I worked through my Target incident (I’m healing nicely, thank you) and was able to spend Easter appreciating the little things in life. For example, I am very thankful that while candy manufacturers have found a way to dye Peeps the same shade of pink as Lady Gaga’s hair extensions, they have yet to create 100 Grand chocolate Easter eggs. If they did, I’d be in a sugar coma right now.
If you have children, then you probably spent the latter part of the day peeling them off the ceiling after allowing them to devour the sugary contents of their Easter baskets.
It’s an Easter ritual in our house: Child wakes up, finds Easter basket, eats chocolate, goes to Mass, eats more chocolate, has brunch, eats even more chocolate, participates in Easter egg hunt, eats jelly beans, goes to Easter party, eats Peeps, and then cries that she doesn’t have any more candy.
The great Easter meltdown typically takes place at the end of the day when the sugar high starts to fade and reality sets in–usually in the form of an upset stomach. Couple that with fatigue, and you’ve got the recipe for high Easter drama.
Every year it’s the same predictable pattern: The sugar coma cometh and the parents pay dearly.
You’d think by now I’d wise up and limit my child’s chocolate consumption on Eater Sunday, but apparently I am a glutton for punishment (and for 100 Grand bars).
Still, if you are fed up with watching your kid crash and burn after a morning spent devouring ooey-gooey Easter goodies, then you might consider celebrating the season, not sugar.
Here are some simple ways you make (next) Easter fun for kids without sending them into a sugar coma:
*Fill baskets with small toys instead of candy. Raid the Dollar Store and find Bouncy balls, small stuffed animals, stickers, balsa-wood airplanes, yo-yos, bubbles, seed packets and mini gardening tools.
*Stick with natural sweeteners. You don’t have to go 100% crunchy. Rather, consider filling Easter baskets with Fruit Roll-Ups, carob chip muffins, carrot cake or chocolate-dipped strawberries. Wrap the goodies in colorful cellophane and place them in between the aforementioned little trinkets.
*Go green. If you have older children, consider skipping the sugary treats all together and fill their plastic Easter eggs with cold hard cash. You don’t have to drain your bank account. Rather, give them enough dough, so they can purchase a non-edible item they’ve had their eye on.
What do you fill your kids’ Easter baskets with?
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