What’s In Store from the Easter Bunny?
March 22, 2008 by Kelly Phillips Erb
Filed under Parenting
There was a great article in my local paper that questioned when Easter became such a gift-y holiday. When I was a kid, Easter baskets were about candy and more candy. Sometimes, there were some barrettes or hair bands, too, but it was really about the candy.
Now, Easter baskets have become full on, gift giving extravaganzas. Game Boys? PS3? iPods? In an Easter basket?
I’m sorry, but as a parent, I just don’t think that every holiday merits a pricey gift. Doesn’t that kind of repeated indulgence dull you to the really fun events in life? What’s next? President’s Day mp3 players? Flag Day wide screens? It’s horrifying.
In my opinion, Easter baskets for children should be simple affairs: candy, maybe a stuffed toy and the equivalent of a stocking stuffer or two. No live animals (who needs a live bunny at Easter anyhow?). Nothing that beeps. Nothing that requires batteries or a power source.
All of that said, if you simply must have a gift to give at Easter, why not make it a book? Kids love books. And sure, it’s easier to buy another game cartridge but books do more for kids than entertain them: they open up whole worlds for kids. I think sometimes, as parents, we’re quick to dismiss books as old-fashioned or something that kids aren’t really into. If anything, Harry Potter showed us differently.
This Easter, try giving a kid a book. You’ll be glad that you did.
I was the same way, we always got LOADS of junk food and a soft bunny. But when it came time for me to be a parent I’d already experienced my own kids with cavities and not because I let them eat any. (born with something that causes it a lot, deals with enamel) anyways, we decided to give very few pieces of candy but they always get plastic eggs with clues to the baskets. Baskets consists of a bunny, book, few pieces of candy and of course a small toy or two.