I love scrolling my social media feeds and seeing all of the family photos from Easter. But, this year, I noticed something different. In addition to well-frocked children and moms dressed to a tee in spring colors, I saw an abundance of gifts either jammed inside Easter baskets along with jelly beans, Peeps, and other sweet treats, or propped up next to the basket because the gift was just too big to fit.
When did Easter turn into Christmas 2.0?
I was on a meeting the day after Easter and a colleague was telling a story about how her son said he hoped the Easter Bunny was bringing a LEGO set in his basket. She panicked because this was not in the basket she had prepared for Easter morning. She said she ordered a Target pick-up of the toy he asked for, and voila — it made it in the basket on time. I saw another friend posted a picture of her kids’ baskets, and I noticed a new pair of soccer cleats and gift cards taking up room next to the candy.
READ: Why I’m Done Going All Out for Holidays (and Why I’m Also a Liar)
I guess my kids got the shaft from the Easter Bunny because they got candy, a new toothbrush to help ward off cavities from all of the candy, and for my little one, a packet of $0.99-cent Sunflower seeds that he asked for a few months ago. I thought it would be a nice little addition to the basket. When I was getting everything together a few days before Easter, I actually thought to myself, “Wow, this isn’t a lot — it’s mainly candy.” Which reminded me what Easter is about: spending time with family, and if you celebrate, celebrating the reason for the season.
My 12-year-old son is honestly too old for this stuff, but I still got him some of his favorites: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Peeps, Skittles, and Sour Patch Kids. I did repurpose his soccer basket from last year and didn’t think twice. At the last minute, I threw in a $10 bill — the guilt got to me because I just knew his friends probably got a lot more than what’s traditionally in an Easter basket. Since when do I feel guilt over Easter goodies?!?! My 5-year-old is still very much into the Easter bunny coming and hiding eggs, and I think he enjoyed that the most. He did get a new $3 basket from Big Lots that was actually pretty cool and changed colors in the sun (and which I plan to repurpose at the beach this summer) and seemed happy with the candy selection. I don’t think he expected more than that.
So, does this make me a bad mom because I didn’t get “eggstravagant” gifts for Easter? I’m guessing I spent about $25–$30 total on both baskets. Not sure where I fit into the average, but according to one article I read online, it’s common for children to receive small toys or other gifts for Easter to the tune of $3.4 billion. And according to a RetailMeNot survey, Americans were estimated to spend $321 on Easter this year, up from $287 last year. That could include food, clothing, etc. But, still — this sure has changed since I was a kid, racing to find my basket on Easter morning.
What did you spend and include in your Easter baskets this year?
I am right there with you. It is gotten out of control. I have tried to keep my kids grounded and not give into todays normal for gift giving or even the amount of money that the Tooth Fairy brings. (For the record, they get $1) They always get a chocolate bunny, a coloring book and perhaps a couple other small things from the $1 section. We try to limit candy etc since they usually have an abundance still left over from Valentines Day. Up until a couple years ago, the eggs they hunted were actually empty. They never knew the difference. It was only when I decided to support a local youth group that was “egging yards” did they get filled eggs. And now I’m unfortunately stuck with that I think. Our society has gotten out of control with giving stuff. This is what is contributing to the entitlement of these young generations.