To think it’s easter not christmas?

[backagainohdear]

What is going on with easter these days?
My social media is full of photos of piles of easter eggs, toys & clothes!
Mine got one each (well a tub of haribo for one as he doesn’t like easter eggs.)
AIBU to think people go over the top in some weird bid to show off?

I'm mid-40s and as children we always got a new item of summer clothing from one relative, who thought we got too much chocolate.

I have got my DC (teens now) a new summer outfit each (from Vinted) and eggs for a hunt. They eat the eggs in small amounts as a weekend treat over time and they last for a while that way.

I can't afford to just buy clothes whenever unless they're really necessary clothes, so I also see it as a way of showing DC we can't always have everything we want whenever we want it, but there are occasions where I will try to treat them (Christmas, birthdays being the main ones). They don't ask me for things they don't strictly need and will definitely appreciate their new (to them) summer clothes.

I don't put any photos on social media.

I haven't seen any photos on social media of set-ups like the OP describes.

Just more performative parenting. The same as Christmas eve boxes and pajamas. I often wonder if social media didn't exist for these parents to post photos of their picture perfect family moments; would they bother with any of this excessive nonsense ?

I have had this chat with my brother. We are old so our experiences are different. When he was a child rationing was still in force so Easter was a huge deal. I assume my parents saved their coupons (was that allowed?) to get him an egg. Rationing was over when I came along (he is a fair bit older). I received one egg from my parents and a new outfit for church. If I was lucky a visiting relative would bring an egg for me.

I think it is lovely to make it a special day but that doesn't have to mean showering children with lavish gifts. Decorations are great, Easter trees were definitely a thing in Germany in the 80s, I can't speak for anywhere else.

On balance I think I prefer Easter as it was, but as others have said, none of this is compulsory.

I agree, and we've got the Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling coming up soon, and then the Summer Solstice, when we have to drape white sheets over ourselves and traipse off to bleedin' Wiltshire. 😡

We weren't well off, but we always got new clothes for Easter and that was in the '70s, so long before social media was a thing. It was usually a summer type outfit - dress, cardigan and sandals. We'd wear it to mass on Easter Sunday and then wear it all summer. We'd mostly have grown out of last year's summer things. Sadly, the rest of my clothes were mostly hand me downs from my older sisters and family friends.

I don't really understand the sneery attitude of judging people who do things for social media approval or 'Instagram-worthy' photos. What would you rather see on social media? What do you go on there looking for? People only post this stuff precisely because people look.

@backagainohdear I'm not religious but was.
In the church , Easter is of more significance than Christmas, It shows Jesus rose from the dead and gave everyone the promise of everlasting life.
The story of his death and the rise from the dead is considered more important than his birth.

It was never meant to be commercialised but of course the consumer society has made it that.

Years ago, all anyone got was hand decorated hard boiled egg. If that.

This. It would never have even existed.

I agree.

You can always tell when people do things just for show because they plaster it all over SM.

Why would anyone feel the need to post a photo of their child with all of their Easter gifts. If it’s posed with multiple gifts, then you know it’s purely to try and impress people on the internet - why not a photo of them eating a bit of chocolate or just playing naturally.

I mean, I've done an egg hunt but haven't posted anything on socials. So you're wrong.

As a religious Christian festival Easter has always existed for 2000 years .
It's the commercial aspect that has changed.

“It is (&was) pagan befire the Christian's hijacked it.”

Bingo! Mumsnet never fails to deliver, and has really excelled itself this year which the usual rhetoric.

Because the focus of the moment you're plastering all over Insta isn't your child, it's attention. That's quite sad really.

It was always a good time to replace any damaged outdoor toys or get any that they needed. So they did get eggs plus usually a new bat and back, something for the sandpit etc..

In my 60's now, and what this is showing me isn't particularly this one festival getting more consumerist but the proliferation of occasions where Children get given gifts.

In the 60's & 70's, there was Christmas with gifts from the wider family, birthdays with gifts from close family, and Easter with eggs & spring related things like chicks & bunnies from parents and maybe anyone you were visiting or were visiting you.

Now there seems to be more and more occasions - XMas eve boxes, Christmas stockings that have more in them than we used to get for under the tree gifts as well as them getting big gifts, Easter gifts, birthdays much bigger than they used to be, this "Boo box" thing (first I've heard of it). As a pp said, Valentine's Day used to be a card, flowers and a meal out, Advent Calendars were paper and card with nothing behind the doors except a picture.

I can understand parents wanting to give their children nice gifts, but this is getting to the stage where there seems to be an entitlement that children get gifts at any excuse rather than being taught any form of constraint.

So if people are treating it like a second Christmas, I guess it means I can spend the day getting pissed.

Sign me up.

My MIL and SIL bought my children a gift bag of eggs and clothes and toys all wrapped up like it was Christmas. I was like why?! None of us are religious and never done Easter presents before. Also just had birthday and Christmas recently so don't even need anything new!

I think it's one of the pitfalls of modern life. Almost everything has become commodified! Suddenly there are holiday themed pyjamas, blankets, snack holders, drinking cups etc and then we find ourselves putting it all online 😀

The problem is that it becomes competitive, children look down on others who don't get all the presents, or if they're on the "losing" side they feel inferior or as if their parents have let them down. And the reality is that all we are doing is falling for a commercial initiative, it doesn't make Easter any more special.

I suspect people who throw money at Easter presents will be out moaning about the cost of fuel next week, because it never occurred to them to reign in the spending a bit.

I agree! My DD’s school have shown them a video and told them the Easter bunny comes and does an Easter egg hunt for you. DP bought some small wrapped eggs and has gone off to work leaving me to do it all.

I’m 64. Always got a new outfit for Easter and a book or two as well as eggs.

But you could just focus on your own child instead of spending time looking for people to judge on social media?

I don't recall special clothes for Easter but on the North West we had new clothes for Walking Day a bit later in the year. Each Church would join in a procession with their banner, Mothers' Union, possibly a brass band and the children of the Sunday school in their Sunday best. It was held on Whit Monday I think for the CE churches and on the Friday for the Catholic churches, we liked it because friends, neighbours, family would dash out of the crowd to give you money, usually a 6d piece or a shilling if you were very lucky!

Absolutely. Other mums from school posting mountains of chocolate eggs for their kids, new outfits, balloon arches. I think I've gone mad.

My two had a fight about finding the plastic eggs I hid in the garden and got one small egg each. We've only just finished the chocolate from Christmas so the last thing we need is even more of it.

I'm afraid if you plaster photos of your family on social media then you are inviting judgement, good and bad. You cannot have it both ways. I prefer to keep my children's lives private out of respect for their privacy.

When they are adults they can choose to post photos of themselves on the internet. That is not my right to make that choice for them just to get attention.