The Easter Bunny.

It’s the tooth fairy’s second cousin and Santa’s third cousin, twice removed on his mother’s side.

Although they play the same game, there’s just something about the Easter Bunny that doesn’t sell well. Santa brings the magic of Christmas with reindeer and elves. The tooth fairy has a mystical quality about her, flying through the night, collecting random teeth and leaving money. Did anyone ever ask her where she got her money to hand out or what she does with those teeth? Hmmm…inquiring moms want to know.

Then there’s the Easter Bunny. He apparently has time to hop around to all the houses the night before Easter, eat a bunch of carrots, and leave baskets filled with toys made in China for kids everywhere. Oh, and don’t forget all the candy that will have your kids in a sugar coma by breakfast. How does he carry all of those baskets by himself without any elves or a sled? Although he must log some major steps on his fit bit, it’s hard even for a kid to believe.

When my kids were born and throughout their toddler time, we put on our bunny ears like any other good parents and did the bunny thing. We went to see the freaky person dressed in a bunny costume at the mall, put the carrots and water out the night before, and carried out the basket tradition Easter morning. I also did a little hunt, hiding small things around the house like my mom did for me Easter morning.

Now that my kids are 5 & 7, I’m wondering how much longer I can carry on this bunny charade. We did go to see the Easter bunny at the mall this year, only for my kids to tell me, “You know mom, that’s someone dressed in a costume.” Of course I know that silly rabbits, but Easter is still for kids…so hop to it and take a picture with the bunny. That wasn’t so hard of a sell, but as I was shopping for basket fillers this year, I was coming up with bunny block after bunny block. A lot of the things I used to put in their baskets felt babyish this year. The things I  really wanted to buy would raise too much suspicion and might blow the bunny’s cover. The Easter Bunny can’t give a gift card and some candy and call it a day. I know my kids will ask how the Easter Bunny hitched a ride to Barnes & Noble to get them a gift card. I don’t think they’d buy it if I told them there was a gift card kiosk at the CVS in bunny land. All of this got me thinking, do I do the bunny thing this year or pull the ears off of this charade?

I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to rip off the bunny ears for them. I want them to continue to slowly figure it out, one whisker at a time. So, I put my ears back on, grabbed a carrot, and found two pre-made baskets that were do-able for their age groups. I just need to take off the WalMart tag. If I don’t, my kids will ask me how the bunny got to WalMart. I could tell them Santa took him, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

So, it’s full-on bunny this year. Next year, who knows? We’ll just take it one hop at a time.