Photo from Green Kids Craft (go here for directions on making basket—not like the one Ed describes)
Back in 2016 Ed Ammons left this comment:
“Does anybody remember Easter baskets made from round oatmeal boxes? The boxes were cut in half except for two strips left on each side that when stapled together at the top served as a handle. The whole thing was then covered with crepe paper, ribbons and bows. The girls took the time to make really pretty ones. The boys only wanted something to hold the eggs they found.”
Ed’s comment stuck in my mind because we eat oatmeal that comes in a round box. Back in 2016 the girls had long out grown hunting eggs so I’ve never tried making one like Ed described.
When I was a girl we dyed eggs each year and we might get a new basket to put them in or we might not. Sometimes we made one from a milk jug by cutting off the top but leaving the handle. We usually got candy and most every year I got a new dress for Easter. I don’t recall if Steve and Paul got new clothes but they likely did.
Chatter and Chitter’s Easters were similar to mine. I usually got them a new dress, at least it was new to them, and some candy. Granny would usually buy all the grandkids candy and sometimes make them a little bunny or duck to add to their baskets. She made a few of their baskets too. I recall a few crocheted ones and some she made from fruit containers.
The importance of Easter being the resurrection of Christ was stressed far and above the candy, eggs, and new garments.
One time Pap’s Aunt Hazel told me about two different Easters she experienced as a child in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Before telling the stories she said “First of all when I was a child it was called Resurrection Day not Easter.”
The first memory was from when she was six years old. She was living with her father and his new family. Her mother died when she was six months old and her father remarried.
No one had many eggs to hide. Since eggs were hard to come by Hazel said it was understood that you found the same amount of eggs that you brought to hide.
She remembered being at church sitting on a rock while the Sunday school teacher taught the class before the egg hunt. Although it has been updated over the years, the church, Maggie’s Chapel, from her memory is still used today. You may remember a recent video I did on the history of the church.
The other Easter memory she shared with me took place when she was eight years old. She had recently moved to Asheville to live with one of her older brothers. Aunt Hazel said it was like moving to the land of plenty.
She left a home where she had too little and moved to one where she had an abundance. She said she would always remember she got her first pair of black and white loafers, her first Easter basket with a bunny and candy. Her brother also shared precious memories of their mother with her. He told Hazel that when he was a small child their mother used onion peels and poke berries to dye eggs for Easter.
I hope you’ll leave a comment if you remember the Easter baskets Ed was talking about.
Last night’s video: Chatting About the Channel & Sharing the Latest News about the Cookbook & Book Signings!
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Yes, I definitely remember the Easter egg baskets made out of oatmeal boxes and construction paper. That was one of my fondest memories from grade school. I always loved making crafts. I kind of wish I still had mine from grade school days. On Saturday, I will be spending a day with my daughter and son-in-law and little granddaughter. ( I was told not to cook. They want to eat at a restaurant which is fine with me. ) I really enjoy reading the stories that you post on the blindpigandtheacorn as well as listening to your YouTube videos. They bring back memories of growing up in a much simpler time.
I don’t have many childhood Easter memories to recount but I did enjoy reading all the ones here.
I much prefer Resurrection Day to Easter.
Blessed Resurrection Day to all your families, commenters and Matt, Tipper, and your girls and son-in-law.
our family was like many others, quite poor. The things that stands out in my mind about Easter are that we always went to church. mamma made us girls new dresses and we got a new pair of shoes, almost always black patent leather. When we got dust on our shoes mamma would use a left over cold biscuit to shine, and clean, our shoes. I’m sure our brother got new clothes also. I don’t remember the exact kind of Easter Basket we had, if anything, they were anything that would hold eggs. We would always have an Easter Egg hunt at our paternal grandma’s house and it was always so much fun. our uncles would hide the eggs. I do recall getting a few pieces of candy, like the little sponge rabbits, something chocolate and maybe some other kind of candy. mamma always made sure we were squeaky clean. of course grandma would make a beautiful dinner of her wonderful country cooking. Those are some wonderful memories. Times were happier even if we were poor. Thanks again Tipper for another great story . Happy Easter too all your family. Y’all are still in my prayers.
