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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that the Easter bunny leaves an egg for morning

290 replies

littleloopylou · 16/04/2023 21:40

Just found out that the Easter bunny didn't come to my ex's. My child was taken to an Easter event where the bunny had hidden some eggs for many children to find. Ex also mysteriously discovered some eggs in his car that were left by the Easter bunny, a few days after Easter.

My child thinks that the Easter bunny forgot them.

AIBU to think that ex totally dropped the ball on this?

OP posts:
Original poster
littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:08

ilovesooty · 17/04/2023 08:07

I wasn't laughing about it. I was despairing that yet another Christian occasion might be made into a commercial opportunity. You completely misunderstood me.

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But we are where we are. My child was given this expectation by English people at her nursery. Don't hate on me for trying to give my child the tradition they came to expect.

OP posts:
Caddyautopants · 17/04/2023 08:10

I don't know a single family who do the "easter bunny". It isn't comparable to Father Christmas at all

I'm sure the kids will survive.

ilovesooty · 17/04/2023 08:10

myveryownelectrickitten · 17/04/2023 02:00

It’s literally centuries old as a tradition — keep up!

In France the eggs are brought by the local church bells, which fly in the night to be blessed by the Pope in Rome and then return bringing the Easter eggs. In Germany and Teutonic Northern Europe it’s traditionally an Easter rabbit or hare. Can’t help you if you don’t know what is a pretty longstanding tradition, tbh.

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It's not something I ever grew up with. I went to Sunday school to learn about the Easter story and my parents bought my eggs. You really are very rude.

Newjobanxious · 17/04/2023 08:11

Op I get it. It’s tough when things change like this and this is the first tradition that’s changed and it’s thrown you.

wrt Christmas - it’s only fair that your child’s father gets Christmas with them too. You can do Christmas when you see them and tell them Santa left presents at your house too.

Okunevo · 17/04/2023 08:12

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:08

But we are where we are. My child was given this expectation by English people at her nursery. Don't hate on me for trying to give my child the tradition they came to expect.

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You could have just said the Easter bunny is a story and given eggs yourself if you had wanted to. Different families have different traditions, you decide which traditions you want to do in your household.

Caddyautopants · 17/04/2023 08:13

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:08

But we are where we are. My child was given this expectation by English people at her nursery. Don't hate on me for trying to give my child the tradition they came to expect.

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You're blaming English people?

ilovesooty · 17/04/2023 08:14

MissTrip82 · 17/04/2023 05:10

I wouldn’t say they were an angry weirdo, I’d say they were a liar.

People raised in this country who celebrate Easter have ‘never heard’ of the Easter Bunny and are unaware it’s a ‘thing’? really? Come on. Displays in shops and ads at this time of year must be very confusing indeed.

You don’t have to participate yourself to know what it is.

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I didn't say I'd never heard of it at all or seen it on displays. I didn't know it was a "thing" comparable to Father Christmas for so many people. That's not lying.

Sourfairy · 17/04/2023 08:15

Didn't have the Easter bunny growing up and have never done it for DD either, just an egg from us. I literally didn't even know it was a thing until reading about it on MN a couple of years ago! It's not like Father Christmas.

I don't think somebody can be blamed for not doing the Easter bunny

Okunevo · 17/04/2023 08:17

ilovesooty · 17/04/2023 08:10

It's not something I ever grew up with. I went to Sunday school to learn about the Easter story and my parents bought my eggs. You really are very rude.

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My parents bought the eggs too, we got to choose our large boxed egg ourselves. Later, we did a hunt with my youngest sibling. There are stories, stories are fun, you can read books and tell stories about Easter bunnies or hares or foxes or bilbies or bells at Easter without actually believing they bring the eggs.

Original poster
littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:19

Caddyautopants · 17/04/2023 08:13

You're blaming English people?

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Many of the unkind replies here have said this ISN'T an English tradition and acted like I am nuts or soiling a religious tradition. But I wasn't sure I wanted to do the EB tradition to start with. It's English people who got it going for us.

OP posts:
Caddyautopants · 17/04/2023 08:19

Okunevo · 17/04/2023 08:17

My parents bought the eggs too, we got to choose our large boxed egg ourselves. Later, we did a hunt with my youngest sibling. There are stories, stories are fun, you can read books and tell stories about Easter bunnies or hares or foxes or bilbies or bells at Easter without actually believing they bring the eggs.

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Same here.

Easter Bunny bringing eggs isn't "standard"

Hidingawaytoday · 17/04/2023 08:21

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 17/04/2023 07:05

I know the feeling, we mucked up the Advent Aardvark a couple of years ago.

Having hidden the chocolate ants, the little buggers were so small the kids couldn't find them!

'I'm the HOLIDAY ARMADILLO'

Sorry, your ex can be a dick OP. At least he took them to a proper hunt.

