there are far too many ways to mess it up and leave tell tale clues.... like empty jelly bean bags in your closet that you forgot to hide, because you were too tired to notice, because it was 11pm the night before Easter, when you finally found time to fill their baskets. How does the Easter bunny know to come in your house and find all the mismatched plastic eggs and put jelly beans in them and hide them in your yard? Often the holiday matches up with their school spring break, so somehow the bunny finds us and brings the baskets to their hotel room? We didn't leave him a note or anything...hmm, very suspicious....I think I remember this holiday being the gateway to other startling revelations when i was a kid, like why did Santa buy presents (price tags), and why is the same candy that was in our stocking also in mom and dad's closet?
I go out of my way to try to tilt the belief meter at more than half way around our house...kids have to believe in the good that is out there. But this holiday always seems to throw me for a loop. So, if you have any wonderful Easter traditions around your house, please let me know.
For our 15is portion: I am going to talk about getting children to dress in their fancy clothes.
For some, this is not a problem. Around here, it is a monumental undertaking. First of all, I don't like to go out and just buy them new things unless they have truly outgrown what they have.
We dig through their closet to see what fits, which, if it's winter, is of course something light and frilly, or if it's spring, something dark and heavy. (I am talking about girls here, for my son, anything that fits-works). "Ok, fine, I won't make you wear the black, heavy, velvet dress from Christmas". But, wanting to show them that how you look is NOT the most important thing in this world...(or spend a ton of money), our first stop is our local consignment shop. There are limited choices here, and for everyday clothing, great. But, when you are forced to choose between: a tight, bright pink, sparkly dress with a matching "half jacket" that barely covers the bulging buttons in the back, and your daughter is sqealing "please mommy, please! this is the most beautiful dress I've ever seen!" Or, a purple butterfly and flower printed dress with a deep v-neck and sparkly spaghetti straps (for an 8 year old!) And you say to yourself, well, the pink one is only $10 and she'll probably come to see that it doesn't quite fit right.................famous last words.
Not wanting to cause an image problem in her head, I agree to buy it and keep my mouth shut, but not without a few grumblings on Easter morning when she insisted on wearing her black sparkly tank top underneath. More than a few actually. Then, on the way to the big family Easter brunch, after I have vocalized my wishes for the children to just wear what I want them to wear on special occasions...( I did go to Old Navy and pick up a few extra dresses to sway her away from the first one to no avail) comes the wisdom that only a child can provide. "mom, it doesn't matter what we wear. As long as we are together. That's all that matters, is love and family, not what you look like".
Ahh, I guess I have done my job. That's what I wanted all along. She actually did end up looking great. The color was beautiful on her and she practically glowed when she put it on. I think it was because it "was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen". :)
But, in the interest of actually providing you with some useful information that you can use...here are a few tips on HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS DRESSED FOR A FANCY OCCASION WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND:
Spend 15 minutes thinking about what you/they will need for the day. Plot out where you will buy them or when, if online.
Spend 15 minutes thinking about what you/they will need for the day. Plot out where you will buy them or when, if online.
Start early. I used to go through their dresses and try to shop the day before a big event, because I was too busy enjoying the moment of everyday life with my little ones. Good stuff, but it's ok to plan ahead. Saves YOU a lot of headache the morning of.
Buy online. I got my daughters communion dress at a shop online called CutieClothes.com.
It fit perfect and was beautiful. We bought the veil, gloves, shoes and even a purse at this site. We paid the same price for the dress and all the accessories as we would have for the same dress at our local Nordstrom's. They had tons of selection instead of the just three or four to choose from at Nordy's.
For my son, we bought him some Khaki dress pants online at a skater type shop....probably Dan'sComp.com. They are made by Volcom and he puts them on without much of a fight. Any kind of collared shirt will do for most occassions. If he needed a blazer or sport coat, we could probably buy online, but since he's not picky, I think we did just go to Nordstroms and get their basic blue one.
Shoes: For girls, these will realistically, probably only be worn once......Old Navy is a great source, Target, and Payless. For boys, depending on how old they are, just invest in a good pair of Sperry boat shoes. They last through all seasons and any occasion and go with anything they wear.
Make them shower the day before you'll be good to go the morning of!!
Good luck and remember to take pictures! Who knows when they'll look this clean and presentable again!
Excuse me now, while I finish off the last of the black jelly beans from my kids baskets. mmm good. Happy Easter!
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