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AIBU?

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Original poster

Did you do Easter hunts growing up?

165 replies

Stomachfullofchocolate · 09/04/2023 18:31

I was a child of the 80’s, teen of the 90’s…I remember going to one Easter hunt as a child at a neighbours across the road, I had no idea what to do.
My parents would get me an egg for Easter for the morning and my grandparents would get me one…I was happy with that as I knew no different. We don’t go over the top in our house but I do plan a lovely egg hunt for Dd, get her some bunny ears/t-shirt etc and we do Easter activities -paint eggs, make Easter nests etc.
I’m not trying to sound like I’m perfect, I just enjoy doing it and it isn’t a massive hassle…I didn’t do any of it..we painted eggs at school and did nests so I suppose my mum didn’t think we needed to do anything else. But when I think about it, it’s like that with so many things…I do so much more with Dd and I work, whereas my mum was a Sahm for years. She wasn’t an awful mum, I’m not saying that at all, but things seem so different these days…even dinners were easy and things you just bunged in the oven (fishfingers, Findus crispy pancakes, chips etc) then she’d maybe cook from scratch on a Sunday. Breakfast was cereal in a bowl, no fruits, avocado on toast, eggs etc really like a lot of people nowadays. I think of all the things I bust my ass over and wondered why it wasn’t like that then or why just she wasn’t (not sure if that was the case or all motherhood was similar back then)
The thing she did do differently to me was a lot more daily cleaning…I’m rubbish and hire a cleaner as a treat as I prefer to put effort into spending time with Dd when I’m home and make better meals in general than in the 80’s.
Why didn’t my mum or maybe it was lots of other mums? Do these things?

OP posts:
TeenLifeMum · 09/04/2023 19:48

I was born in 1982.
My mum did crafts with us etc but I did spend a lot of time playing make believe on my own. My dc can do that together but seem unable to do it alone.

Improbablecat · 09/04/2023 19:48

I'm 35. We did egg hunts, but real eggs! Often painted by my uncle with his oil paints and all sticky with hay stuck to them where they'd been hidden around the barn etc. Ha.
Both parents worked full time. Cooking was a mix of from scratch and easy freezer stuff which is broadly what I do. Both did loads with us - clubs, crafts, sports. I remember doing Fimo with mum and making loads of beads and jewellery and selling them at a blue Peter Sale.
We went swimming, to the beach and to places like soft play at the weekends. I recently held my daughter's 4th birthday at the same soft play I had mine at! We were laughing about its longevity (though has changed hands, new name and had a few updates since then!)
I'm trying to give my kids the same sort of childhood I had, because to be honest it was great. My parents were fab and they're excellent grandparents now too.

Albiboba · 09/04/2023 19:50

I didn’t know anyone who did an Easter egg hunt when I was young. I hasn’t even heard of them until I was in my 20s!

Allwelcome · 09/04/2023 19:50

I was so shocked that dh didn't do egg hunts growing up.i do think it was unusual back them but has grown as America has marketed this originally German tradition to us.

I remember seeing a German aunt do the full on Easter tree with little wooden eggs and was enchanted.

They're not as unusual now but back them...

Also egg painting being taken very seriously. Not sure that's German too...

ibblebibbledibble · 09/04/2023 19:50

80s child here- never had an egg hunt, I went trick or treating but only with my brother or friends not with my parents. I don’t have a single memory of my mum or dad doing any arts and crafts with me.
but no, never felt I kissed out on anything. Had a great childhood.

ibblebibbledibble · 09/04/2023 19:51

Or missed out either 😃

Hotcrossed · 09/04/2023 19:51

born in the 1960s
no easter egg hunts.

Hotcrossed · 09/04/2023 19:53

i remember having a boiled egg for breakfast at easter,
with a face painted on

Runnerduck34 · 09/04/2023 19:55

I grew up in 70s and 80s , never did an easter egg hunt, was given eggs from parents grandparents, aunts snd uncles but never did an egg hunt.
But I have always done them with my DC , and they also did them at nursery and toddler group, the oldest is now 23.

WyfOfBathe · 09/04/2023 19:57

80s child. I didn't do Easter egg hunts but I had friends who did and was always quite jealous.

We always had craft things at home but it was more basic, eg paper, crayons, recycling to cut up. DM would sometimes join us with craft but it was never organised activities.

I did go to swimming and ballet classes, at different points.

