Are you giving your LO's candy for Easter? - Page 2

[laohaire]

Well, if I had the power to ban all candy forever, I would no doubt become the most unpopular person on the planet. So I'd have to weigh that before wielding my power.

Actually, there IS a new power I have gained - I feel almost like an X-man with this level of power. Listen to this: I am capable of enjoying a sweet (a brownie, say, or a cookie, muffin, what have you) by smell alone. If DD has a chocolate chocolate chip cookie (made by this local baker with the most chocolately ingredients ever), I can give it a good sniff and be satisfied. Granted, I'll want probably 3 good sniffs to fully enjoy it, but I am then more than happy to hand the cookie back to DD, entirely unmolested.

[Storm Bride]

If I'd started from scratch with dd1, I'd have probably done things differently, but a fair bit of candy in the Easter baskets was well established with ds1 when I was younger. He still gets a basket, and he's 18...but that's because he has younger siblings. If it were just him, I'd probably give him a chocolate bunny every year, and leave it at that.

So, the kids each get a chocolate bunny, an assortment of jelly beans, jellies (bunny shaped and such) and chocolate eggs (including one Cadbury creme), a Kinder egg, and a few of the panned eggs. (DD2 gets much, much less - just a very small bunny and a couple of jelly beans, and maybe 1-2 small chocolate eggs.) Then, ds1 is getting a new Frisbee, dd1 and ds2 are each getting a small gardening tote, complete with tools and seeds, and dd2 is getting a pinwheel.

Unless my mom is too busy (possible - she's swamped with work right now), we'll also get a large basket of fruit for the kids. My mom started doing that with us when I was about 10 or 11. Exotic fruit was very rare back then, and we'd wake up Easter morning to a basket each, containing a pineapple, a coconut, a mango, a papaya, a few kiwis and some strawberries. She felt we got more than enough candy from grandma, so she did the fruit. And, now, she does a big basket for each of our (me and my siblings) families. It's a treasured tradition and the kids love getting it.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Well, if I had the power to ban all candy forever, I would no doubt become the most unpopular person on the planet. So I'd have to weigh that before wielding my power.

Actually, there IS a new power I have gained - I feel almost like an X-man with this level of power. Listen to this: I am capable of enjoying a sweet (a brownie, say, or a cookie, muffin, what have you) by smell alone. If DD has a chocolate chocolate chip cookie (made by this local baker with the most chocolately ingredients ever), I can give it a good sniff and be satisfied. Granted, I'll want probably 3 good sniffs to fully enjoy it, but I am then more than happy to hand the cookie back to DD, entirely unmolested.

I believe I might actually be willing to kill to have this ability.

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Well, if I had the power to ban all candy forever, I would no doubt become the most unpopular person on the planet. So I'd have to weigh that before wielding my power.

Actually, there IS a new power I have gained - I feel almost like an X-man with this level of power. Listen to this: I am capable of enjoying a sweet (a brownie, say, or a cookie, muffin, what have you) by smell alone. If DD has a chocolate chocolate chip cookie (made by this local baker with the most chocolately ingredients ever), I can give it a good sniff and be satisfied. Granted, I'll want probably 3 good sniffs to fully enjoy it, but I am then more than happy to hand the cookie back to DD, entirely unmolested.

My only ability is to now be hungry from all the goodies you just described!

[Gator-mom]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Well, just to even out the thread, I'm a grinch. I'd ban all candy forever if I could. That's just me. (I'm grinchy about presents too, though I wouldn't ban them all forever - but definitely make MAJOR changes to gift-giving culture).

DD doesn't get anything from me for Easter, but no matter, since her grandparents and aunts will take care of that.

If that wasn't the case, I would no doubt do something fun for Easter but it seems pointless since whatever I do would be far overshadowed by piles of candy and plastic crap.

Hey, I warned you all about my grinchyness :)

I am there with you on the presents AND the candy.  I also feel like whatever we do is also over-shadowed.  Ds gets candy and presents from his grandparent's all the time.  Christmas is ridiculous.  I feel like I shouldn't even bother..and when I do give him something that I think is a really nice gift he doesn't even care about the thought I put into it, because Grandma can spend more money than me and often buys some ridiculous noisy plastic thing that I have to somehow squeeze into my tiny apt!  I've really tried to keep the mind set that they are his grandparent's and can make that look however they choose, but when I see it being reflected in his behavior and value system, it makes me want to totally cut them off! 

One of the main reasons I decided to do no candy this year is because of the excessive amounts of candy he keeps being given all the time by everyone else. We realized in our family, we just need to be clear on our own values and make sure that it reflected consistently.
 

One of the reasons I'm excited about Easter this year is that the in-laws are all out of town, which means for like the first time EVER we get to do a holiday our way, just with the three of us.  So That is why I decided to make it more about fun Springy healthy stuff.  That is why we decorated our own basket, and I'll be giving Ds some of his own gardening tools and some small toys. 

Also..sorry Peep lovers, I think those things are so gross!  I didn't even like them as a kid!  So I don't feel like we are missing out on those here..lol.

[craft_media_hero]

Yes. It's one day a year. I probably won't buy any but will let her have whatever she gets from relatives or at egg hunts. Usually the hard candies "disappear" and we just keep the chocolate :)

However, we don't do huuuuge amounts, and spread it out over a few days. Moderation!

[arieltron]

my LO is 8 mo. At first I was going to completely nix the holiday, but then it bummed me out and I realized I get a lot of joy from celebrating holidays with my daughter, even at this age. I also fear repercussions from my family and a whole pile of candy and plastic crap. So I am in the process of making her a basket. It's actually a shovel and bucket. It has 1 box of Earth's Best cookies, new organic baby bath, a loofah that looks like a duckie, and bubbles. I may add 1 or 2 more things over the next few days. I'm looking forward to giving it to her in front of my family. I gotta lead by example 

[lookatreestar]

nope, not from me. grandma does easter baskets and usually keeps the candy to a minimum thank goodness (they get bubbles and other goodies). and our home school group decided to do stickers instead of candy. the kids didn't even miss the candy!

[lookatreestar]

Originally Posted by arieltron 

my LO is 8 mo. At first I was going to completely nix the holiday, but then it bummed me out and I realized I get a lot of joy from celebrating holidays with my daughter, even at this age. I also fear repercussions from my family and a whole pile of candy and plastic crap. So I am in the process of making her a basket. It's actually a shovel and bucket. It has 1 box of Earth's Best cookies, new organic baby bath, a loofah that looks like a duckie, and bubbles. I may add 1 or 2 more things over the next few days. I'm looking forward to giving it to her in front of my family. I gotta lead by example 

cute basket!

[dds07]

We are having the Easter bunny hide eggs and leave a surprise (sidewalk chalk, bubbles and new crayons) for when they are all found. I plan to fill some of the plastic eggs my mother sent her with stickers. One piece of candy. Total.

[arieltron]

Originally Posted by lookatreestar 

cute basket!

Thanks! 

Today I completed it. I added an infant toothbrush that looks like a banana, a little plastic watering can for bathtime, and some springtime themed baby bibs :) 

I also customized it with her name.

yay! Her name is Vida btw, silly mirror image. I think I will enjoy it more than her LOL.

[Gator-mom]

Cute Easter bucket, arieltron! 

I feel like I need to add some bubbles or something to mine.  I gave Ds his gardening gloves early because we were working in our garden last w/e and he kept wanting to borrow mine! lol

So far, he's going to have a small watering can, a hand-held hoe and shovel, a little scratch-off art picture, about 5 honey-stix, a bag of freeze dried or 'Just fruit'.  We'll be hiding plastic eggs with more 'Just Fruit' strawberries and decorated boiled eggs around the house.  I posted a pic of our decorated Easter basket this year in the earlier comments :).

[arieltron]

Originally Posted by Gator-mom 

Cute Easter bucket, arieltron! 

I feel like I need to add some bubbles or something to mine.  I gave Ds his gardening gloves early because we were working in our garden last w/e and he kept wanting to borrow mine! lol

So far, he's going to have a small watering can, a hand-held hoe and shovel, a little scratch-off art picture, about 5 honey-stix, a bag of freeze dried or 'Just fruit'.  We'll be hiding plastic eggs with more 'Just Fruit' strawberries and decorated boiled eggs around the house.  I posted a pic of our decorated Easter basket this year in the earlier comments :).

thanks! Your picture is what inspired me to customize the bucket :)
 

[katelove]

No lollies or chocolate for J as she is too little at 11 months. We will probably do a little bit as she gets older. The thing I'm finding the hardest this year is finding Fair Trade chocolate. Not that there was heaps of it around any other year it's just that it's the first time the issue has been on my radar 

I love the idea of a spring-themed gift basket, even if it is autumn here. 

And finally, I have to know, what on earth are peeps?

[Gator-mom]

Peeps are marshmallow puff candy things http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/products/easter It's this weird thing we get around Easter here..lol.  What do you guys usually for Easter baskets down yonder in Aussie-land Katelove??

[mamazee]

We do a small amount of candy, but it's mostly other stuff, like art supplies, silly socks, bubbles, that kind of stuff. But there is a small amount of candy in there too.

[Jenni1894]

I filled a few eggs with some jelly beans.   The others have foam shapes and stickers and beads for necklace making, change, animal crackers, annies fruit snacks, organic gummy worms and koala yummy type snacky cookies, oh and I almost forgot, I got them some silly bands spiderman and butterflies!.   lol    No food or candy in the baskets really.   Each will get a reese PB egg and the baby gets some puffs.  

I don't do grass either.....and I'm touching that edible grass!!  I resisited peeps this year, much to DH's dismay.  I am sure they all will get their share of candy at my MIL's!! 

I never knew about the growing grass in the basket before, but I'm totally doing that next year.   So I'm stealing the streamer idea for filler! 

[katelove]

Originally Posted by Gator-mom 

Peeps are marshmallow puff candy things http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/products/easter It's this weird thing we get around Easter here..lol.  What do you guys usually for Easter baskets down yonder in Aussie-land Katelove??

Thanks, I've never heard of them.

We used to decorate baskets and put either shredded paper in the bottom or, if Dad had just mown the lawn, dried grass clippings.  The treats are usually chocolate eggs or rabbits (or bilbies - a native Australian marsupial) or candy eggs. The candy eggs are some sort of rock hard, super sweet sugary thing. We didn't like them so we always had chocolate.

Baskets aren't really huge over here though. I think a fair few people just put the eggs on the end of their kids' beds or something like that.

[Gator-mom]

Ok, just got some really awesome bubble kit..with like 20 different wands to make different types of bubbles and some side-walk chalk.  It better warm up here quick because we are all geared up to go play outside now!  I am now boiling my eggs to decorate.  I wish I had thought of doing natural egg dyes before I got all the other supplies...  Next year, I'll have it totally organic and what-not with our wheat-grass basket!!