Creating a Crafty Easter Basket with Disney

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Hi friends!

I have mixed emotions about Easter baskets...

I actually don't stress about the whole "what does that have to do with Jesus?" aspect of things. We celebrate Easter because He came and gave us the ultimate gift of eternal life in Him. However, that is really big and really abstract for little ones. What we talk about is how Jesus gave us a great gift, even better than our favorite FAVORITE presents! We give because He gave. We talk about love, and generosity, but we also talk about how no gift on Earth is as big as the gift of Jesus.

Gifts are one of my love languages, so I love any chance to shower the ones I love. However, having 2 kids, we are fighting the "stuff" battle full force! I don't want to fill our home with kitschy things just for the sake of gift giving. That doesn't help anyone, especially not the one who does most of the picking up!

Disney to the rescue!

Easter Mantle {and a free printable!}

You guys!

I have a mantle to decorate!

Well, sort of...

Ok, so it's a shelf, but it's mine and I get to decorate it however I want after a year and a half of keeping my decorations in a box! It makes me happy.

It's a good combination of things we already had and a few new goodies.

Here are the goods:

The candle holders were a wedding gift from my Aunt and Uncle. I can't find the candles for them so they're doubling as sort-of apothecary jar/candy bowls. The little bird used to sit on top of our cabinets in AZ. We don't have cabinet tops anymore so he'll need a new home. Maybe this is it. The nest is from the dollar section at Target! Woot!

Isn't the bunny cute? Hobby Lobby, 40% off. Go hit up the Easter sales before they pack them up! I love tulips. They might be my favorite. Since I'm dealing with a red wall I had to skip the pretty pink ones, but I like the white ones too!

My favorite part is the banner. It just finishes the whole thing off in a way that makes me happy.

You know what else makes me happy? Giving things to you! Not only do I have a tutorial for that little banner, but I have a printable for you, too! You'll be able to grab it at the end of this post.

Here we go!

I could have just cut triangles and handwritten the letters, but I have not been blessed with cute lettering skills. I knew it would make me crazy if I tried, so I dove into Photoshop and made myself a little template, complete with cute font.

I started with paper grocery bags:

Using a piece of paper as a template I cut the bags into 81/2 by 11 pieces. I ended up needing 3 bags to get the pieces I needed.

I ran them through my printer and printed out my templates.

Then used some pinking shears (the cheap craft kind!) to cut them out.

From there I strung them on some twine and hung it up. Done and done!

Confessions:
- I wish it was a little bit smaller. Not enough to make another one, but I'll probably re-do it next year.
- I may or may not have hot-glued the banner to my shelf.
- This is literally the only spot in our new house that is finished. Priorities.

Want to make your own banner? Download your free printable HERE!

Be blessed!

Heather

I'm linking up at: Sorta Crunchy

Easter Book Review

Hello friends!

With Easter coming up, I wanted to do a quick review of some books we've been reading at home. Abbey loves to read, and we have story time every night before bed. I've found books to be a great way to introduce topics to her. 

While I don't have a problem with secular Easter traditions, I want to make sure that the real reason for the day doesn't get lost in all the easter eggs and chocolate. Easter is tricky to explain to an almost 3 year old. Christmas is "easy"...Baby Jesus was born! Easter...not so easy. These three books do a great job of taking things down to Abbey's level.

The Story of Easter: I actually found this one at Target, hidden in there between all the Easter egg books. It is fantastic! Abbey and I just read it before she went down for a nap. She doesn't understand the idea of dying, but she does understand feeling sad and feeling happy. This book talks about how Jesus' friends were sad when He died, and were happy when He was alive again. 

It also explains why we put crosses on steeples, and that Jesus was called the Good Shepherd which is the name of our church. I love that we get to use parts of this book all throughout the week. It really helps things stick.

What Is Easter?: This is another great book. The first few pages talk about all of the activities that surround Easter like egg hunts, and baby chicks, and chocolate bunnies, and asks if they are what Easter is about. Then it talks about Jesus and the fact that He died for us, and that that is what Easter is all about. I like the rhyming and rhythm of this book, but that creates some potential problems. There is some obscure language in this book that may be confusing to little ones, or kids with disabilities. Phrases about Jesus dying on a tree, and how He wants to live inside you may need some extra explanation. They don't seem to be throwing Abbey too badly. Note: We also have  the Christmas version of this book by the same author, and it is fantastic!

The Very First Easter: I just found this one. I love The Beginner's Bible. It does such a great job of making bible stories understandable for little ones while staying true to scripture. This small book is all of the Easter oriented stories that the full Beginner's Bible contains. They include Jesus washing the disciples feet, and the entry into Jerusalem. I'm excited to read this one with Abbey tonight!

How do you teach your toddlers about Easter? I'd love to hear from you!

Now it's time for Kids Co-Op goodness! I looove this linky party. You know the drill. Link up your kids ideas here, and they'll be linked up all over blog-land. I can't wait to see what you've got this week!