Allwelcome · 09/04/2023 19:58

@ibblebibbledibble swings and roundabouts I guess.
I had all the arts and crafts, museum trips, bed time stories and foreign experiences (living there not as holidays).
But my parents were also skint eccentrics who were frequently chaotic and split up acrimoniously later! So maybe stability which I hope you had, is more of value...

Food for thought for a different thread perhaps.

RememberingGoodTimes · 09/04/2023 20:00

We're not Christian so to us, it's really just about chocolate and school holidays. My young children do lots of Easter bits at preschool and school. At home, they have an egg on Easter Sunday and we've done a few egg hunts in at national trusts etc locally, but no emphasis on Easter especially, it's just a nice outdoor, affordable thing to do in the holidays.

We don't do anything else. We don't have an Easter dinner or anything.

I grew up with minimal celebrations in general. We always had decent birthday parties but no big deal was made of national celebrations.

It didn't upset me at all, I had a very happy, content childhood. I think kids just live in the moment and really don't need all that much to be happy.

Morningcoffeeview · 09/04/2023 20:04

I never did any crafting at home either… just me?

SkyeBlue28 · 09/04/2023 20:06

I was born in the 80’s and I never even heard of an Easter egg hunt until I was an adult!
similar to OP I had a lovely mother but she saw her role more as “housewife” than “sahm”
Her time and energy was given more to household tasks than activities with her children. Honestly I think that was quite normal at the time.
I have an egg hunt every year for my children and they love it. They were so excited this morning looking for the eggs.

h3ll0o · 09/04/2023 20:08

Born in 80s. Mum was either a SAHM or worked part-time. No Easter egg hunts but we did play dates, baby classes etc. Days out, such as the zoo or a theme park, we’re reserved for special occasions.

Wombatbum · 09/04/2023 20:08

I’m 36 and never did egg hunts as a child. Easter was church, a few eggs and films. I’ve never made a massive deal for my kids, eggs and a day out

Toddlerteaplease · 09/04/2023 20:10

I can only remember doing it once. It was always a rush to get to church in the morning.

Yoyo2021 · 09/04/2023 20:10

34 here - no Easter egg hunts here… just woke up to eggs at the end of my bed which was fabulous!

We had lots of basic teas - pasta bake, freezer teas, roasts and home made cakes - same as now really although there is so much range in the supermarkets compared to back then ( I don’t think you had avacardos readily available back then! ) but now it’s cost of living so back to serving my child the same things when I think about it!

We only did days out like to a zoo once a year. Lots of trips to the park and we loved going ! . Did not know soft plays existed don’t think there was one in our area until I was about 11 so by then a bit to old.

weekends would be a trip to town a look around the shops spend pocket money and bakers lunch - Sundays would be just playing with my siblings.

clubs - went to brownies - nothing else would of cost a fortune I guess.

had a happy childhood 😀 your mum was probs trying to do everything on a shoe string you mention nothing about a dad so if she was a single parent it’s bloody hard on your own child x

SparkyBlue · 09/04/2023 20:11

I was born mid seventies and I only saw egg hunts on tv in reality no one I knew did them. Easter was always new clothes ,Easter mass and a big dinner and chocolate eggs

ibblebibbledibble · 09/04/2023 20:14

Allwelcome · 09/04/2023 19:58

@ibblebibbledibble swings and roundabouts I guess.
I had all the arts and crafts, museum trips, bed time stories and foreign experiences (living there not as holidays).
But my parents were also skint eccentrics who were frequently chaotic and split up acrimoniously later! So maybe stability which I hope you had, is more of value...

Food for thought for a different thread perhaps.

I hope I didn’t sound like I was criticising my parents, like I said I had a great childhood. We just didn’t seem to need them to entertain them like I find is essential for kids these days.

TheNoodlesIncident · 09/04/2023 20:16

I was a child in the 70s and 80s and we did nothing like that. We were lucky to one chocolate egg, I'm not sure if we did every year. Certainly didn't from relatives. (Didn't always get a birthday cake either, and never had a party, even just family.)

We did guising (trick or treating) one year early on but only once as my mum didn't agree with it at all, we stayed in our cul de sac and I don't think we did anything to earn the treat (which was the idea, you didn't get something for just turning up with an old sheet over your head). We did do some Hallowe'en games at home, I remember bobbing for apples and trying Apple Harpoon (dropping a fork from a stepladder and hoping it would spear an apple), we had a great book of indoor games and wanted to try them out.

We were quite cash poor so activities were few and far between, we so rarely went out anywhere I remember the outings quite vividly. The only paid activity we did was swimming at the swimming baths, public sessions, no lessons.

