Easter

Clodfobble · 04-02-2007, 10:31 AM

What do you do with your kids on Easter? More specifically, how far do you feel obligated to go with the festivities?

We happen to have my stepkids on Easter this year for the first time ever. (It usually falls on the second weekend of the month, but this year it's technically the "first weekend" because April 1st was part of the "fifth weekend" in March. ANYWAY...) When I was a kid, we did none of the typical Easter things--no eggs, no baskets, nothing. We went out to a fancy brunch with some family friends, that was our tradition. My husband's family did this very involved thing where instead of an egg hunt their mother hid little rhyming clues around the house that would each lead to the next clue, ultimately leading to their Easter baskets that had plastics-eggs-with-candy and small toys.

He would in theory like to continue his mother's tradition, but things are just so incredibly crazy around here right now--I mentioned in a couple other threads that we just sold our house, and we now have about 2 weeks to find our own new house, buy it, finish packing and move. Hell, we might even be out looking at houses on Easter Sunday. Oh, and my husband screwed up his shoulder pretty badly and is wearing a sling and can't lift the baby at all for who knows how long. So I just don't know if I have it in me to write cutesy poems this week (and let's not fool ourselves, despite it being his family's tradition he's so busy with work right now that I'll have to do it or it won't get done.) On the other hand, in a lot of ways it would be easier than physically hiding eggs outside. But my dad's still having his yearly fancy brunch, and I'd rather just go to that and be done with it, since we'll have to eat that day anyway. But does that make me a bad parent? Mr. Clodfobble says I was denied my childhood because of my lack of Easter egg hunts, among other things.

wolf · 04-02-2007, 10:35 AM

I have no children and do not celebrate the death of crucified god.

But I eat the chocolate bunnies anyway. And jellybeans. I lurves the jellybeans. They are at their ripest now.

SteveDallas · 04-02-2007, 11:01 AM

Easter and Christmas are not holidays for church musicians. (Not if you're talking about Christian churches, anyway.) From Friday to Sunday there will be five services that at least one member of the Dallas clan is performing in.

Therefore Easter "dinner" is likely to be peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Maybe Chef Boyardee Ravioli if we're feeling ambitious.

Easter baskets will, according to family tradition, be filled with items purchased at about 11PM Saturday night at a local 24-hour chain pharmacy. Our church sponsors a neighborhood Easter egg hunt on Saturday which will be another source of candy for the kids (not to mention the grownups). Fortunately we don't have to do anything for that one except show up.

Griff · 04-02-2007, 11:02 AM

We did a pretty small indoor candy hunt when I was a kid. Pete was raised a Fundementalist Unitarian though so in respect for her upbringing, we do a fairly involved circus of clues to find the Easter baskets. Outside of that we have an extended family dinner featuring pork products to emphasize our new arrangement with God.

SteveDallas · 04-02-2007, 11:06 AM

What the heck is a Fundamentalist Unitarian? (If you had asked me, I would have said it was an oxymoron.)

Griff · 04-02-2007, 11:09 AM

It was supposed to be an amusing oxymoron...

*sigh* I failed to amuse once more.

SteveDallas · 04-02-2007, 11:38 AM

Hey, I feel your pain.. I've done that before many times.

It was a great line, though I wouldn't be surprised if there actually is such a thing.

Happy Monkey · 04-02-2007, 11:38 AM

My Easter plans are: Watch the Sopranos!

When I was a kid, eggs and candy were hidden around the house. My mom did the treasure hunt thing for a few birthdays, though.

wolf · 04-02-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griff

It was supposed to be an amusing oxymoron...

*sigh* I failed to amuse once more.

I thought it was hilarious.

Griff · 04-02-2007, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

I thought it was hilarious.

Excellent, now I can concentrate on my writing and bazeball.

Sundae · 04-02-2007, 02:02 PM

Easter was very different in the UK (although like Halloween it is acquiring an American flavour now). We celebrated it seriously, being Catholic, but our celebration was even further from the "chocolates and bunnies and egg hunts" than your family's was.

My Dad did set up a treasure hunt for us one year - clues for my sister & I to find our one egg, and Dad and I repeated it later for my younger brother, but I think that was coincidental (he would sometimes set up fun & games for no reason whatsoever).

On a usual Easter Sunday we would come downstairs and find our egg at our breakfast plate. (Typical British Easter eggs - chocolate eggs with a bag of sweets inside & sometimes a mug or an eggcup or a toy in the box too). Very occasionally we would be allowed to open it and eat some of the contents before Mass. But the contents are small beer compared to the egg anyway.

