I’ll say it loudly: celebrations have gotten off track. Holidays, birthdays, parties, and get-togethers in general have gotten out of hand. Themes with matching menus and decor, one-time outfits for one-day photos, a plethora of junk goody-bag toys destined for the landfill, over the top everything. What happened to keeping the focus on spending time with loved ones?
I think about this every time I walk into Walmart near a holiday, most recently with the large Easter aisles front and center. Does anyone really need another pastel egg decoration? Not a single kid I know needs an Easter-specific water bottle, bunny sunglasses, or Peeps pillow. Most of the filler-stuffers I’ve seen will either break or drive mama nuts within a week. While on the topic of basket stuffers, why are Easter baskets huge compared to the ones in my childhood memories? And since when do egg hunts involve finding fifty eggs instead of a dozen? To combat the giant, consumerist Easters being previewed by influencers and pushed by stores, here is what our Easter looks like every year.
Our baskets & plastic eggs were bought 3 years ago, when I was pregnant with my third kiddo. Each kid gets 2 colors of eggs to hunt for – the bunny puts one of each color in their baskets to start off. This is two-fold: each kid hunts for the same amount of eggs, and they can be hidden age-appropriately. Next, each kiddo gets a chocolate bunny and a Reese’s Pieces carrot. Sometimes I’ll throw in a small consumable thing – a pack of stickers, a small box of chalk, or bubble mix. Lastly, all three will get one higher-priced item that they will genuinely use; usually not a toy, and at these ages, they all need to be similar or a wrestling match will break out in my living room. This year they’ll each get hiking backpacks; other ideas are swimsuits, goggles, a giant box of sidewalk chalk or new markers to share, a bubble maker, water shoes, really whatever you need to buy for the upcoming spring/summer season anyways. At the end of the holiday, we put away the baskets and eggs for the bunny to use again next year.
Our family’s Easter decor is left out all spring on the dining room art grids. Each month I laminate some hand and footprint art to add to the rotating collection. Occasionally, another craft or drawing will make the cut for keeping. I put out our Easter books, most thrifted, on the coffee table for perusal.
Our main meal will be simple, too. I like to start holiday mornings with cinnamon rolls – mainly so I can pop them in the oven and sit back while watching the kids enjoy the festivities. For lunch we do a large sandwich and snack board that includes bird nest no-bakes.
That’s it. That’s all the planning and hub-bub or Easter here. We’ll spend the day together, either doing puzzles, reading our Easter books, or spending time outside. We might do a bonfire if the weather’s nice, maybe go out for ice cream if it’s hot. There isn’t a rush of events to go to or a huge financial and effort commitment on the parents end. My kids look forward to it, it’s always felt like enough when not compared to online showings, and as an extra bonus my husband and I get to enjoy the holiday, too.
Disclaimer/Reality Check: I have over-done holidays before. I get sucked down the Pinterest rabbit-hole just like everyone else. I’m sure I’ll end up having something in their baskets I regret – the last minute panic plagues me. This column will be about motherhood, parenting, and homemaking for the most part. Sometimes it’ll be thoughts on getting movement day-to-day or why playing is important, other times it might be a a list of hobbies to try as a mom. Most importantly, I don’t ever want this column to make another mama think she’s not doing enough. If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are, you’re doing great, keep it up. Sing it with me: no-one is doing it allllll!
About Mackayla
Mackayla Turley is a married stay-at-home mom of three young kids in Pahrump, Nevada. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading, baking, and exercise as well as running a local moms group, Pahrump Mother’s Corner. Her friends describe her as a cheerleader, a giver, a minimalist, and an extrovert. She can be reached at pahrumpmotherscorner@runbox.com.
