It’s an odd year and the Easter Bunny is not excluded from the stay home, stay safe order. I had visions of Otto in his Easter Sunday suit running around with his cousins looking for eggs but that will have to happen next year. Honestly, that is not even the real reason of Easter anyway. Easter Sundays is one of my favorite services of the entire year and I mourn not being gathered together singing my favorite easter hymns. There is so much hope and promise with everything that comes with Easter. It feels appropriate that as we enter what is supposed to be the most critical time for the pandemic here in the United States that we are also entering into the hardest week of Jesus’s earthly life. At the end though, and always He is Risen!
We are going to be celebrating from home this year. I put my order in with the local growers this morning for a Saturday curbside pick up. We are going to be making lamb shanks, carrots, asparagus tart and homemade rolls. An Easter feast for 2.5! We will have our TV ready to go to watch the Easter service from home (jury is still out if we will get dressed up) and we will enjoy Easter Sunday from home celebrating with our family.
I put together a little Easter basket for Otto trying to support as many small businesses that are still shipping as possible. I have a few things from amazon in there but the majority is from small makers and businesses. You know how much I love a good theme gift so this year I did a garden themed Easter basket for Otto since we are almost done building a little play house for the garden area.
Here is what you will find inside.
Tweed Baby – I bought him the cutest little wooden counting carrot set. He loves stacking and counting things (as well as throwing things). I also bought him the cloth market cart for hauling his veggies to his house and hopefully when this is all over we can go to the farmers markets together again. Maggie is the sweetest and she knows so much about the product she selects to sell. Her shop is a place for families to gather on a Saturday walk and check out all of the fun things she has to offer (plus it’s right by Lemonjellos coffee). Right now she is offering free shipping with purchases over $40.
Rebel GR – They just launched their site this week and I found the cutest little wooden vegetable toys for Otto’s garden shed. They also have a wooden birthday cake set and milk and egg crate that might be my next purchase from them. Dann and Chip’s store is highly curated and expertly merchandised. For now though, they are shipping everything from their site.
Rose and Rex – The very first gift I ever bought from Otto before he was even born was a rattle from Rose and Rex. They have all sorts of whimsical and well made children’s toys for play, skill building and imaginative play. They also have some great articles on how to keep children engaged and active during Covid-19. They were kind enough to send me a crate of the assorted vegetables for Otto’s basket.
All the Beautiful Linen – There is something so happy about rich textured linens. Etsy is my go to place for finding small makers with big products. I ordered this little draw string linen bag with a hand stitched rabbit on the front to carry all of otto’s tools in. I also might have ordered this apron for myself….
Ecobuns – Another great local children’s store in West Michigan. They specialize in natural baby care, baby wearing, cloth diapers, books and imaginative play toys for children. I picked up this adorable plush rabbit for his basket. It’s so soft and snuggles right in to the basket. The are currently shipping and offering curbside pick up.
Amazon – I went to find the rest of the stuff from amazon that I couldn’t find locally or at small shops. I bought him little work gloves and tools so that he can help me in the garden.
The basket is from The Found Cottage (shipping now) and the little chickens and raffia are from Terrain. It is so important now more than ever to support local retailers and small businesses as much as possible and little things for the easter basket are a perfect opportunity. Hang in there friends we are all in this together!
