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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder when all this Easter Bunny nonsense started?

243 replies

Housewife2010 · 01/04/2018 08:30

As a child I was given eggs by my family which I started on Easter Sunday. We give our children two eggs each and have an egg hunt and a few other chocolate treats. On FB now I see that the Easter Bunny has visited friend's houses and left masses of chocolate and presents. Is this the norm now? I would never have thought of buying Easter gifts.

OP posts:
LollyLarkin · 01/04/2018 11:24

My mum has several vintage Easter cards, some dating to around 1900 and some of them depict Easter Bunnies with baskets of eggs.

The Easter Bunny is older than all of us. Who else brings the yummy chocolate eggs and hides them in the garden?!

To wonder when all this Easter Bunny nonsense started?
IfNot · 01/04/2018 11:27

I remember blowing out eggs and painting them at school. And there was a decorated egg competition every year, which would be won by an egg done up like Elizabeth 1st complete with a ruff on a throne made out of Egg boxes painted gold (or similar).Made by someone's mum...

JustPotteringAround · 01/04/2018 11:33

I'm 45 the Easter Bunny hid my eggs back in the 70s and he still hides the one from my Dad now!

The kids love a hunt around the house on Easter Sunday morning and will have another one when Granddad visits later.

HuskyMcClusky · 01/04/2018 12:00

Lolly, that’s so cute! 😍

HighwayDragon1 · 01/04/2018 12:12

I spent around 35 on DD, it's not my fault! I left it till last-minute and all tesco had were the 10 lidnt carrots, and then I nipped into toysrus closing down sale and there we have it...

Drainedandconfused · 01/04/2018 12:14

I'm 41 and remember getting eggs from all my family as well as cards with a fiver in, the Easter bunny wasn't responsible for any of it, I had to write thank you notes to all relatives who had given me eggs and money.
The money is still a traditional thing in my family, DS has had several cards with £20 in this Easter.
He has a mountain of eggs but only because so many people buy for him.
I will be rationing then (and eating them myself)
I'm not on FB so don't see what others are doing for Easter but each to their own, if people want to buy their kids Easter gifts or put up an Easter tree I don't have a problem with it. Tacky or not.
One thing I was quite strict about when my DD was small was explaining why we had Easter and why it is celebrated, I'm not religious in any way but I feel that children should know that's it's not all about chicks, bunnies and chocolate.

foxessocks · 01/04/2018 12:15

I don't think the Easter bunny is the issue tbf. I remember the Easter bunny when I was a kid but my parents didn't do it. The Easter bunny came to my dc this morning but only left two small eggs each. So hardly a lot of money spent.

PugwallsSummer · 01/04/2018 12:20

My children have less than I did as a child!

I remember receiving a big box decorated by my Mum literally full of chocolate eggs of different varieties and sizes. There'd also be a cuddly toy (usually presented in a mug with another chocolate egg all wrapped in cellophane with a big bow) We were allowed to eat as much as we wanted. Fond memories :)

My children have a single chocolate egg, a book and some small gifts (this year a set of rabbit shaped crayons from the pound shop and an Easter themed craft set). We have also set up a small "Easter egg hunt" in the garden with reusable plastic eggs containing a couple of chocolate buttons. Just for a bit of outdoor fun.

I've seen a few Instagram posts this morning documenting huge piles of eggs and gifts. They did make me a bit 😵 but ultimately, if that's what makes some people happy and they can afford it, where's the harm?

SecretBum · 01/04/2018 12:28

I too have seen people giving Easter presents, wrapped and all. Nuts IMO.

My dc had 36 Easter Eggs between them 😏...but they're the small unbranded Easter Eggs for hunts, couple of inches big. We hid them all over the house in a free format hunt then they had clues to follow to find their large golden egg each. They also had a couple of branded eggs from me and dh.

More than half of it will be gone by tonight as we always melt a good bit down to make crispy cakes with.

WheresTheHooferDoofer · 01/04/2018 12:47

We've never done much for Easter, perhaps just an egg, if that. My mum and dad didn't do much either. But each to their own.

I 've looked at some info about the origins of the Easter Bunny, and it seems there are several possible originas, all of which pre-date today's commercial tat.

There's the pagan Eostre and the hare, a pp has mentioned Ancient Egypt, etc, but they seem to have a common theme of fertility and re-growth, which would fit this time of year.

