Hello, Some people asked me how I keep Easter small and meaningful for a toddler, so here is our Easter recap. We started the day by baking bread. The house smelled heavenly and it was a nice soothing way to start the day. (Sorry, no pictures).
Our Easter basket is pretty small compared to some. We don't have a lot of candy. There are some gluten free cookies, and one piece of candy in his basket. Egg shaped chalk, a new plate and cup, a book about spring, and a small stuffed lamb. We also have a christian Easter book that I've been reading to Panda all week in preparation for today. This helped lend meaning to what we were doing for him.
We do an egg hunt outside, but we use wooden eggs. Bear's family used hard boiled eggs when he was little and I don't see the point in having extra treats and goodies in plastic eggs if there is already a basket. My son gets overwhelmed easily, so using wooden eggs works well for our family. I don't use hard boiled because I don't want to attract animals.
This year Panda painted eggs. We used non toxic finger paints.
They turned out beautiful! Next year we might try the trick where you put the egg inside a whisk and have the toddler dunk the whisk in dye, but this year needed a more tactile approach.
Then we packed ourselves up (and our fresh bread) and headed over to my sister's house for a family dinner. They surprised Panda with a small adorable Easter bucket. There were gluten free dairy free cookie bars and organic gummy bunnies for treats, caterpillar socks, a new book, apple scented bubbles, sidewalk chalk (it's a thing with my family), and a sweet little duck for Panda. My sister's family was watching an adorable 4 year old girl for the day (yes, she also got an Easter bucket). She and Panda are best buddies. Being able to play with her might have been Panda's favorite treat of the day. All in all, it was a lovely Easter. While we packed a bit in, it was still slow and smooth enough to avoid over stimulation and sugary melt downs. There was one melt down, but that was more due to a needed nap than anything else. What did your family do for Easter?
Shine on!
Sounds just lovely my friend. We haven't quite figured out how to bring this season to our little man yet. We have tried a few things over the years, but nothing seems right for us. So, for now we just spend time together, we visit my family, and we enjoy our normal slow and simple days. I suppose as he ages, we will present the real meaning of the holiday, but for now I think it is a bit much for his little soul.
ReplyDeleteMy mom does buy him a few spring/summer outfits, and since she likes to give him a little chocolate, I make some and take it over so she can add that to his little gift.
I love that the highlight of his day was playing with his little buddy. It really is about time spent with those we enjoy being with.
Hope you guys are well.
PS I have not forgotten about your email. I will hopefully get back to you this evening. I will admit to having a hard time with it :)
Hi Kim, I struggled a bit with trying to figure out Easter for Panda, but I found a pretty good Easter book to start him on "The Easter Cave". It tells him why we celebrate, but does not go to deep. Basically I think he just likes the rhythm. We don't have an Easter bunny in our house. The things that are put out we say are left by "someone who loves him very much". We decided to dye eggs and do an egg hunt and have a basket because the other kids in the neighborhood will have them and we didn't want him to feel left out. We were also raised with them and don't want to completely give up the traditions. We just changed the meaning behind why we do them. Panda is still young, but this works well for our family.
ReplyDeleteI know you didn't forget. Your not that sort of person :) it is a tough question. Things are starting to come together a bit here. More tomorrow. Have a blessed night. Shine on!
Sounds like a beautiful, very warm celebration. We keep ours small as well. Candy is also kept to a minimum (one, locally sourced, naturally made chocolate bunny) and the rest was hand knitted hens and chicks, books and spring outfits from my parents. We brunched, napped and then headed for a walk downtown and a simple dinner at our favorite bakery. I love the idea of using wooden eggs for the hunt. Do you make your own finger paints? If you buy them, which ones do you buy? I know that if Panda is anything like mine, half the paint will be swallowed. :-)
ReplyDeleteHope your week is as lovely! xoxo
Hi Yanic, your celebration does sound very similar to ours. I love all our similarities. The fingerprint is from the dollar store. It's mostly corn starch and a good grade dye. We also use crayola fingerprint, but Panda has never tried to sample the paint. Paper on the other hand he eats plenty of. I have heard of people making fingerpaint for tots using yogurt and food dye, but Panda is lactose intolerant so we've not tried it. Lactose free yogurt is to expensive to turn into paint for us. Take care.
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