A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

Archives for March 2012

44 Fun Ideas for Easter Baskets

I asked a bunch of friends what their favorite Easter traditions were when they were kids, and nearly all of them said “Easter baskets.” Some had to search for their baskets because the Easter Bunny hid them, but others said the baskets were sitting out waiting prettily for them when they woke up Easter morning.

Around here, the Easter Bunny hides the kids’ baskets. The little gifts and trinkets have gotten fewer and less expensive over the years as we’ve added more kids. Plus, I quickly realized that when you add in all the little treats and presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles, the kids were getting a lot of stuff!

If you’re new to the Easter Basket scene (or just need some fresh ideas), here are 44 fun things for the Easter Bunny to tuck into your kids’ Easter baskets:

  • Chocolate bunnies or eggs
  • Peeps
  • Jewelry
  • Fun Band-Aids
  • Yo-Yo
  • Books (Pat the Bunny, The Runaway Bunny, anything by Beatrix Potter)
  • The Velveteen Rabbit, narrated by Meryl Streep
  • Bubbles
  • Kite
  • Coloring books
  • Fun markers
  • Crayons
  • Colored pencils
  • Jump rope
  • Frisbee
  • Bath toys (Color Dotz, bath crayons)
  • Rubik’s Cube
  • Small puzzle
  • Small stuffed animal
  • Silly Putty
  • Shaving cream
  • Veggie Tales ‘Twas the Night Before Easter DVD
  • Wind-up toy
  • Small instruments (tambourine, maracas, recorder, harmonica)
  • Baseball or football cards
  • Sidewalk chalk
  • Bouncy balls
  • Temporary tattoos
  • Lip gloss
  • Nail polish
  • Beach toys
  • Swimsuit
  • Sunglasses
  • Hair accessories
  • T-shirt
  • Magazine subscription
  • Gift card
  • Novelty electric toothbrush
  • Plastic eggs filled with coins or jellybeans
  • Seed packets
  • Watering can
  • Kid-size gardening gloves
  • Kid-sizes gardening tools
  • Rain boots

I always have to add some Cadbury Mini Eggs (for Tim) and Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs (for me) to the baskets. The kids are very kind about sharing.

Last year we ran out of time before I could make this homemade version of  Tim’s all-time favorite Cadbury Eggs, but this year I’m determined. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Books Everyone Should Read / Consensus Cloud

David McCandless and Miriam Quick created a “Books Everyone Should Read” consensus cloud featuring the most frequently named books from more than 15 notable book polls, readers’ surveys, and top 100 lists. The lists include Pulitzer Prize winners, Desert Island Discs choices from recent years, Oprah’s Bookclub list, and The Guardian newspaper’s Top 100 Books of All Time.

This consensus cloud is a veritable gold mine for anyone looking for something good to read. It’d be great for book clubs, too. Just glancing at the list, I can see that my book club has read a bunch of the books already, but there are still plenty more to choose from.

Did your favorites show up in the cloud? Quite a few of the comments on the creators’ website were left by people who took issue with the list being called “Books Everyone Should Read” and suggested it be named “Books That People Are Reading” instead. I guess not everyone thinks Twilight belongs in the same category as To Kill A Mockingbird! (I suppose “should” sounds better from a marketing point of view.) I have quite a few friends who’d say that everyone really should read Twilight.

You can check the data and analysis at Information is Beautiful or go here to buy a PDF (or to see a bigger, easier-to-read version). Do you have a book lover in your life who’d love a list like this?

All About Peeps / Sunflower Cake and Diorama Contest

Are you still able to eat Peeps? I am not. But I think it would be fun to make this Peeps Sunflower Cake for the under-20 crowd. (What? You’re over 20 and can eat Peeps? You must have tastebuds of steel!)

Did you get Peeps in your Easter basket when you were little? Back in the ’70s, we just had yellow Peeps shaped like baby chicks. But now you can get bunnies, too, in all the colors of the rainbow. On our visit to the Mall of America during spring break, we discovered a new Peeps store. Lily nearly cried with joy at the sight of thousands of Peeps piled high to the ceiling. I’ll be venturing back there before Easter to stock up.

