Easter Reflections

We were able to take part in an egg hunt with friends this weekend. At first I thought, "Boy, my girls don't really get it. Don't they know they have to hurry & get as many eggs as they can? If they don't hurry then all the eggs are going to be gone." Later I thought about it & realized that they DID get it. They were happy. They were enjoying themselves. They weren't running around saying, "mine! gimme! more, more more!!" They were totally enjoying the moment.

I recently checked out Amanda Blake Soule's book The Creative Family from the library. It is a wonderful book. It is on my list of books I need to own. In the section about toys she asks "Is there too much?". Her thoughts on this have really stuck with me. She says,

"When it comes to playthings for our children, I can't emphasize enough that for creative play , less really is more in regard to toys. Between generous gifts from family members, hand-me-downs, and accessible inexpensive toys, it is likely that our homes are cluttered and full of playthings. A sad product of our modern world is that our children are taught early on to over consume and to want more, more, and more. Chances are that they do not need more toys, but fewer. When there are too many things around, there's little room for imagination."

She says it perfectly. As I continue to try to raise good, well rounded, happy little people that can gain joy from relationships & love of God rather than things, I decided to keep Easter handmade & simple this year. The easter bunny did not leave gifts for me as a child, just chocolate bunnies & candy. I've always felt a bit uncomfortable with kids getting gifts for Easter. Like the world has turned the Easter holiday into another Christmas. Yet I still felt that a few small gifts for my little loves was in order.

The stuffed bunnies were received quite well. Even better than I imagined actually. The girls also got handmade super hero capes. I based them on the tutorial at Puking Pastilles. Yes, super heroes in our house wear flowers. The girls were very happy with them.




I was happy that with both of these projects, I didn't have to purchase anything from the store. I used supplies that I already had on hand. And it is so thrilling to me to be able to add more useful, handmade things to our home. I love looking around & pointing out the items that we use daily that were handmade by myself or by family & friends. It warms my heart. :)