Last year I was adamant about giving the girls Easter baskets without candy. Obviously, at almost 4 and 1½, they do not need candy, but more than that: I don’t want the dental bill! (I do love Peeps for myself and Cadbury cream eggs.) To avoid chocolate bunnies, chewy jellybeans and everything in between, I decided to stuff our baskets with fun necessities, while beginning a new tradition to bring in the Spring season! I did my shopping with the idea that everything in the baskets would be used and nothing to store to get rid of later (like toys that never get used).
My big splurge came from Bellani Maternity… Hazel Village dolls. These handmade, organic, washable friends are forever. I imagine these new friends hidden in the back of a sock drawer at college, and I could not resist letting them choose which one would go in their basket. Addie chose Lucy Owl and Millie, Juliette Rabbit. Just holding these loves- I can’t wait for hours of tea parties and super hero antics with their lovies. I am NOT a fan of stuffed animals, so we have very few- these are the perfect addition!
For the rest of our baskets, I opted to include fancy needs. For Addie these include new sparkle shoes (which are Addie’s favorite shoes from Carter’s), a spring trench coat– in pink, of course, KicKee Pants underwear, and filled up a no-spill bubble container we already had at home with new bubbles!
For Millie, I included a nice light windbreaker, a second no-spill bubble container we already had, and an awesome bath crayon– perfect for less coordinated hands! The baskets looked great and everything would be used immediately- nothing to clean up or look after- but it didn’t feel complete…
I decided that we needed a new tradition in our home- not just for Easter, but for Spring, and for this, I enlisted Dave! We talked about garden beds and found quite a few that we liked.
A long talk about where to place them and what to grow soon began, and with a bit of research, we both knew a great gift idea for the girls: the gift of giving, sustaining and being responsible for life (and health!). At our old house, Addie loved helping me with our tomatoes and radishes, and she and Millie both help water the basil plant I grew from seeds over a year ago- this was perfect! I browsed around collecting different herbs to grow, as well as other organic seeds to start our gardens, and divided my finds up between the girls. Included in their baskets are new kids’ gardening gloves (check out a later post on how to alter them for smaller hands!), 2 different types of tomatoes, beets, radishes, lettuce, green beans, peppers (I had some luck last year and am hoping for it again!), as well as basil, parsley and cilantro- all of which we use a lot of, but loathe buying fresh! We will plant our seeds in a starter greenhouse and move them when they’re ready!
We are looking forward to our summer bounty and all the things we can learn by gardening- all the trips we will take to our favorite farmers’ markets, building dinner from local, fresh ingredients. All the things Spring and Sumer mean to us, but more than that, Dave and I are looking forward to years of a tradition that includes time with the family, bonding over food and growth and hard work that we all partake in together.
Easter baskets have always seemed so disposable to me… this year, and for every year to come, I hope we use our baskets as stepping stones to growth in the new season, growth as individuals, and growth as family. Here’s to new traditions and lots of fresh food!
What’s going in your baskets this year?
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