Easter Bunny vs Santa Claus

I actually looked for an image to represent the topic in my post, but there were a LOT of disturbing images out there!! :S

This year was the first Easter that we got to spend at home in a long time. Easter means a long-weekend, and time off for Hubbyman is precious (he gets lots of vacation time, but between holidays and family trips and staycations it can be used up quick!) so we often use the opportunity to go visit his family who are sprawled out across western Canada. This year we didn't. This year we stayed at home. His brothers came up to visit us, which was nice, and we celebrated my baby sister's 22nd birthday, which was also awesome. But this year we actually got to attend our own church's Easter service, and got to build more traditions at home.

I yearn for traditions. I had some great ones growing up, and I want to pass them down to my own children. Some we have (like spending Christmas Eve at my dad's, or Christmas morning at home), and some we're still working on, which is ok as well.

Easter is a really important holiday to us. While I LOVE the Christmas season and absolutely call Christmas my favorite holiday, Easter is more significant. It's the difference between the ultimate gift, and the ultimate sacrifice.

Before our kids were born, Hubbyman and I talked a lot, and prayed a lot about what we did and did not want to do with our kids. We talked about Santa, and the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy, and so on, but now that the kids are here we find ourselves dealing with the concrete, versus the "someday". We're figuring out Santa and honestly didn't intend on having the Easter Bunny at all, but I didn't realize Tara would know/hear so much about him! She would mention him casually when we talked about Easter, and she would talk about coloring eggs and hiding them. We were faced with how to deal with this. Do we allow Santa, but tell her the Easter Bunny doesn't exist? Do we tell her that it's all pretend? Can we balance out the fun of Easter egg hunts and baskets with the solemness of the Holiday?

We've decided to allow the Easter Bunny, but like Santa, his role is severely limited and under parental control. We kept the focus on the spiritual and religious aspects of the Holiday this year. We went to church, and we gave thanks during our family prayer time, and we talked to the kids about what really happened at Easter, though keeping it as age-appropriate as possible. Friday night, after church, we did dye eggs and talked to the kids about what they learned that night (well, that was more for Princess, as Tobes is less than 2) and who Jesus was. Sunday morning the kids did wake to find Easter baskets (the smallest I could find! *lol* Tara got 2 sets of pretty hair stuff, and a new nailpolish. Tobes got a new truck), and the Easter Bunny left a few chocolate eggs hidden around our front room. But at breakfast the focus of the conversation was more on had happened millenniums ago, and why we celebrate Easter.

While I wish we could have had a better head start on our Easter traditions, it really wasn't possible until now, but I think we're starting to lay a pretty good foundation down for them.

What are your thoughts around Easter? Are you pro/con Easter Bunny? Also, do you have any great resources for kids in regards to it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!