My daughters finally cornered me.
“Mommy, are you really the Easter Bunny!?”
After a few minutes of trying to skirt around the subject by asking them questions, like “What do you think?”, I realized it was futile. I caved in.
“I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, I’m the Easter Bunny.”
My five-year-old replied in a hushed, yet excited tone. “You go to everyone’s house and put stuff in their baskets!?”
After a little more dialogue about the subject, I realized something a little remarkable. The girls weren’t completely devastated by this news. No weeping and wailing. No this-is-the-worst-thing-to-ever-happen-to-me attitude. It was very uneventful.
It made me wonder something. Could my husband and I actually have done something right? See, as Christian parents, we’ve often gone back and forth about the whole Santa Claus and Easter Bunny deal. Should we foster that belief? Should we tell them the truth from the beginning?
We finally decided to let them believe in those things, but we wouldn’t go overboard in pushing them. For each of those holidays we always focused on the true meaning. At Christmas we make a birthday cake for Jesus, read stories of His birth, make shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse, and sometimes do other things to help people financially (as we are able). Our mention of “Santa” has always focused on the works of real St. Nicholas. We treat Easter much the same way by doing Easter bible studies, making resurrection cookies, attending our homeschool group’s Passover Seder, and watching Jesus of Nazareth together.
While the girls have always gotten a couple of things from Santa and a little treat from the Easter Bunny each year, Jesus is always the focus. Because of that, they associate Him with those holidays – not the fake stuff society (and we parents!) add to them.
I’ve done a lot of things wrong over the years in this parenting journey. But as a result of this recent Easter Bunny revelation, the Lord has really encouraged me. And quite frankly, the sneaking out to Target for last minute basket fillers was getting kind of old anyway!
