My neighborhood puts on a huge Easter egg hunt, which is loads of fun for the kids. But, each egg is stuffed with candy! And that's not including their Easter baskets, and their own egg hunt on Easter morning.
This year, I offered to trade them a toy for their egg hunt finds. To my delight, they were thrilled with the opportunity to get sidewalk chalk paint instead of the multitude of jellybeans and chocolates.
Taking candy out of Easter morning is a bit more difficult. I decided to skip the chocolate bunnies all together. Surprisingly, they never even mentioned it. I knew they wanted some candy, so I bought them a few large eggs filled with mini chocolates. I picked up a few quirky surprises and a small toy to make their baskets look complete.
I put a mini chocolate in a couple of their hidden Easter eggs. I filled the rest of the eggs with stickers and modeling clay. I have to admit, the girls were less than thrilled, but they seemed to accept it. My son was over the moon to get so many superhero stickers. I think he was more accepting since he's younger and really didn't know anything different. So, it seems better to start your candy free traditions early!
If you'd like to give it a try you'll find some tips on parenting.com. You'll notice more and more stores selling small Easter toys to help make the transition easier on the little ones.
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