conuly

My mom made us Easter baskets from before I can remember until I moved to New Mexico in 2006. Generally speaking they had some pastel M&Ms, jelly beans, a chocolate bunny, maybe a chocolate egg, and some small practical-yet-spring-y gifts like lip gloss, hand cream, little packs of tissues with flowers on them, etc. Maybe a very cheap toy like a wind-up bunny or a stuffed chick that chirped when it sat on your hand. We decorated our own baskets from a plain basket and a roll of ribbon, and used the same one every year.

We always put the found eggs back into the cartons, it's the easiest way to count them (my parents' house is too small to lose one; we never did even without lists). And we got an egg in our lunch box every day at school, but Ana and Eva are too little for that. (Also, the absolute *max* was 1 dozen per kid, and my mom made deviled eggs for Easter dinner—with the whole extended family—with at least half of them.)