Wednesday, March 31

Children's Pascha Baskets...

Sugar Plum's Basket

Presenting our little ones with baskets on Pascha is something that is relatively new to our family. When we were children, we brought a basket filled with food goodies to bring to church for the Midnight service on Saturday evening so that it could be blessed after the Liturgy. Since I am the child of converts, we didn't put in the "traditional" Paschal foods like Kulich and Cheese Paska. Our baskets were brimming with bacon, sausage, yogurt, eggs, chocolate, cheese, etc. Fr John remembers that he and his brothers filled theirs very simply... Big Macs to enjoy after the Liturgy!

Anyway, when Fr John and I had our first Pascha as a family, we created a basket with the foods that we had missed most during the fast to be blessed after the service. We have continued this tradition since then, but last year we also decided to give each of our children a basket with some gifts inside on Pascha morning after a few hours sleep. I read a post by Regina Doman awhile ago that made a lot of sense to me. She writes, "Since Easter is the most glorious feast of our Church year, I've always wanted to make a big deal about it. And to me, who loves presents, that means real presents in the Easter baskets along with the candy and stuffed bunnies. My parents made a point of always including something religious, but I love tucking useful items and fun toys into my kids' baskets as well."

Little Man's Basket

This year is our second year of creating baskets for our little ones. I decided that it was unnecessary to repeatedly buy little stuffed animals and plastic Easter grass for our little ones each year, so I gathered up the bunnies, lambs, and chicks that we had tucked here and there and hid them away so that they will be special once more on Pascha morning. I also stowed away several playsilks to serve as our "grass" (I think regular scarves or fabric would be equally beautiful). In addition, instead of buying new baskets, I am going to use ones we already have (though this was a hard one, because I was sorely tempted by the sweet ones Target is selling this year).

As far as candy goes, I buy a lot of it this time of year. I love all things Cadbury. Of course there are also the little Peeps and Lindt bunnies, lambs, bugs, and carrots to enjoy too! In order to make sure that our wee ones don't OD on sugar first thing on Pascha morning, I will only put one chocolate bunny in each of the children's baskets. The rest of the bootie will be safely tucked into a family candy basket to be doled out little by little.

Just in case you thought I was kidding about the amount of candy I get

This year, Sugar Plum will be getting new rainboots (she grew out of last year's pair), a butterfly kit, and The Man and the Vine by Jane G. Meyer. Little Man is receiving The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer, a wooden tractor and trailer, and an Ostheimer cow (the last two items I was lucky enough to buy inexpensively from a friend). I am really excited about the children waking up to their baskets on Pascha morning!

11 comments:

mari k. said...

I want to come wake up to a basket on Easter morning at your house! What beautiful, simple gifts you have collected!

amy said...

Delightful!

Pres. Kathy said...

Love the baskets!

Courtney said...

Looks great! I've been collecting the last items for our baskets this week too. We're definitely embracing the celebration of the most glorious feast!

elizabeth said...

nice! blessed Holy Wednesday to you!

Mimi said...

I do something very similar (and I can't rave enough about Jane G. Meyer's books, your children are blessed) - and I put away the baskets for the next year a couple of weeks after Pascha.

I love the Mason jar with the candy - what a good idea!

mamajuliana said...

Our 'little ones' are now 19 and 18 and we still have the basket tradition-and each year they still get a book and a stuffed animal.

I am still working on our Pascha basket. We have roast beef and pepperoni included in our basket this year!

Michelle M. said...

We do something similar. Our children's godparents always give them little baskets at the feast in the middle of the night, so we save their treats for the following morning.

I agree with Mimi about the Mason jar- I love those eggs. I think I may have to run out and find some before Pascha :)

Mrs. Taft said...

It's like you've read my mind! :D My kids are getting butterfly kits too...I've written before about our baskets, and after Easter I intend to post about this year's. http://lilirishlass.blogspot.com/2009/04/he-is-risen.html

Mrs. Taft said...

In fact, the butterflies for my girls' baskets arrived today. :) We have the garden already from a unit we did on Spring last year, so I just purchased the live caterpillars.

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