Tag Archives: Easter Holiday

Easter traditions I grew up with

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

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.

Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com



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.

Easter Idea’s for My One Year Old

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thinking of something to do for Easter for your child who has just turned on can be challenging. At this point they aren’t really doing all the conventional things like skipping or using chalk outside or even munching on chocolates. Last year it was easy since my son Vincent was just a few weeks old. We did a few rattles and a few books and this year we really had to think outside of the box. Here are some things and ideas we used to fill my son’s basket!

One steal that I found was I had gone to the Dollar Store (Known as Dollar Tree in the USA) and found my son an awesome miniature lawn chair. It was only $4.00 and I had to get it. I thought it would be the perfect addition to add to our deck that he can hang out with us when the sun is not too hot and have his own little seat. And only $4.00 how could I not get that for him!

Something else I thought that I would do was I decided to make him some play foods. I used plastic canvas and cut out different fruits, veggies, and foods and sewed them with yarn to be different colors and things. I thought this could be a great thing for me to do in order to save some money as well as think outside of the box. I did not want to feel like I was getting him nothing in his basket due to him being so little and options are still limited for him. Some of the shapes I had cut and sewn have turned out amazing and others still need to be tweeked. I will eventually draw the patterns in my book of them and post them to pinterest (Or maybe even here as part of an email) so others can also use the designs. I never used any patterns how I did look up different things on pinterest so I could use them as inspiration for the shapes or colors used in each one. I also am going to be putting some felt on the back with a glue gun and making them a bit neater so you cant see all of the strings that may have been cut and tied too.

Another big purchase we decided to include in his basket was a new bathing suit. We got an 18-24 month size which hopefully will fit him as he is just over a year old now. If it doesn’t then we will have to probably have to buy another one but I think this should be good! When I was younger my grandparents always gave my siblings and I our own bathing suits for the summer and I thought why not since his ones from last year are for sure too small. We also got a unisex one so that with future children we won’t need to buy another and can use this for them as well.

I also decided to get Vincent (my son) a book with his name in it! The book is called Vincent Comes Homes (I think) and this is about a cat who lives on a cargo ship. I seen someone on my Facebook who had gotten their daughter a book that had to do with their name in the title and I thought if it was possible I would like to do that to all of my kids as they come to get them their very own book with their name in it! We also got him another Blue’s Clues book since that is currently his favorite show that we watch as we unwind for bed time too. We don’t really get him books outside of holidays but they are important since we regularly read him a few stories before bed time every night.

And lastly there are a few odds and ends that are also in his basket like bubbles to play with outside, as well as a new tooth brush since his current one he is not a fan of, and some body cream too since he has been running low on his current tube too. His basket obviously will be filled with more toys once he gets a bit older and what not. Next year we can fill it with all the traditional items you could do when it comes to Easter. I did not include anymore teethers since he has a lot of those from Christmas. He still enjoys the ones he has and not that he is getting older I find he still does not use them as much as he did when he had his first few teeth breaking through!

And before I end my parents also sent him up a few things. They sent him some clothes and a few little bottles and toys for his birthday at the beginning of March and included his Easter things as well that I just split up. They included a cool outfit with a onesie, and pants and sweater, as well as a little toy car/truck that makes a noise that I will wrap in some colored tissue paper to show it’s from his grandparents. Thankfully this will be the only thing left holiday wise they will need to send since we should be home for the next major holidays!

As you can see if you kept reading this long finding something to give your song for Easter when he is just a year old can be challenging at best. I really tried to think outside of the box when it came to thinking about what to give him this year. I cannot wait to see his reaction since he is beginning to understand that presents are something you can have unwrapped and enjoy too!

Do you and your family celebrate Easter?
And what are some of the staples that the Easter Bunny puts in their baskets every year?

Let me know in the comments below and see if I can come up with ideas for the following year when my son is big enough to be outside all the time too!

– Stacey

Consider joining the FREE mailing list! You can get all the secrets about upcoming novels I am writing by helping to choose character names, bonus streams and giveaways before they happen too!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.