Pets Easter bow ties demonstrating how cute your dog will look in Easter-themed accessories.

The colors of Easter and spring are so cheerful – just like the colors of Peeps! Make sure your dog is ready to celebrate with a Peeps bandana and a set of bunny ears.

Bake a “Peeps” Dog Treat for your Easter Basket

I always make frosted sugar cookies for holiday parties using our favorite company recipe, Posh’s Party Cookies, so we plan to bake a batch of Easter eggs and Easter bunnies, properly taste-tested by my 4-legged resident Cookie Taster, Beckham.

We also found the perfect dog-friendly Peeps Pup Treat, so you can safely share the Peeps fun with your pup. This recipe can be found at How to Make Peeps Dog Treat Recipe – Adventures of a Nurse.

The “Peeps” Pup Treat

This tasty pup treat combines some of your dog’s favorite flavors – peanut butter and banana – with colorful “Peeps” frosting!

Ingredients

• 3 cups of oat flour (or you can substitute wheat flour or coconut flour)
• 1 banana (smashed)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup peanut butter (no xylitol in the peanut butter!)
• Peeps bunny cookie cutter

Frosting – you will need this amount of ingredients for each color of frosting you use

• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ cup water
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Pink, Blue, Purple food coloring (and black for bunny eyes and nose)
• Pastry bags

Directions

• Combine the oat flour, banana, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup peanut butter in a large mixing bowl.
• Mix until well combined. Add 1 additional egg and an additional 1/3 cup peanut butter and mix well.  Add the final 1 egg and the final additional 1/3 cup peanut butter.  The mixture should have the consistency of cookie dough.
• Roll out flat with a rolling pin, about ¾ inch thick.
• Use the Peeps bunny cookie cutter to cut out the bunny treats.
• Place on a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Let the pup treats cool.

Frosting

• Add the cornstarch, water, honey, and pink food coloring to a mixing bowl.
• Mix until well combined. Add more water if the mixture is too stiff.  The mixture will be runny while stirring and stiff when left sitting.
• Repeat with blue and then with purple food coloring.
• Add each color frosting to a pastry bag. Cut the end of the pastry bag off and frost each cooled pup treat.
• Let frosting harden.

Pup treats can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

Cats Like Easter Baskets Too!

My pup and I always like to spoil the feline members of our family for holidays, so we’ve searched for Peeps cat toys – and found them! 

As every cat owner knows, cats typically like the wrappings of presents better than the presents themselves, so we found the purrfect cat-sized purple basket that we will fill with curled ribbon, Peeps catnip toys, and tissue paper crunched into tiny balls in a variety of spring colors.  Click on the picture to purchase these catnip toys..

An Easter Basket Party with a Classic Cocktail: The Gin & Tonic

If you read our Party Blogs regularly, you know you will always find ideas for classic cocktails to serve your Pup Parent guests at your holiday parties.  The Gin & Tonic Cocktail is definitely a classic that never goes out of style and can be modified in a variety of fun ways.  It’s the perfect light and sparkly cocktail to serve to welcome spring.

This cocktail has 3 ingredients – Gin, Tonic, and Lime Wedges.  But if you want to mix it up for your Pup Parent party guests, you can try these variations:

Variation 1: Flavored tonic water, such as lemon tonic water, elderflower tonic water, or aromatic tonic water.  If you want to shop local, look for craft tonic waters at your local distillery that specializes in gin.

Variation 2: Add aromatic ingredients, including citrus slices or peels, cucumber slices or ribbons, fresh herbs, dried juniper berries, sliced strawberries, and dried peppercorns.

Variation 3: Add juices, such as grapefruit, cranberry, or pomegranate juice. The amount you add depends on your preference, but I recommend just a light splash in order to create a different taste profile from the classic gin and tonic.

We Believe in the Easter Bunny!

What fun to relive a bit of your childhood with your pup by creating an Easter Basket and inviting your friends and their dogs to join you at a party to welcome spring and the anticipation of beautiful dog-walking weather to come.

Making memories with your dog – creating a basket full of treats and toys while having fun with friends.