a guest post from CelebrateGreen.net

Easter brings thoughts of spring and rebirth, so there’s no reason not to celebrate it with the Earth’s best interest at heart. Since for many families, Easter wouldn’t be the day without the basket, here’s how to transform this traditional hit, into a gift that truly is worth celebrating.

Instead of buying a new plastic or woven basket made in a country far away, this year, how about using your imagination? Choose an item that can hold the goodies, decorate if you like and you’ve got a unqiue, no-cost container. How fun would it be for your kids to go on the hunt with one of these?

• A purse
• A backpack
• A scarf tied to a hobo stick
• A decorated paper bag or shoe box (add a handle if you like)
• A fabric bag of any kind
• A pot (decorate by drawing on a strip of paper the height of the pot, then fasten with tape)
• A boot (Kids rain boots are especially cute. Tuck some fabric inside to keep goodies clean.)
• A paint can (again, add fabric inside if you like)
• Make our simple fabric basket. Instructions here.

If you’re the traditional type and like the look of grass, instead of buying the plastic stuff, why not try:

• strips of fabric
• real grass, either wheat grass or grass from your yard
• shredded recycled paper
• green scarf
• strips of organic nori (seaweed availbalbe in paperlike sheets)
• green napkin, washcloth or dish towel

As for filling the basket, you’re probably aware that Easter is the second biggest holiday for candy sales next to Halloween. Sweet treats are fine, but how about choosing high quality over quantity? And just one over handfuls? Fortunately, this year, there are many great Easter treats that are better for kids and the Earth. Here are just a few:

• Organic vegan bunny and eggs from Allison’s Gourmet
• Organic jelly beans from Nuts Online
• Baking your own cookies? Pick up organic food colors from the Natural Candy Store which also carries loads of other sweet Easter treats like Easter eggs filled with organic candy

Once the candy is taken care of, you’ll most likely want other items to fill the basket. Considering the economy, you might come up with activites you can do with your child that cost nothing, write them on slips of paper and add to the basket. We bet if you ask your children in advance, what special activities they might enjoy, you’ll have enough for months of fun. Suggestions:

• Stay up late with you one night.
• Bake something special together.
• Make up a game.
• Make popcorn and enjoy a movie on TV.
• Sleep outside under the stars.
• Have a tea party
• Create a mural
• Create and enjoy an “art” day using only items you have on hand

If you do want to purchase some special items for the basket, instead of heading to the dollar store, consider whether spending $10 on plastic toys that will break quickly is better than spending the same amount on one quality item that your child might enjoy playing with long after the holiday has passed. If you’re with us that the latter is worth investigating, here are a few ideas:

• Seed packets and a garden implement or two
• Felted egg kit from A Child’s Dream Come True
• Fair trade egg shaker from Down to Earth Toys
• Wooden play eggs from A Toy Garden
• Paper mache nesting eggs from Magic Cabin
• Organic finger puppets from I Play Baby Wear
• Handmade decorative eggs from you or Etsy
• Seeded paper or cards that can be planted from Botanical Paper Works

More ideas for Easter baskets and festivities are available at www.CelebrateGreen.net/blog

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Dear Christmas,

You went by too fast and I spent most of you feeling like my head was three sizes too large. As a result not all of my Christmas cards got mailed nor did I get to do my usual fun things for my online friends AND my secret santa present is horribly late.

You’re on notice Christmas. I want a do-over where I feel better.

Love,
Tabz

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I’ve never been a big “New Year’s” celebrator. I blame that on the fact that my life goes by so fast, and always has. I have, on and off, contemplated this fact as a child and a teenager. I point to the idea that I can’t ever really remember being ‘bored’.

Plus, being a Christian I never really got the ‘drink and party’ idea either. So New Year’s, while nice, hasn’t been high on my ‘ohhhhh holiday’ list.

Also, not a big fan of parades. Or football.

Yeah New Years. You don’t get much love from me.

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Christmas is coming.

Unless you’ve been locked in the basement for the past month you can’t help but notice the oncoming holiday storm that is Christmas. Decorations, gifts, advertisement, stores, songs, even our cars have been decked out for the holidays.

It seems to me that Christmas messages can usually only go to the extremes. Extremely sappy, extremely love-y, or extremely depressing.

But very few seem to hit right in between.

Boo 2008!

2008 has been, lets face it, a dark time for many. Between the economy, jobs, loss of loved ones, or whatever situation you may be going through personally – it’s made for a fairly awful year. This can make watching or reading those extremely sappy or “oh everything is wonderful” type of Christmas stories extremely uncomfortable. Sure it’s easy for the story teller to tell us “buck up everythings gonna be fine” when they’re not the ones facing a pile of bills, a laid off spouse and the threat of more impending doom.

The Christmas Story

There’s a lot of confusion about the real Christmas story. Jesus’ birth has been, in my opinion, really feminized and sanitized. The true story isn’t sappy or romantic. The real story is about how a woman, Mary, was chosen in the darkest time, to be pregnant without a husband. A huge cultural no-no. It’s about Joseph, who knew the baby wasn’t his, still made plans to marry her to save her honor. How she was sent off to a cousin’s house to spare her. It’s about angels informing both parents that they had been selected by God for this task.

The real story of Christmas is about an outside occupying force (Rome) forcing Mary and Joseph to take a trip when she was extremely pregnant. It’s about there being so many people in Bethlehem there wasn’t any room — not even at the Motel 6. It’s about a girl who had never given birth before, gave birth without a fancy hospital, an epidural or even a crib.

The real story of Christmas is how the most powerful being in the universe came to earth in the fragilest, most inconspicuous way. It’s about how in the cold and dark, love gave a gift and humanity was saved.

Not saved in a traditional sense. When the baby Jesus grew up, he didn’t kick out the occupying force. He didn’t overturn the government. He didn’t do all the ‘normal’ things a powerful being ‘should’ do.

Instead he touched people on an individual level. He asked them to follow him. He encouraged them to live by God’s rules. Not just that, but to live by God’s rules because of their love for God. He taught that obedience was an act of love, not an act of slavery or burden.

The real story of Christmas is the story of Easter. Crappy things still happened to Jesus. The religious leaders of his day hated him, they ridiculed him and found a way to get rid of him. He was stealing their thunder, attracting followers and he had to be stopped. In the end, they had him killed. And not only killed, but killed in the most brutal way imaginable.

Through it all Jesus never claimed his power. Through the pain and hurt and rejection, he stuck through it all because he loved us.

The Real Message of Christmas

That’s the real message of Christmas. It’s okay that bad things happen, they’re going to happen. Love isn’t about the absense of bad. It’s about working through the bad until the good comes. Much like “It’s a Wonderful Life” – Christmas makes way for spring.

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Happy Valentine’s Day f-list people!

May your relationships be more fortunate than those of Joss Whedon’s characters.

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