To think that the Easter bunny leaves an egg for morning
ZeroPlastic · 17/04/2023 08:21

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:19

Many of the unkind replies here have said this ISN'T an English tradition and acted like I am nuts or soiling a religious tradition. But I wasn't sure I wanted to do the EB tradition to start with. It's English people who got it going for us.

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It’s a few people at nursery not “English people” as a group. Your gripe is with the nursery not the whole country.

MMM2022 · 17/04/2023 08:21

try not to worry too much and I mean this in a nice way but maybe that your child is smart enough to figure out your DH then she’s ready to know the truth? I could be wrong but I feel like around 7ish or soon after seems to be the age when most kids I know have started questioning things like Easter bunny & Santa etc. It is sad when you want them to believe in the magic much longer. I know some kids believe longer. I believed in everything , and I was ok when I figured stuff out- it’s probably better than having to be told.

my step kids are older and we just assumed they didn’t do hunts anymore… they found it weird that we gave them a nice big egg instead of hiding a few small treats would have been much cheaper lol. So they weren’t expecting a lot, more a tradition. We hadn’t had them for Easter since they were small so never realised. They don’t believe in EB etc, but we try to to be consistent with what their mum does so DH rushed out and got some tiny sweets to hide lol.
we did think since they are older we should make it really difficult and they still haven’t found some of them 😂
I was worried that now we have a baby about what happens with traditions etc. I think there will be some compromise but such a big gap between baby and step kids who know the truth now that I think we can find a middle ground that suits everyone.

Original poster
littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:22

Listen, I am not keen on lying to my kid. However, once a child believes something, you are stuck with it until you make a conscious choice to stop. My child's other parent knew about and participated in the tradition in the past. My child was expecting to find an Easter egg in the morning and ex would have known this if he weren't a very selfish person.

OP posts:
Original poster
littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:23

ZeroPlastic · 17/04/2023 08:21

It’s a few people at nursery not “English people” as a group. Your gripe is with the nursery not the whole country.

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Once again, people here are telling me it's not an English tradition. I'm here to tell you it obviously is.

OP posts:
Nordicrain · 17/04/2023 08:25

Urgh, everything has got so OTT over the last few years. Since when is the easter bunny Santa? In my world the easter bunny never came at night leaving an elaborate trail of eggs and presents inside for the kids to enable them to start their day begging for chocolate. For us it was always that he would come some time during the day and we would have an easter egg hunt in the garden once it was a bit warmer/ drier. But DD has caught on to what her friends get and got in a hgue mood this year when he wasn't there for thing. that expectation takes the fun out of everything.

Same with valentines, kids on social media waking up to mountains of huge teddies and red heart gifts. Since when was that a thing/ expectation?!

So yeah, YABU.

SunnySaturdayMorning · 17/04/2023 08:26

I’ve never heard of this 😂 He’s not a clone of Father Christmas!

ZeroPlastic · 17/04/2023 08:27

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:23

Once again, people here are telling me it's not an English tradition. I'm here to tell you it obviously is.

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Well, you're the expert 😂

Okunevo · 17/04/2023 08:27

OP, you can continue it at your house, but you can't dictate what another household does. Taking the child for a hunt doesn't seem selfish to me, it's more effort than buying an egg. Children can understand that things are different at mum's and dad's house.

Dilemma19 · 17/04/2023 08:28

Fgs it's all out of hand now. My 6yo slipped up and said can dh and I hide some in his room too, and then quickly changed it to the Easter bunny. Kids know, stop perpetuating this nonsense as well. It's an Easter egg.

MMM2022 · 17/04/2023 08:28

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:22

Listen, I am not keen on lying to my kid. However, once a child believes something, you are stuck with it until you make a conscious choice to stop. My child's other parent knew about and participated in the tradition in the past. My child was expecting to find an Easter egg in the morning and ex would have known this if he weren't a very selfish person.

I see what you are saying.
in my situation with step kids etc we do get on with their mum and communicate well (made a mistake this year but not on propose and manage to rectify it! Probably easier for us as they kids don’t believe so didn’t run the risk of the them ‘finding out’ if that makes sense)
but in an ideal world you and the dad would be on the same page and not change things without discussing etc. I’m thinking that’s part of the issue here?

Sourfairy · 17/04/2023 08:28

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:23

Once again, people here are telling me it's not an English tradition. I'm here to tell you it obviously is.

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It really isn't.

SunnySaturdayMorning · 17/04/2023 08:28

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:23

Once again, people here are telling me it's not an English tradition. I'm here to tell you it obviously is.

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No, it’s not an English tradition.

It may be the done thing in your nursery/area, but it absolutely is not an English tradition or we would all be doing it (or at the very least even have heard of it).

Newjobanxious · 17/04/2023 08:28

littleloopylou · 17/04/2023 08:23

Once again, people here are telling me it's not an English tradition. I'm here to tell you it obviously is.

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It’s not necessarily a British tradition in the way that Father Christmas / Santa is. It is something that the specific nursery did for very young children.