Stompythedinosaur · 01/04/2018 12:57

That's not ridiculous Stompy

Thank you! I don't think so either, but I've met a bit of an 'anything more than a single mini egg is indulgence' attitude before.

Right now I am hating my job while looking for a new one, and one of the things that gets me through the day is knowing I can spend my hard earned cash indulging the dcs a bit.

wonkylegs · 01/04/2018 13:59

We've always done an egg hunt for the kids, it's turned into a big thing over the past few years as we've turned it into a big party and have extended the hunt to lots of families we know, we hide lots of little eggs & clues & decorate the garden with loads of spring stuff. Our kids don't get anything else from us, only the eggs they find.

When I was a kid we always did an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday after church, it was hit & miss as to what we got as it was usually whatever my dad hadn't sold as he owned the village shop.

Thinkingofausername1 · 01/04/2018 14:01

I get it is to make it exciting for toddlers etc, but it seems the Easter bunny has more recognition than Jesus does at Easter now. Of course Easter was all about him.

Whatsforu · 01/04/2018 14:09

I love the idea of an egg hunt for little ones. My teen DC's missed out on that when they were younger as I was worried the dogs would get to the chocolate. However I do feel this culture of posting a hoard of presents on FB too much.

BarbarianMum · 01/04/2018 14:10

Easter bunny came when I was a child (1970s) but my mum is German. We got chocolate eggs but there was also a lot of blowing, dyeing and painting real eggs.

Luckymummy22 · 01/04/2018 14:11

Easter Bunny not been to my house!!!!

In fact kids didn’t get eggs from us either.

They had every chance and they are up the stairs but they need to learn how to behave 1st...........

BarbarianMum · 01/04/2018 14:13

And I think you'll find that the celebration of the coming of spring and new life that we now call Easter predates Christianity by quite a long way. Just another pagan celebration the church piggybacked onto.

LagunaBubbles · 01/04/2018 14:15

our easter family tradition is more about spending time together.painting eggs egg rolling at the park and a family lunch

Well funny enough we do that do - and still buy chocolate Easter eggs for our kids.

IronicWittyUsername · 01/04/2018 14:17

i saw Easter bunny stop here signs - wtf

squarecorners · 01/04/2018 14:19

Easter has been a big thing for us as my family is eastern European, so lots of decorations, colourful eggs, nice food and we used to get a chocolate egg each. My other half's family have bought DS "Easter presents", the implication being we reciprocate. I'm not paying at all

Oblomov18 · 01/04/2018 14:38

Dislike it. Sil phoned Ds2 and asked if the Easter bunny had bought any eggs. He replied no. Mummy and Daddy bought it for me.
I laughed. Bless him.

ItsAllABitStrangeReally · 01/04/2018 14:42

I call it the Facebook effect.

My newsfeed is full of artfully displayed eggs, gifts and arts and crafts. It's fucking stupid.

Mine get an egg off me and one off their grandad, that's plenty and they're happy with it.

JassyRadlett · 01/04/2018 14:49

I’d advise those allergic to Easter decorations to avoid Central Europe in the springtime....

The Easter Bunny came to us in the 70s and 80s in Australia, and was pretty universal then. My parents also gave us each a book, which I thought was a lovely tradition so I’ve continued that for my DCs.

I get it is to make it exciting for toddlers etc, but it seems the Easter bunny has more recognition than Jesus does at Easter now. Of course Easter was all about him.

Certainly does in our house! I’d much rather celebrate spring. DH and I are both (currently quiet) atheists making non-committal noises about belief as DS1 has ended up at a faith school. School has tried, but DS1 recently announced that God doesn’t exist and was killed by the Big Bang. Some failures of logic but I’m letting him run with it.

JassyRadlett · 01/04/2018 14:50

My newsfeed is full of artfully displayed eggs, gifts and arts and crafts. It's fucking stupid.

People are doing seasonal craft activities with their kids! Those bastards.

GeekyBlinders · 01/04/2018 16:52

DS had a little Easter gift for the last couple of years as I wanted to keep the chocolate to a minimum when he was tiny, and he got an egg from his grandparents and my dad too. This year he's three and I bought him a simple cadburys egg only (plus some mini eggs we used to lay a trail between his room and ours). I put his egg with one of his toy bunnies and told him it was the Easter bunny who'd brought the egg and laid the trail.

BUT two weeks ago we hit the Toys R Us closing down sale and got him £100 worth of lego. Is it any less 'tacky' that we just gave him this rather than saying it was from the Easter bunny?