How to introduce the Easter Bunny

[Fantail]

DD is 3. Father Christmas was a bit of a hit in a very restrained way this year.

DD has noticed all the eggs, rabbits etc around and wants to know when she gets one. But honestly I have no idea how to introduce the whole Easter Bunny idea or even if I want to. We live in New Zealand so many of the other traditions of Easter don't seem to fit and even though we are all Catholic we don't go to Church.

Slightly first world problem I know but what did you do? We only ever got eggs on Easter Sunday as children, although DH's chocoholic family start eating them as soon as they appear.

Why do you need to "introduce the Easter bunny"? I don't even know what that would entail - telling her that all the eggs are brought by a bunny??

We're in NZ too, so they've been in the shops for weeks now! DD is three and we do eggs on Sunday too (not religious, just believe in delayed gratification!) and last year just did a little hunt in the garden and told her the Easter Bunny left them. That was as deep as we got, she took it at face value and has talked about it ever since :-)

I've never done the Easter Bunny. My DC just get Easter Eggs

I don't know. I guess for the same reason that you do Father Christmas.

I think because when I was little we just got Easter eggs without the Easter bunny being involved, I just did the same thing with my DCs.

We've never bothered with the easter bunny. I'm not sure many people do.

I was never told that the Easter Bunny brought Easter eggs and I don't intend to tell my three year old that this year.

Santa is one thing but a giant magical bunny is something else entirely! I find it strangely unnerving. Santa has a decent motive (to reward well behaved children) but why does the Easter Bunny do it? Is he trying to make the world full of obese children?

I think you are over thinking it just tell her the easter bunny will bring her chocolate eggs or tell her she will get a chocolate egg because it's easter. I can't imaging a 3 year old will need much more than your getting chocolate.

we never did the Easter bunny either, we just got chocolate eggs from our parents

Oh good, if Easter Bunny coverage is sporadic I don't feel so bad that I can't get enthusiastic about the furry little thing. Chocolate I am on board with though

We do the Easter bunny but not as full-on as we do Father Christmas. So, I think the first year we did it, DD was 3 and a few months and DS was 15 months. I hid a load of eggs of different sizes around the house one night when they were asleep. The next morning they had eaten their breakfast and had started playing and DS came across a chocolate egg in his toy box which he brought to me with a big grin. I then announced 'ooh, the Easter bunny must have been'. And they both started looking for more eggs with a basket each which I gave them. The only problem was I hadn't really counted how many I had put out altogether so we were never really sure if they had got them all.

We have done the same thing every year since, the DCs are 7 and 5 now. We always go to my parents for Easter weekend so the Easter bunny comes to our house before Easter weekend but at some point during the holidays after school has broken up. Nothing is announced in advance. Just one morning they find an egg (I always make sure I put one somewhere prominently so they come across the first one by chance) and they realise the bunny has been so they take their baskets and go searching. It's just some fun, it won't be long before they realise it's not the Easter bunny who brings the eggs the same way they will soon know that it's not Father Christmas who brings the Christmas presents and it's not the Tooth Fairy who puts money under their pillows. But while they do still believe, I am enjoying it!

Guitargirl, sounds really exciting, I think I might borrow your idea for our DS! (He's only 4 months now, so we've got a while to go! )