Easter can sometimes be a controversial subject for many parents. Ever hear the saying “Easter is not a second Christmas”? This would be because many parents go way overboard with buying things at Easter foe their kids. I’m probably (for sure) guilty of over buying slightly. But I wouldn’t say we go overboard here. Maybe this is because my parents never went overboard for us. Easter wasn’t about presents per-say, It was about kind of welcoming spring time and anticipation for the warm weather and when you could play outside from dawn till dusk.

The big theme was outdoor toys in my house growing up. We had skipping ropes, chalk, skip-its, bubbles, maybe some bug catching baskets or nets. We always had outdoor stuff that we could play with as the weather warmed up. Even different types of pool toys or what not to hang out. A sprinkler was not unusual too. Anyone have the crazy armed octopus sprinkler too? Or maybe the wacky fire hydrant that spun around and you would run through. Of course we did get candy and chocolate however we never had an abundance. Just enough to last a solid week or two and this was eating so much daily and then it was gone. Some of the best things we got were the outdoor toys, anyone remember the ankle killers, Skip-its?

In my home we would wake up, no earlier than 7am. Wait for our parents and then head to the living room. We never had things wrapped though, again, this is Easter not a second Christmas. We would however have one “wrapped” gift eventually from our grandparents which would be in an Easter bag and Ill go more into detail later about that. So we would normally be allowed one piece of chocolate before breakfast. This was something like a kinder egg. No we were not allowed to eat an entire chocolate bunny before breakfast!! But we did have a treat. Fun fact: I was actually allergic to chocolate more so as a kid to the point I would break out in rashes in my elbows and knees. So it wasn’t hard to tell when I would sneak a few extra pieces within a day or two. Especially when I was scratching up a storm. Then we ate a bigger breakfast. Normally bacon or pancakes the whole shebang so to speak. Even if my dad wasn’t home and was away driving the truck my mom still did a bigger breakfast for us though since it was Easter. When we were younger we did go to church the night before though, We always typically went to church on a Saturday night because it was far less people so you didn’t have to wait forever to get out of the parking lot or to get your communion because everyone wasn’t there.

After lunch we either waited for my grandparents to arrive for an early supper/super late lunch. Or if they were not coming over then we went there. Now my grandparents gave us similar things every year. One that they got every year was they got us our new bathing suits. This was huge because we knew summer was on the way and we could swim soon. We also did swimming lessons as a kid so it was exciting to know summer was coming too. They also gave us a chocolate bunny, maybe milk chocolate or maybe white or rice filled. And they always gave us a card sometimes with 20$. My grandparents had the 3 of us and 2 other grand kids but they lived in another province and then moved to England. So we were the only grand kids that were really close.

Easter was something that we loved to look forward to, not because it was about chocolate or hot big our baskets were but because it was another milestone through the year. It never had to be about a second Christmas. I know that looking at different people across Facebook giving their kids literally everything and anything under the sun is wild and amazing. They give their kids a huge bucket to load up with treats and goodies because the old fashioned basket was far too small. Call me crazy but all of my children have the same size basket and will have the same things together too. Sometimes we even got new pairs of sandals or shoes or even a new spring outfit to wear as the weather warmed up. I do live in Canada and it was not totally unusual to have an Easter with snow on the ground.

I will mention though, if you are in a family that takes a more religious view than this holiday may mean a lot more for yourselves growing up. Growing up mine was not super religious and as we got older we kind of stopped going to church and did our own things. As someone who is now raising her kids we choose to not raise them with any religion. If they choose to seek that as they get older they are more than welcome to do that. And they would be supported also. However us as a family just are not raising them to be religious or doing anything like that. So for us it is just a super fun holiday and a great way for us to just spend time as a family with a little bit of fun.

I do believe though, regardless if you go overboard and or you don’t. Keep it chilled when it comes to the Easter Bunny bringing things. At the end of the day the Easter Bunny is not bringing new bikes, or scooters, or game systems or an abundance of clothes to all kids. The Easter Bunny may even be bringing nothing to some kids. But to keep it to candy and chocolate like the classic days of Easter Celebrations, that way no child feels left out when it comes to comparing gifts with their friends.