What about bulbs? My godmother has been giving us bulbs since we were kids, the are also cheap and symbolise new life. She never had time to help us plant them, but for my nieces and nephews, I would give them the bulbs and arrange to be able to plant them right away, and then you get quality time together, and later in the year they get a gorgeous blossoming of daffs, or hyacinths, or whatever.