Easter is the new Christmas

It is official. I, Cumorah D. McOmber declare that:

Yes. You read that correctly. I have decided that Easter is the new Christmas, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Don’t get me wrong. I adore Christmas. I am confident it will stand forever as my number one, absolute favorite holiday. But let’s be honest, Christmas gets a lot of hype. It is a month long parade of cookie exchanges, work parties, church dinners, family functions, community events, public school “Winter Festivals,” sledding dates, mall visits, late night crafting, early morning wrapping, advent calendaring, card sending, wassail & peanut brittle making, tradition keeping craziness. And I love it. I really, truly, honestly do. (take a peek at my family blog for a taste of how we do Christmas ) But, I will tell you a little secret. It is stressful. And after all that preparation and work, and lack of sleep, there is that inevitable snippet of letdown intermingled with a snitch of family drama.

Have you ever sworn on December 26^th, that you will never let yourself get that carried away again, only to find yourself in the same exhausted, bleary eyed situation the next year? Well, my dears, I may have found the solution for you, and it’s a little something I like to call Easter.

I believe I can turn Easter into the one big holiday in the year that we host all of our family, and still genuinely like everyone afterwards. I have decided after a splendid trial run with only two of my sisters, one niece and one brother-in-law visiting for this sacred holiday, that this is going to turn into the must-do, feel-good, family gathering holiday of the year.

Why should you consider Easter instead of Christmas for your big family get together? 

Number one: IT IS EASY. Easter has been around for a good long time, of course, but it’s just gaining in popularity (thanks in part to the advent of Pinterest and all those cutsie ideas on how to make Easter fantastically special.) I sure hope it stays small though, because currently, no one really expects anything out of Easter. No one expects you to give them an Easter present. There is no laboring over which friend may or may not be giving you an Easter gift, thus no stockpiling gifts to have on hand just in case. There is no expectation that you will show up on all of your neighbors’ doorsteps with a professionally photographed and PhotoShopped family greeting card affixed to a heaping homemade plate of Easter treats while you sing songs of the Resurrected Christ. Little ones are thrilled with a small basketful of dollar store trinkets and a few plastic eggs stuffed with Jelly Bellies and egg shaped Snickers. And I have ZERO misgiving about my husband not picking an Easter gift up for me. He shouldn't!

 The second reason being: IT IS BEAUTIFUL. The account of the resurrection is filled with hope, and faith, and unconditional love. Studying the magnitude of the atonement and resurrection with your family will draw you closer as you feel of the Savior’s love for you and all of humanity. Gathering for church services with your family on that Sacred Sunday can be a very powerful, bonding experience.

    Thirdly: THE FOOD IS GREAT

            Easter dinner rivals Christmas dinner, just minus the stress of every other holiday meal & gathering that leads up to Christmas. (There’s no Easter Eve dinner or special cookies to bake, decorate and leave out for the Easter bunny, or traditional Easter breakfast that must be prepped and cleaned before you can start in on Easter dinner. And the menu: comfort food defined. Ham, funeral potatoes, asparagus, confetti jello salad, homemade rolls, spinach & strawberry salad, lime & raspberry punch, with strawberry jelly rolls for dessert. How could you go wrong? Throw in some Cadbury mini eggs, and I’m pretty sure that’s the type of meal I will be lounging with in the heavens.

 Fourth, and perhaps most importantly: EASTER EXUDES VERY LOW LEVELS OF FAMILY DRAMA. (Our gathering had NO family drama, but it admittedly, did not include the entire family). I cannot guarantee you no family drama should you choose to host your family for Easter, (maybe your family has an uncle that is loud mouthed and offensive at every occasion) but I feel confident in guaranteeing  you less family drama than you usually have at Christmas time. With everyone’s expectations low, people get really excited about doing things like roasting s’mores with peeps – no drama regarding inequality of gift giving, or who spent more time/money/thought on said gifts. Can you even imagine adult tears over what candy the eggs were filled with? Or arguments over how to properly hang the Easter decorations? No. No you cannot. Take that Christmas. 

            Because the world hasn't caught on to the Easter craze just yet, your time will not be divided between so many activities you have to/want to attend but just can’t squeeze in, or do squeeze in at the detriment of your already over-partied family, and you can actually spend your time enjoying each other!

We laid by the swimming pool while the kiddies swam, played kickball at the park, rode bikes, attended the Mesa Easter Pageant, roasted peep s’mores, took a hike, visited the children’s museum, crashed a local Easter egg hunt, attended church, went to Zumba class, and did a science fair project. (That last one was a have to, but was 100% unrelated to Easter, so not sure that it counts.)

            All in all, this is just a really long winded way for me to announce that I had a fabulous Easter with my family. I mean really, really fabulous. I couldn't love my sisters more. (sure wish sister #3 was able to be with us too!)

They are fantastic. And next year, I really do hope that we can gather the whole family, and enjoy each other during this wonderful expectation/drama/stress-FREE holiday season. Happy late Easter and early Christmas to you and yours!