Then Mass, really really early so we would get a seat - Easter was always packed out. Before I was 12 my Grandparents lived in London so they would stay with us, as would Grandad's sister (Fatty Alice). After that they moved to Aylesbury - opposite the church in fact - so we would go to their place afterwards. Possibly another egg, possibly some money or a toy. Then all home to ours for the best part of the day - extra special Sunday roast. It was a really joyful occasion despite not having the same haul as Christmas. I loved Easter.

Then the oldies would fall asleep in front of whatever film was on as the Easter blockbuster, and someone would take us out for a walk.

It was special - a proper Christian celebration. A high day. A Holy day. I do miss it in a way.

Anyway, back to you.
I say, have a proper sit-down chat with your other half re this. I accept that he says you were deprived in a tongue-in-cheek way, but the truth is just because something is the cultural norm it doesn't mean that you should follow it. The children I know veer between anarchy and arch-conservatism. Which ever mode they're in at the time, some variation in the routine is good for them.

If he is not willing to put the work in to keep everything identical to what their mother provides then I think he should accept your family's way of doing things. Even if you do the fancy brunch and they hate it, stick to it and I bet in years to come they include it as family tradition.

Clodfobble · 04-02-2007, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SundaeGirl

If he is not willing to put the work in to keep everything identical to what their mother provides then I think he should accept your family's way of doing things.

Not sure if I was clear--the clue-thing is from my husband's mother, not the kids' mother. We have no idea what she does every year (and if we did he'd surely want to avoid it simply for that reason alone anyway.) I know they wouldn't hate the brunch, I just wouldn't want them to be sad if they didn't have some sort of typical egg-hunt.

I was all prepared to say that the "years to come" would be a moot point since it's rare for us to have them on Easter, but I looked up just how the date of Easter is determined and it turns out the last three years have been a bit of a fluke, and we will actually have them more often than not in the years to come. Huh. That sort of motivates me more to do something special with it, if I'll be setting up a tradition my stepkids will enjoy rather than just putting in a placeholder for this year.

elSicomoro · 04-02-2007, 05:44 PM

We used to have a Christmas-style gathering, complete with ham. I got an Easter basket with yellow grass, lots of Peeps and Cadbury creme eggs and at at least one solid white chocolate bunny. And the Easter Bunny had to have 7-Up left for him...nothing else would do.

These days, April and I go over to her mom's house for a small feast with the immediate family. I don't know what my parents do...I think they bbq.

Clod, I'd have a serious heart-to-heart with the hubby. I would try to do something nice for the kids, but within reason. Or, perhaps you could have the kids 2 weeks in a row down the line, and let them stay with their mom for Easter.

monster · 04-02-2007, 07:49 PM

Clodfobble, if you send me a list of hiding places, I'd be happy to make up rhyming clues fo them. It's one of my few hidden talents

piercehawkeye45 · 04-02-2007, 10:40 PM

I never really did anything special for East when I was a kid older than six. Before that we did the Easter egg hunt but I stopped wanting to do that pretty early on.

This year I think I'm going to be the only one in the hall not going home so I'm not going to be doing anything.

04-02-2007, 10:31 AM	#1
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Easter What do you do with your kids on Easter? More specifically, how far do you feel obligated to go with the festivities? We happen to have my stepkids on Easter this year for the first time ever. (It usually falls on the second weekend of the month, but this year it's technically the "first weekend" because April 1st was part of the "fifth weekend" in March. ANYWAY...) When I was a kid, we did none of the typical Easter things--no eggs, no baskets, nothing. We went out to a fancy brunch with some family friends, that was our tradition. My husband's family did this very involved thing where instead of an egg hunt their mother hid little rhyming clues around the house that would each lead to the next clue, ultimately leading to their Easter baskets that had plastics-eggs-with-candy and small toys. He would in theory like to continue his mother's tradition, but things are just so incredibly crazy around here right now--I mentioned in a couple other threads that we just sold our house, and we now have about 2 weeks to find our own new house, buy it, finish packing and move. Hell, we might even be out looking at houses on Easter Sunday. Oh, and my husband screwed up his shoulder pretty badly and is wearing a sling and can't lift the baby at all for who knows how long. So I just don't know if I have it in me to write cutesy poems this week (and let's not fool ourselves, despite it being his family's tradition he's so busy with work right now that I'll have to do it or it won't get done.) On the other hand, in a lot of ways it would be easier than physically hiding eggs outside. But my dad's still having his yearly fancy brunch, and I'd rather just go to that and be done with it, since we'll have to eat that day anyway. But does that make me a bad parent? Mr. Clodfobble says I was denied my childhood because of my lack of Easter egg hunts, among other things. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

04-02-2007, 10:35 AM	#2
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I have no children and do not celebrate the death of crucified god. But I eat the chocolate bunnies anyway. And jellybeans. I lurves the jellybeans. They are at their ripest now. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

04-02-2007, 11:02 AM	#4
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	We did a pretty small indoor candy hunt when I was a kid. Pete was raised a Fundementalist Unitarian though so in respect for her upbringing, we do a fairly involved circus of clues to find the Easter baskets. Outside of that we have an extended family dinner featuring pork products to emphasize our new arrangement with God. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

04-02-2007, 11:09 AM	#6
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	It was supposed to be an amusing oxymoron... sigh I failed to amuse once more. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

04-02-2007, 11:38 AM	#8
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	My Easter plans are: Watch the Sopranos! When I was a kid, eggs and candy were hidden around the house. My mom did the treasure hunt thing for a few birthdays, though. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

04-02-2007, 11:01 AM	#3
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Easter and Christmas are not holidays for church musicians. (Not if you're talking about Christian churches, anyway.) From Friday to Sunday there will be five services that at least one member of the Dallas clan is performing in. Therefore Easter "dinner" is likely to be peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Maybe Chef Boyardee Ravioli if we're feeling ambitious. Easter baskets will, according to family tradition, be filled with items purchased at about 11PM Saturday night at a local 24-hour chain pharmacy. Our church sponsors a neighborhood Easter egg hunt on Saturday which will be another source of candy for the kids (not to mention the grownups). Fortunately we don't have to do anything for that one except show up.

04-02-2007, 11:06 AM	#5
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	What the heck is a Fundamentalist Unitarian? (If you had asked me, I would have said it was an oxymoron.)

04-02-2007, 02:02 PM	#11
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Easter was very different in the UK (although like Halloween it is acquiring an American flavour now). We celebrated it seriously, being Catholic, but our celebration was even further from the "chocolates and bunnies and egg hunts" than your family's was. My Dad did set up a treasure hunt for us one year - clues for my sister & I to find our one egg, and Dad and I repeated it later for my younger brother, but I think that was coincidental (he would sometimes set up fun & games for no reason whatsoever). On a usual Easter Sunday we would come downstairs and find our egg at our breakfast plate. (Typical British Easter eggs - chocolate eggs with a bag of sweets inside & sometimes a mug or an eggcup or a toy in the box too). Very occasionally we would be allowed to open it and eat some of the contents before Mass. But the contents are small beer compared to the egg anyway. Then Mass, really really early so we would get a seat - Easter was always packed out. Before I was 12 my Grandparents lived in London so they would stay with us, as would Grandad's sister (Fatty Alice). After that they moved to Aylesbury - opposite the church in fact - so we would go to their place afterwards. Possibly another egg, possibly some money or a toy. Then all home to ours for the best part of the day - extra special Sunday roast. It was a really joyful occasion despite not having the same haul as Christmas. I loved Easter. Then the oldies would fall asleep in front of whatever film was on as the Easter blockbuster, and someone would take us out for a walk. It was special - a proper Christian celebration. A high day. A Holy day. I do miss it in a way. Anyway, back to you. I say, have a proper sit-down chat with your other half re this. I accept that he says you were deprived in a tongue-in-cheek way, but the truth is just because something is the cultural norm it doesn't mean that you should follow it. The children I know veer between anarchy and arch-conservatism. Which ever mode they're in at the time, some variation in the routine is good for them. If he is not willing to put the work in to keep everything identical to what their mother provides then I think he should accept your family's way of doing things. Even if you do the fancy brunch and they hate it, stick to it and I bet in years to come they include it as family tradition. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

04-02-2007, 05:44 PM	#13
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	We used to have a Christmas-style gathering, complete with ham. I got an Easter basket with yellow grass, lots of Peeps and Cadbury creme eggs and at at least one solid white chocolate bunny. And the Easter Bunny had to have 7-Up left for him...nothing else would do. These days, April and I go over to her mom's house for a small feast with the immediate family. I don't know what my parents do...I think they bbq. Clod, I'd have a serious heart-to-heart with the hubby. I would try to do something nice for the kids, but within reason. Or, perhaps you could have the kids 2 weeks in a row down the line, and let them stay with their mom for Easter.

04-02-2007, 07:49 PM	#14
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Clodfobble, if you send me a list of hiding places, I'd be happy to make up rhyming clues fo them. It's one of my few hidden talents __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

04-02-2007, 10:40 PM	#15
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	I never really did anything special for East when I was a kid older than six. Before that we did the Easter egg hunt but I stopped wanting to do that pretty early on. This year I think I'm going to be the only one in the hall not going home so I'm not going to be doing anything.

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