Go back to when you were a kid. Now, imagine it's Christmas morning and you're creeping down to the living room. It's early in the morning, the sun hasn't even awoken but you can't wait another moment! You have to see if that sound you heard a while a go was Santa! You step, slowly, into the living room and are greeted with a pile of gifts under the tree. You glance over to your stockings and see, without a doubt, Santa has, in deed, come! You're heart's racing, you're pumped! Who needs sleep? You've got gifts to open!
Now, it's a few months later and it's Easter morning. Again, it's early but you've made your way down the hall, peering around the doorway to where the basket usually sits hoping to get a peek! The Easter Bunny's come! There's a basket full of goodies waiting for you! You jump up and down with excitement and run down the hall to your parent's room, flinging doors to closet's open and keeping your eyes peeled looking for eggs as you go!
That's why I do it.
I received a message today from a friend asking if my 16 year old still gets Easter baskets since Easter is right around the corner. Her son has Autism and is 17 but doesn't function at his age level and was debating at what point our kiddos become too old for Easter baskets. My response was instant and, apologetically "Yes, he still gets baskets and they're never too old!"
See, for me it's not about the items and gifts. I don't care if my son knows that it's his father and I hiding the eggs or buying the gifts under the tree. That's not the point. The point is the magic. The hope. The faith. The Dream and the excitement. It's about reminding them that in this life, possibilities are endless. And it's about the look on their faces when the big surprises are relieved and they realize that what they thought was never going to happen has. And for me, getting to see them experience it makes me feel like a kid again, too.
So if you ask me how old is too old, I will happily say never. I fully intend to put baskets together and hide eggs for my grandchildren 15 years from now, with a whole other row of goodies for my kids to enjoy, too. Santa will come for everyone celebrating Christmas with us and Eli, our elf on a shelf will embark on adventures nightly, if only for my husband and I because it's fun. It makes us happy, keeps us dreaming and reminds us of the magic in the world and the possibilities floating around in the universe.
What about you? What age is too old for the mythical creatures to come and visit? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
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