Until I became a parent, I never realized how many holidays involve feeding sugar to children. At Christmas, chocolate and candy canes keep kids energized and playing with new toys for weeks. When the buzz starts to wear off, Valentine’s Day brings boxes of assorted chocolates to rev kids up once again. And just when children are starting to recover from the perpetual sugar high, the Easter Bunny hops over with a basket full of unhealthy, cavity-inducing treats. Isn’t it time to break the cycle of sugar?

Hasbro thinks so, and to help parents ensure that Easter is tons of fun without the need for a ton of chocolate, the company has introduced a line of Easter-themed Play-Doh, Playskool and Mr. Potato Head toys that let parents “Think Outside The Easter Basket” and provide fun and creative sugar-free Easter treats. I was so happy when I was given a chance to review some of Hasbro’s Easter toys for myself.

I received a box of assorted Easter goodies from Hasbro and the boys couldn’t wait to get to work testing out products! The first toy that I gave my boys was the Playskool Wheel Pals Animal Tracks Spring Friends. These fun little rolling toys shaped like Easter eggs, bunnies and chicks are so sweet and perfectly sized for little hands. Zackary loved rolling the vehicles around the kitchen floor, and Benjamin was so enraptured by the fun animal shapes that he immediately claimed the bunny as his own and kept it clutched safely in his chubby little hand!

After seeing how much fun the boys had with the Playskool Wheel Pals, I knew I had to pull out the Mr. Potato Head Spud Bunny toy. This hilarious fellow features bunny features and a compartment in the back to hold the accessories when the playtime is over. Benjamin liked the funny face on Mr. Potato Head and it didn’t take Zackary long to start experimenting with different placements for the toy’s features. “Look, Mom!” he announced in delight and showed me the toy with both arms sticking out of one side of the potato at bizarre angles. “It’s funny!” I couldn’t help but smile at his delight and I really liked the way the toy let him get creative and be silly at the same time.

The best toy for a big Easter hunt was, in my opinion, the Play-Doh Easter Eggs. So often, children find colourful plastic eggs at Easter and greedily gobble the chocolate inside in mere seconds. The Play-Doh Eggs let kids have the thrill of finding a fun egg-shaped treasure and then continue the fun by providing days of enjoyment as children build, mould and get inventive with everyone’s favourite modelling clay, Play-Doh! The eggs are available in a twelve-pack value bag (with a special gold egg included) or in an adorable Spring Eggs Basket two-pack. For even more fun, there are also adorable Play-Doh bunnies and chicks that feature a fun stamper in the lid so that kids can make cute Easter shapes in their Play-Doh! Benjamin is a little too young to do much with Play-Doh right now, but Zackary loves both using Play-Doh and the fun of stamping images, so he absolutely loved the Easter Play-Doh items.

Both boys had a blast with their Easter products from Hasbro. All of the items I received are so reasonably priced; the Mr. Potato Head Spud Bunny is about $13 and some of the Play-Doh products are only a few dollars! It was great to know that substituting toys for chocolate at Easter wouldn’t mean compromising the family budget.

I don’t want my children to think that every holiday is an excuse to overindulge in sugar-filled snacks, and thanks to Hasbro, I can start a new Easter tradition. By combining a few select treats with an assortment of fun, creative and affordable Easter toys, I can ensure that my children are fully satisfied with their visit from the Easter Bunny even though their stomachs aren’t full of chocolate. And thanks to Hasbro’s dedication to providing toys that inspire creativity, my kids are learning and developing fine motor skills as they play with their Easter treasures. What a great substitution for a weeklong sugar high! If you’re looking for a fun alternative to chocolate this Easter, Hasbro’s Easter products are a great choice. Check them out for yourself!

Buy It: To purchase any of the great Easter toys from Hasbro, check your local department store or visit the website to find a retailer near you

Win It: One very lucky reader is going to win a fantastic prize pack of fun Easter toys from Hasbro

To Enter (mandatory): Visit Hasbro and tell me about something you liked or something you learned there

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Giveaway ends 11:59 pm CST on April 30, 2011. Open to US and Canada

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above were provided free of charge from the company or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Mommy Kat and Kids and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view full Terms of Use and Policies