Thursday, March 13, 2008

Alternative to the Traditional Basket


We haven't celebrated with Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny in over 10 years. No Tooth fairy either. I'm certainly not condemning those who do these things, but my husband and I thought that a.) We shouldn't lie to our children, and b.) It took too much emphasis off of God, and the true reason that we celebrate Christmas and Easter. That being said, we still give gifts, and have Easter baskets. The gifts are modest, and come from us rather than some fictitious character. We find that our children are very appreciative of what they receive, because they know the givers.
Last year, we decided to fore go the traditional Easter baskets. Instead, I bought each child a small tackle box in the sporting good section of Wal*mart. After a thorough washing, I decorated each one according to the recipient's personality. I then filled them with assorted goodies, counting each and every piece so that no one person got more than another. Isn't that what all good mothers do? ;o)


Our children were unaware that they weren't getting baskets, and had a very difficult time finding these new boxes! They were so much fun to hide because they are flat, and could be stowed nearly anywhere! One was placed under a couch cushion, and took forever to find.


I believe that the children enjoyed the new boxes, and actually preferred them to the baskets that they had traditionally received. They sat swapping candies for hours. For Autumn, who loves organizing and patterns, it was a dream come true! Looking for something different? Give it a try! You may never go back to the messy Easter grass and old baskets.

16 comments:

Momma Roar said...

What a great idea!! I can't stand the grass!! haha

I must be like Autumn, I would love to sit and organize too!

We haven't gotten anything for the kids for Easter any year...but this would be a great tradition to start!

Thanks for the idea!

Jennifer said...

Love this idea!

Grass... ugh, I remember one year some got vacuumed up by accident, it blew out the motor. Yep, that was the end to grass in the Easter baskets!

Susan said...

Cute idea.
Susan

Tori Leslie said...

Wow, what a great idea, I love it. Oh but all those goodies, havoc for those teeth. °Ü°

Stacie said...

Awesome idea! I remember last year, Autumn was telling me how excited she was about it! Wow, that holds alot of candy! ;) Plus, you can always use the tackle box to organize things later!

Abounding Treasures said...

What a marvellous idea and so personal to each child. You certainly are creative!

Thanks for the encouraging comment you left regarding my daughter's poem ... it'll mean a lot to her :-)

Blessings,
Mrs M

Beck said...

Smart! And sorting all that candy is my idea of fun, really.

Rebecca said...

What a great idea!!

Anonymous said...

my husband is the tooth fairy.

i'm serious.

:)

it's a long story. one worthy of a blog-post all its own, once i get his permission to tell it. haha.

Terri said...

That is such a neat idea. I never would of thought of that. Thank you for sharing!

Patricia said...

What a fabulous idea!! I am stealling it, hope you don't mind.. :)

Patricia

~~Deby said...

What a clever idea....so cute too....
Deby

Short Stop said...

This is the cutest idea for Easter I have ever seen. SO creative and unique.

Jack would LOVE the little compartments and organizing and reorganizing.

THANKS!!

Lori said...

I love your little treat containers. Great idea.

Tracy said...

How did I miss this post?! I love this idea! I already have baskets, but I am going to look at these Friday when I am shopping. How cool. My boys love boxes that they can keep "things" in. :)

Jodi said...

I had this flagged in bloglines and forgot to comment. I think this is such!! a cute idea. It has a huge visual impact and yet still limits the amount of candy (somewhat!). :o) You should figure out a way to market this idea - really.