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Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

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Topic: What's in your Easter baskets this year?

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SeaStar
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 4:58pm \| IP Logged

Last year I tried to do mainly consumables- but I went too far into the realm of chocolate and jelly beans

. A lot of it was left uneaten.

This year I have a couple of books in mind, but they are nonreligious.
Somehow it seems like I should be putting a saint story in the baskets.

I'm really trying to cut down on filler items that will later float about the house and become clutter. Even saints cards, religious bookmarks, etc can become clutter.

Yesterday I went through a box of rosaries and religious pamphlets and holy cards that had accumulated in the past year... how did it get to be so much? It seems wrong to recycle a picture of St, Therese, you know? But I don't need 10.

Then I kept thinking of St. Francis, who wanted to be close to God. To do that, he gave up every single item he owned, even his clothes.

So do we need baskets full of holy cards and saintly bookmarks to celebrate Easter? Hm....

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JodieLyn
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 5:20pm \| IP Logged

I like having religious items but also spring items.. so you might find gardening gloves or some flower seeds as well as bubbles and sidewalk chalk, chocolate bunnies and marshmellow peeps.

And if we can swing it I'd really really like to get some 19th century toys for the kids.. a throwing hoop game and 2 rolling hoops. We do the black powder rendezvous reenactment stuff and some toys/games for at camp would be lovely.

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anitamarie
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 5:23pm \| IP Logged

Nothing yet. Haven't gotten that far

. Probably will include fair trade chocolate from here. Does anyone know of a Catholic source for fair trade chocolate?

Anita

pumpkinmom
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 6:20pm \| IP Logged

We always do candy and a couple of toys. My youngest is getting a small lego set and a camo back pack with his name on it (because I got it half off) with some of his favorite Easter candy. I have no idea for my oldest. I have a doc appointment the morning of Good Friday and plan to do some shopping since I will be alone.

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Cassie
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CrunchyMom
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 6:21pm \| IP Logged

I don't do a ton of candy. I like [good] jelly beans and little things like chocolate covered pomegranates and put them in plastic eggs, but not too much in each egg.

I am doing religious books this year: Loupio comics, coloring books, a picture book of St. France, and the Tom Playfair series along with a new set of crayons, which will be very much appreciated.

But, in years past, I've gone with the Spring thing. We've done fishing rods, children's gardening tools and gloves, sunglasses, and some of the Backyard Safari sets that are often in Costco this time of year and are MUCH cheaper than buying the pieces individually, etc... My sister even sent Nerf guns one year

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Lindsay
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CrunchyMom
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 6:24pm \| IP Logged

As a side note, we've never done individual Easter baskets, just one big family basket. And while we try to have enough so that everyone will have something, it isn't quite like Christmas where everyone gets something that is "theirs." And often, it is seasonal or educational items we'd like to have anyway. For anyone just starting out whose children aren't already programmed differently, we've found it a much less stressful method

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Lindsay
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JodieLyn
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 6:30pm \| IP Logged

Lindsay we combine the two.. every one gets a basket with their own candy and small individual items (generally $5 or less).. but we also have a bowl of certain candies and family gifts that don't go in baskets either.. so it's a combo of shared things and your own basket, it works well for us. Easier for candies where I only get one each for the little guys to know that they can't just eat as many as they can grab and we can still get nicer items without having to get one for each person either.

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jawgee
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 6:39pm \| IP Logged

For the boys (11 and 7) -

books
page-a-day calendar about the Civil War for my history buff
candy

For the girls (4 and 3) -

Jump ropes
garden tools
crayons and markers
candy

That's all so far. I still have quite a bit to do!

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Monica

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claireg
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 8:18pm \| IP Logged

I like these bunny shaped crayons:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/89734789/eco-friendly-kids-handm ade-soy-crayon

DominaCaeli
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Posted: March 21 2013 at 9:39pm \| IP Logged

I do mostly art supplies--things that will get used. I also include a holy card for their holy card rings and maybe a book. A bit of chocolate or jelly beans for the Easter eggs. And this year I have a new box of teabags to try for our Easter teatimes. And that's it!

I'm not a fan of filling up the baskets just for the sake of filling up the baskets. For me, a few items that I know will get used are much better than a bunch of little things that just end up being clutter.

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Mimip
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Posted: March 22 2013 at 8:37am \| IP Logged

We are doing the family basket thing here this year because the kids are getting major art supplies.

When school started this year I was so overwhelmed with baby thoughts and just start school that I really did not inventory our Art supplies so the kids have just being making do with what we had. Now the art supplies are practically nil and NEEDED sooooo.....

Here is what will be in the kids baskets:

Paint, tempera paints in every color
Brushes, both thick and thin
Colored pencils
plain paint books, one for each child
(two oldest) journals for writing
thick pencils
Pencil sharpener (the one you all recommended a while back)

And each child is getting an icon of their namesakes.

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SallyT
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Posted: March 22 2013 at 9:02am \| IP Logged

I haven't started yet (cue panic now), but our typical MO is art supplies with maybe little notebooks (those 3-packs of tiny composition books from the dollar store are good and always get used), plus lots of flower seeds which form the basis of our summer flower garden. Some candy, but I try to limit it. And maybe a holy card, rosary ring, or some other little religious item. In years past I have gone overboard with junky little "basket stuffers" -- last-minute shopping is such a bad idea! I'm trying not to do that, because my kids' rooms are awful enough without the addition of more broken plastic bits all weighted with sentimental significance.

I am planning even more seeds this year, so each child can do a garden patch with some vegetables as well. The imagery of seeds at Easter never gets old.

Sally

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SeaStar
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Posted: March 22 2013 at 5:14pm \| IP Logged

Yes, cue panic now

That is just how I feel. Time is running out...
but I agree that junky little basket stuffers are hard- for exactly the reasons you mentioned, Sally. I am trying to avoid that this year.

We already have a seed garden going inside, which the kids check daily, so I don't know if more seeds will go over well here.

I really like the idea of journals and the less is more approach. I am always meaning to browse Etsy for meaningful religious items, but somehow I never do

.

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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)

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