"Remember, memories are made of the things you DO, not the things you BUY." - Cindy
Easter is just around the corner. Stores are packed with stuffed pink, white, and blue bunnies, plastic green and yellow baskets, and fake eggs - all made in China. Most of this stuff is simply "crappy Easter clutter." Most of it will find its way into garage sales in just a few months - or worse, that great mound in the ground - the dump! Who is buying all this stuff every year?
Let's maximize a "DO instead of BUY" Easter for this year. What would it include?
Faith: For those, celebrating Easter through their faith, then the activities from your church would be the most important part of this time of year. If it has been awhile since you have attended Easter services, then take the time to DO this. Bring your children. Re-introduce the importance of this holiday to your family.
Family: Easter is a perfect time for gathering with family. Let the kids hand-make special invitations for the day. If you are cooking-nervous like me, plan a potluck meal. Let the kids set the table with the "fancy eating" dishes and the special table cloth (a lot of things can be overlooked when you say the kids did it - big smile!). Add some spring flowers from the garden. Keep an eye on the sales flyers the week before Easter. In our area, both frozen turkeys and smoked hams are on sale for very good prices. In this case however, if you miss the sale, it will be Thanksgiving before you can pick up these deals again (I usually get a couple extra turkeys and hams during this time of year to pop into the freezer for later.)
If the family guests include children, be sure to set out a pile of board games and perhaps some old movies for everyone to enjoy before the food is ready. Also, include plans for a spring walk to work off some of that delicious food.
Here's a tip from a friend of mine: When company is coming, he loads up a slide show on his computer of past years' celebrations and get togethers. Everyone gathers around the computer to enjoy, laugh, and share the memories. Gosh, the kids have grown over the years!!
Decorating for Easter: I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a giant-sized purple inflatable Easter Bunny - loaded up into someone's shopping cart. YUCK! Don't BUY into the retailer's eyes about what Easter is about. It's nice to add a few colorful spring touches to the home during the month, but think "DO instead of BUY". Remember how much fun it is to decorate your OWN Easter Eggs? Get the kids involved. DO it this year. There are many wonderful websites with tips and tricks about how to color your eggs - using materials you already have in the home. Add some spring flowers from the garden - perhaps some pussy willows from a walk through the woods, and your home will look lovely for the season. Too much snow in your part of the world for spring flowers? 
Then fill up the vase with a few Chocolate Easter Eggs or your favorite jelly beans. Add a colorful spring bow and your centerpiece is ready to go. Remember to let your little ones make some colorful Easter Eggs for the front window using construction paper and glue. Display their creations with pride (and save a couple to mail off to far-away relatives). If you already have some Easter decorations that you love, then dust them out and put them on display. Enjoy the things you already own. No one needs to BUY more plastic clutter to celebrate this holiday! (By the way, the Easter Eggs on the top of this page were made several years ago by my sister-in-law Gail. She is an incredible artist!)
Easter Reading: If you have little ones, get into the spirit of the holidays by signing out some seasonal books for Easter and spring (and St. Patrick's Day too). There is a good chance you can put these books on hold right from your computer at home. It doesn't cost a dime!
The Easter Egg Hunt: This is where the retailers get really excited! How much stuff are you going to BUY for your kids this Easter? If you have little ones - I have a some advice for you. Set the example early. The Easter Egg hunt is all about candies, chocolate, and a toothbrush. We were smart. The kids have never expected huge baskets of toys, gifts, or other presents for this holiday. They are absolutely thrilled with both the hunt - and the treats. Once in awhile, I may pick up a special book for each - one that I know they will treasure for years. One time I picked up matching spring t-shirts for each of them. But aside from small articles - like colorful pencils, a special notepad, a few crafting supplies - the Easter Egg Hunt has been about the candy! Now that the kids are older (and much more difficult to BUY for) I am thrilled that all I need to shop for will be a few bags of their favorite treats (minus the gummy stuff for my daughter with braces LOL).
A Special Easter Tradition in Our Neighborhood: This is a treat that I love as a parent, just as much as my kids love. Not only does the Easter Bunny deliver his treats to our home, but he lays out a gigantic neighborhood Easter Egg hunt in the park directly behind our home. This started out over five years ago with four neighborhood moms getting together to discuss how we could put on this hunt. We all pitched in to buy nearly 200 plastic eggs, jelly beans, and other small easter candies. All the kids - over 40 now (including any cousins that may happen to be visiting) are divided into five or six teams (with both young and older kids on each team). Each team hunts for a particular color (we hide 20 - 22 of each color in the park). This prevents one or two very fast individuals from just picking up all the eggs. Inside the eggs are the treats, plus clues for the "big" prize. The clue is made up of the letter's for the final hiding place of the "big" prize. For example: C I N D Y S P O R C H. Each letter is placed in one of the 20 eggs in the park. Once the kids have all 20 eggs, they unscramble the clue to find their "big" prize (gift certificates to a local pool, the bowling alley, the movie theatre, juice jugs - they are thirsty after running around for the past hour - and more). The kids look forward to it every year (even the ones that are now in high school). Oh - and by the way - we reuse those 200 plastic eggs every year (except for the one or two that we don't find until July while out on a walk).
And now, because you asked.... While candy is typically all that you will find in our family's Easter Baskets, one of our readers asked for a list of other clutter-free things that could be included as well. So, here goes.....
- Tooth brush, toothpaste, and dental floss (we add these every year).
- Crafting supplies - glue, decorative scissors, stickers, notepads, pencils, water colors
- Small toys - cars, dollies, building blocks (look for these at garage sales the summer before!)
- Low-cost gift certificates - for movies, bowling, their favorite store, music, etc (save these for the older kids)
- Stuff for spring/summer - a beach towel, lip gloss, small container sun tan lotion, a spring t-shirt
Just keep in mind, when shopping and BUYing, that so much of the Easter stuff sold in stores right now is simply "crappy Easter Clutter" of very questionable quality. Leave that stuff in the stores. Choose to DO instead.
