Just a quick post to share what’s going in our kids’ Easter baskets this year! (This might be as much for me as you – I love having the record of what they’re loving and how they’re growing each year.) I know Easter baskets are not for everyone, but I’ve really grown to love the opportunity they give me to celebrate an important holiday in our faith, support small businesses, replenish basics at the turn of the season, and create some magic for our kids. And personally, as a creative person, they’re just really fun for me to collect, curate, arrange, and fluff! I might enjoy them even more than the kids :) This year, it turns out everyone is well-stocked with some of my usual suspects: bathing suits (I usually turn to Boden, Hanna Andersson, or a consignment sale), pajamas (consignment sale, always), swim goggles, water bottles, sunglasses, chalk, and Natives. I still came up with some sweet goodies, though :) Here’s what each of our kids will be getting in their Easter baskets this year (note that some items are still en route to me!): June, age 8, will have a sketch pad (this brand is the best, and reasonably priced!), a spiral notebook bought from a favorite local shop, socks, stickers, a jump rope, a Brain Quest deck, a stopwatch (I predict this will be one of the most popular items), a few Yoto cards I’ve stored up from our Yoto Club membership, dark chocolate caramel bunnies, conditioner, and the CSB One Big Story Bible. (We were going back and forth between it and the Explorer Bible!) Shep, age 5, will have a sketch pad, a stopwatch (it was a two-pack!), dive gems, a snack container for kindergarten, bath bombs, a paint-by-sticker book, a few Yoto cards,

Filling Easter baskets for our kiddos has become one of my favorite springtime traditions! As someone who didn’t grow up with them, I’ve really grown to love the opportunity they give me to highlight an important holiday in our faith, support small businesses, replenish basics at the turn of the season, and create some magic for my little ones. And personally, as a creative person, they’re just really fun for me to collect, curate, arrange, and fluff! This year, we’re doing Palm Sunday baskets as opposed to Easter baskets. I agonized over this decision, but so many of the items I’m including will be used on spring break, and our break falls before Easter. It didn’t make sense to withhold the items I’d planned to include and buy extra things simply to fill their baskets. Plus, these baskets will double as road trip goodies – which is why they’re a little more stuffed than usual! (If you’re curious, I’ve written extensively on my feelings about Easter baskets in the past – this post from last year captures why I love them and feel they’re an important part of our faith tradition! This post covers some of my tips for keeping baskets budget-friendly.) Onto the stuffing! Before I get into the 2021 specifics, here are a few things I consider including each year: — A faith-based book to add to our library. I’ve rounded up some of our favorites here. (I try to buy these from a local source when possible, like Quail Ridge Books or McIntyre’s Books!) Of course, Write the Word Kids is also a perfect pick for 5-12-year-olds – LOVE the new Adventure volume! — Pajamas. These usually come from Hanna Andersson or my favorite consignment sale (which sadly has been canceled three times in a row now due to COVID, sob!). — A bathing suit or beach item

The title of this post is slightly misleading, because we’ve pretty much decided Easter baskets are a “do” this year in our house. But as with so many things, we studiously overanalyzed the decision (kind of our signature move, ha). I’m curious to hear – to my Christian readers, do you give your kiddos Easter baskets? As a bit of backstory, I didn’t grow up getting one, and my sisters and I thought that was totally unfair :) I think my parents were hoping to emphasize the religious aspect of the holiday instead of the more commercialized side, which I now completely respect. (We did, however, go to egg hunts and do a jelly bean hunt in our living room on Easter morning, so there was SOME extracurricular fun involved.) Letting the true meaning of the holiday shine would, of course, be my main reason for not doing a basket for June. But, just like we bake a cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas Eve, I think it’s important to have excitement, anticipation, traditions, and magic around religious holidays just as much (if not more so) than around secular ones. And for little kids, simple surprise gifts can fit the bill. So, we’re doing a basket! This one, purchased yesterday for 20% off (still a splurge, but I love the simple scalloped liner). And now, what to put in it… I’m not a huge fan of junk that will be tossed aside in two seconds, so I’m aiming for the sweet spot of fun and functional, with at least a few things that point to Jesus’s resurrection. I’d rather spend a little more on something I know we’ll all enjoy for awhile! Here are a few of my ideas, in case you’re looking for your own: