*Spoiler Alert: This post may contain references to various theories about the true identity of the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc…
A couple of years ago I was teaching a Sunday School class to a group of six-year olds. It was nowhere near Easter, but one of the girls proudly declared to the rest of the class that her mother told her that there was no Easter bunny. My son also happened to be in the class, and at first I was a little annoyed that this girl had mentioned the Easter bunny, but then it dawned on me that I had never actually told my son that there was an Easter bunny.
I’m all about pictures with Santa, but even at Christmas we only talk about Santa as a helper, and he certainly doesn’t bring big gifts to my kids. (I have to thank my friend Connie, who years ago told me that she didn’t want Santa getting all the credit for gifts that she had saved for. She wanted her kids to know that gifts required work for the people who bought them.)
When it comes to Easter though, I don’t even understand the bunny. Any picture with someone dressed as a bunny is, in my opinion, a little creepy, and why would a bunny ever bring you presents?! For us, Easter is a religious holiday, but we still decorate eggs, and do baskets, but it’s all small stuff. Even if you’re not religious, I don’t understand why you would want your kids to think that a bunny enters your home in the middle of the night and drops of treats!
Our whole approach to this holiday is basically a non approach. We just set out the baskets, but we don’t talk about the Easter bunny. When we discuss Easter, it’s mostly in religious terms. I’m just wondering if we’re the only ones who do this. Do you tell your kids that their candy comes from the Easter bunny? How do you approach holidays that involve benevolent and magical gift givers?[hr]
Totally agree about pictures with the Easter bunny, though! Why does he always look so darn creepy?!
Christmas & Easter are both treated as religious holidays in our house, but yes, we also do the Easter bunny & gift-giving Santa. Of course it’s a little silly to think that a giant rabbit hides candy-filled eggs around our house and/or that a man in a red suit comes down our chimney & delivers gifts in the middle of the night, but to me, they’re part of the magic of childhood, just as believing that people dressed in costumes at Disney World are in fact the real on-screen characters. The way I figure it, she’s got the rest of her life to live 100% in reality. Nothing wrong with a little make-believe & silliness in childhood.
I’m with you on the Easter Bunny. We focused on our faith instead.