Easter is such a fun Holiday for the kids.  When they are younger it's easy to believe in the magic of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.  But, as they get older the outlook changes.  As a parent, I want my kids to stay little and I do understand that everyone needs to grow up.  I still try to find a way to make special events exciting for the teenagers and so that they they don't have to feel like a little kid. 

Last year, I discovered a GREAT idea on my favorite website: Pinterest.  It was an Easter egg hunt for  teenagers...but at night!  So, my husband went out and hid eggs all over the yard on Easter Eve.  Around 10pm, we interrupted the boys from their video games and handed them flashlights.  They looked at us perplexed.  We told them to go out and find their eggs and that they wouldn't be participating in the younger kids Easter egg hunt.

They were thrilled and bolted outside.  It was chilly but they weren't phased.  Instead of taking 20 seconds to gather eggs in the daytime...it took them a good solid hour to find the eggs.  We, as parents, even though we were tired and it would have been easier to just do nothing different, enjoyed watching the boys run feverishly in the dark.  The boys clearly have a memory that will last forever.  In fact, they have already been asking doing it this year.

Running out of ideas on what to put in the baskets.  Consider some of these items for your preteens & teens:

  • favorite magazine
  • small bottle of perfume/cologne
  • make-up supplies (ie: nail polish, lip gloss, eye shadow)
  • gift cards (itunes, movies, favorite clothing store)
  • fun socks
  • Rubix Cube
  • markers (dry erase or Sharpie)
  • Duck tape (come in a wide variety of fun colors and patterns)
  • box of tacks (fun to hang  posters with)
  • Money (I take 20 $1 bills and roll each one separately and tie it with string)

Have fun with Easter!  Make a memory.  Some parents, as the years go on, do less and less.  When they get to their last child they don't do as much as they did with the first child.  Don't do that.  Each kid deserves to have something exciting to look forward to.  They didn't pick their birth order.  You don't have to spend a lot of money to do some really fun stuff.

Remember, Easter Sunday is April 1st this year.  Yes, that's April Fool's Day as well.  Happy Easter!

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