My husband and I had a good laugh, but yet a serious discussion over these baskets I made my boys for Valentine’s day. I have to start of by telling you that these were a huge hit for my kids and you’re probably thinking to yourself, ” I don’t get it.” Let me start from the beginning, as with any holiday it’s been commercialized to be over the top. Back in the day Valentine’s was a heart felt moment between lovers, today it’s an event that comes with epic proportions of candy sent home with every child that has a card exchange. Crazy. Facebook contains angry sentiments from people that say it’s crap, photos of over the top lunches sent to school with kids and a vomitiss amount of PDA and look what got from…
I am that silly mom that decorates her house for almost every holiday, makes the special meals, and yes, I cut my kids sandwiches in heart shapes for the day, but when I give something to someone it always means something. By that, I mean something more than I just bought all this crap stuffed it in a basket and here you go. My husband laughed as he saw the kids get excited over their Brita water bottles and Tooth Tunes tooth brush. He said, ” You know honey, this isn’t normal. Is that Mac and Cheese? Why are they so happy? This is weird.” First let me start off by saying yes, I did but Mac and Cheese cups in their baskets and only three candies. The chocolate hearts and stuffies are from the grandparents. Now here’s why:
My boys are huge fans of the Biggest Loser and they have been asking me for Brita Water Bottles because they use them on the show. ( Obviously, very effective advertising.) I would much rather spend money on that than toys or candy. I have seen so many over the top holiday baskets posted on Facebook for it really makes me question what the purpose of all that can be. Both my guys came home with a huge amount of candy and I’m still sporting a huge container from Halloween. I knew what would make them happy. My little guy loved his Tooth Tunes that he got for Christmas, but alas he got sick and we had to replace it with a regular brush. They are on the pricey side for me, but once again in place of candy or toys it was hit. You can’t put a price on having a kid actually want to brush his teeth for 2 minutes!
The food items I blame on my brother. When I was little he would always say, ” I got you something.” Then he would give me a box of macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles. I always loved it because my mom didn’t buy those items so it was treat. My kids feel the same way too. Yes, an odd family tradition, but one worth keeping. With Easter quickly approaching I challenge you to think outside of the chocolate bunny. What would make your kids smile and make their life better? It could be as simple as a water bottle and a toothbrush! It was for me.
Michelle Christiansen says
I really like this idea! We don’t do easter baskets b/c of the candy…but I don’t see why we can’t do them like this! (btw, love the word “vomitiss”)