Mum worked full time and never did anything with us craft wise, we were expected to get on with things by ourselves. She was always critical though, if I showed her a picture I'd drawn she'd find something to criticise. I was crushed and stopped bothering her.

We didn't make Easter bonnets at school either, no dressing up as a Roman or food tasting sessions "this is what the Romans would have eaten", or World Book Day or anything. And no making models with art straws either, I was gutted when I realised I was nearly finished primary school and we hadn't made anything with art straws and never would. The trauma! Grin

Sotiredmjmmy · 09/04/2023 20:16

80s child - we did loads of crafts, different clubs and activities and very much had Easter egg hunts from very young with far too much chocolate!

We also went to soft play - but weirdly the area where we grew up is now even more middle class and wealthier than it was in the 80s but awful play centres, we had better and higher quality soft play and indoor play centres then than there is now in the same area

RoseGoldEagle · 09/04/2023 20:23

Grew up in the 80s and we never had an Easter hunt. Had a lovely childhood with very involved and engaged parents (mum was a SAHM), but Easter was never something they made much of. We'd be given an egg from them, and get an egg from grandparents, and would often have a few other small eggs from school or friends; the absolute joy of having a stash of chocolate that was yours to eat whenever you wanted was enough to make Easter amazing for me!! I do an Easter egg hunt for my three now, because I enjoy doing it, and we went to a local Easter craft event last week to fill some time, but I don't put a huge emphasis on Easter or the Easter bunny. We would spend family time together though over the weekend, going on walks, watching a film or whatever, and I think that's the important thing really.

MammaTill2Pojkar · 09/04/2023 20:25

Conkersinautumn · 09/04/2023 18:57

We didn't do egg hunts as such but my parents used to do these treasure hunts where you had to follow clues (in the car) the winner used to get a prize. There would generally be a big Easter one.

I loved doing those in the car treasure hunts! I was so sad when we stopped doing them for some reason. I don't think they were themed or timed for any holidays like Easter though, they just happened when they happened.

Also an 80's child, I don't think we ever did an egg hunt or Easter crafts outside of school, just got a pile of chocolate eggs and bunnies. Didn't do Halloween trick or treating either or Halloween in general actually, no treats just for Halloween or decorations or anything, we did live in the middle of nowhere with only 1 neighbour mind, but Mum also said she just didn't agree with Halloween.

I remember eggs and toast for breakfast, hot milk before bed, roast dinner every sunday, couldn't tell you what a typical weekday dinner was though, I was often cooking my own dinners by the time I was 12 or 13, just freezer stuff or those microwave dinner meals.

Breakfast for my kids is usually just toast, I can't find the time or energy to do much else before preschool drop off (and they don't like eggs...), dinner is often frozen things like meatballs, fish fingers, croquettes or pasta and cheese. Dinner for me and OH is mostly home cooked Hello Fresh stuff right now, which I do try and offer the kids too.... but 1 mostly refuses it and the other might try a bit. I do an indoor Easter Egg hunt for them, indoor Halloween hunt too (they don't really have any school friends/local friends yet... nor do we, so we stick to ourselves atm.), helped the youngest make an Easter chick at a playgroup the other day, eldest does crafts at Preschool. I am trying to be a bit more involved and play with them more than I remember my parents doing, I hated wanting to tell my Mum things only to be met with "I'm busy/watching the news right now" and I don't remember her ever actively playing anything with me, but still don't have the energy to devote all my time to them, I just hope that I can do better at the least...

wellhi · 09/04/2023 20:27

Stomachfullofchocolate · 09/04/2023 18:49

@bitcharming I understand as I was a Sahm for the first 4 years of my Dds life and it’s definitely very hard at times, not trying to be hard on her at all. But she also had many years we were at school all day too and we didn’t do these things after school or at weekends that’s all. I just wondered if we now as a mum/parent society just do shit loads more with our kids

Yes, we definitely do a lot more these days.

(I never did egg hunts as a child either).

My mum worked very part time when I was growing up, but no, we never did crafts or anything like that.

I think a lot of it, as so many things, is to do with social media. So many parents do these things as performance parenting and wanting "being a good mum" to be their "thing". In turn, other mums see this and panic and feel inadequate and feel like they have to do it as well.

In the 80s / 90s there was a lot more anonymity. I don't think it would have crossed my mums mind to do these things with us. She had the time, it just wasn't on her radar.

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