Speaking of Peeps, did you know that the Washington Post is holding its 6th annual contest for the most creative dioramas starring Peeps? Contestants create scenes of historic, current, or future events, or even nods to pop culture, with all the characters played by Peeps. Like this 2010 finalist called “Goodnight Peep.” How cute is that? “Chilean CoPeepapo Mine Rescue” won in 2011. And of course there have been lots of “Angry Peeps” over the years.

I bet there’ll be a lot of royal wedding entries this year. And Peeps occupying Wall Street. Maybe even Peeps leg-bombing, a la Angelina Jolie. We’ll find out when the winners are announced online on Wednesday, March 28.

Here’s the big question: If you were going to enter the contest, what current event or cultural phenomenon would you recreate? Please share.

Update: Winners for 2013 will be announced here on March 27. 

The Hunger Games…Finally! / Weekend Links

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Today’s the Big Day! Lexie has been counting the days until the Hunger Games release, and now it’s down to hours and minutes. It’s kind of fun to see her so caught up in the zeitgeist. (I wonder if this is how my mom felt watching my friends and me perform Grease day after day.) Have you read the books? Will you be seeing the movie? Look how happy the tributes are in this Vanity Fair photo. Isn’t Rue adorable, all snuggled up to hunky Cato? They have no idea what’s coming….

While we’re preparing for the insanity of the theater experience tonight, here are some fun links for you:

Do you have fun plans for the weekend? We’re still digging this unseasonably warm weather. Do I dare pack up the snow pants?

In our spare time, we’ve been assembling IKEA bookcases and other bits and pieces for the girls’ room. It’s coming along nicely. But now I want to take a break from the decorating project and work on some fun things for Easter—these holidays always seem to sneak up on me!

Next week I’ll be asking for ideas on fun Easter traditions for new moms, so please come back to share your ideas (or pick up some new ones). Have a great weekend!

The Bra That Changed My Life

Last night at tap class we did some very bouncy moves, and once again I was grateful for my sports bra. If you’re endowed with “bodacious tatas,” as my hermana Kristi calls them, you’ll understand exactly what I mean.

Starting in college when the girls hit their growth spurt, I had to wear two sports bras to hold everything in place while I ran or worked out. Trampolines were no fun at all. (They’re not fun now, either, but for a different reason.) I tried lots of different sports bras, but no single bra could comfortably get the job done.

But then I read an interview with Drew Barrymore in People. She talked about how she was enjoying running for the first time in her life because she had finally found a good sports bra. She called the Enell bra “life-changing.”

[Read more…] about The Bra That Changed My Life

Little Things / Dorot Garlic

Garlic is one of the little things in life that has always made me happy, but I became positively giddy when I discovered Dorot frozen garlic cubes.

I first read about Dorot Garlic years ago in a short-lived Family Fun feature that showcased a different mom each month. I don’t remember many details about this particular mom—just that she, too, lived in Wisconsin and her favorite time-saver was Dorot frozen garlic. “Garlic” and “time-saver” in the same sentence! Say no more.

[Read more…] about Little Things / Dorot Garlic

A Blank Canvas / What Would You Do?

We painted the girls’ bedroom over spring break—how lucky were we to have temperatures in the 70s and 80s so we could have the windows open?—and now it’s time to put the finishing touches together. (By the way, the colors are much more vibrant than my photography skills are able to capture. We had a really helpful salesperson at Hirshfields who just knew colors.)

The wall that was formerly taken up by bunk beds is now a large, blank canvas. Except, of course, for the Hunger Games poster that found its way up on the wall within seconds of the paint drying! You can’t see it, but the wall to the left is taken up by bookcases and a desk. So the girls don’t really need more shelves—except maybe for one little shelf for special treasures above each of their beds. Which would still leave plenty of space for artwork.

So what should we do?

[Read more…] about A Blank Canvas / What Would You Do?