Jeri Whittaker
4/6/2023
Near Athens, Ga.
Hi,
My Easter Basket was a white willow basket my mother made. I thought it was ugly because all the other children at school had plastic ones. At Grandma’s, we never colored our eggs we just hid them white or brown. It was so much fun. We had to race the dog and the cat to the eggs before they got them. After we hid them several times we got to eat them. I didn’t like the yellow part so the dog got that and I ate the white part.
KAthy Patterson
As the 9th and last child, many of my cherished things were actually hand-me-downs. Easter baskets were in this category, but I had several to choose from. 🙂
Our ‘grass’ bed in baskets was paper, not plastic. IIRC plastic came down in the ’50s after I had outgrown Easter baskets. I remember some awesome Easter egg hunts in our neighborhood. Kids would get to together and hide eggs and usually a single foil wrapped cream filled egg or chocolate bunny. That was always the best hidden. Whoever found it got to keep it. And, yes, we ate a lot of the boiled eggs as the day wore on.
I have a vague memory of oatmeal boxes in a Sunday School children’s group during WWII. We did make pails of them like Cousin Ed described, but I don’t associate the memory with Easter. I’m blaming it on age.
Tipper, we continue to pray for your lost loved ones and your family in this time of loss. May the funeral service and fellowship afterward bring God’s healing balm to you all.
Blessings . . .
I don’t think I ever saw an Easter basket made out of an oatmeal container but I sure I think it’s a great idea. We didn’t get Easter baskets at home, but mama would always fix a tray with the artificial grass, put a rabbit in the middle and place some jellybeans and some eggs scattered around in it. She used it as a centerpiece for the table and after dinner, we got to have the candy in the tray. I do remember some years she made my niece and I matching dresses, or we would get a store bought one. We’d have gloves and some years a hat. Mama was also my Sunday School teacher so she would give us a little chocolate cross after Sunday school was over. I always get the grandkids chocolate rabbits and we have an egg hunt here at home but with them calling for rain and bad weather this weekend, we will postpone it until next weekend. Like you Tipper, the importance of Easter being the resurrection of Christ is far more important than the candy and clothes. Enjoyed last night’s video and we continue to pray for Kim’s family. So heartbreaking…
As a child I always celebrated Easter with a new dress to me, Easter Hat, little white gloves, black patent shiny shoes, and after church, we would be taken on an Easter Egg Hunt. Always fun!! I remember sometimes getting baby chickens or baby ducks too. It was all good family time. Our town had a large church back in the 1950’s that put on a production for Easter “The Passion Play.” People came from all over to see the Resurrection. I was only a little girl but i will never forget it. Just recently a friend invited me to see a local church near us with a production of the Resurrection. This one caught us by surprise because after the Resurrection, they reflect on Heaven and all at once you see Jesus hugging soldiers, firemen, mothers, children, doctors, nurses, as they enter Heaven. I totally believe we will see our loved ones again!
Tipper, My heart was sad when you told of your loss. I didn’t comment at that time, but I stopped immediately and prayed for the family. I will continue to hold Kim and all your family in prayer.
We never made our own Easter basket as it was given to each of us early in life and we had the same one for years. BUT we made May 1st baskets. Milkmen (remember those?) brought cottage cheese in colorful plastic containers that were carefully washed and saved for May 1st. We carefully inserted pipe cleaners in to form a handle, filled them with early, fresh picked flowers (Wisconsin) and hung them on our neighbors front doors. It was fun to sneak up, hang them, ring the bell and run to keep them from knowing who gave it. We decorated oatmeal boxes with paint and played on them like a drum after hanging them from yarn handles long enough to wear like a giant necklace as we paraded down the sidewalks. I do think we were much more creative 70 years ago! Now everything is perfectly made and excludes those that don’t want to create for fear of ‘doing it wrong’. Mostly it is just bought taking most of the fun away. Easter was always such a beautiful holiday that really centered on Jesus instead of the Easter bunny. Although we sat on the bunny’s lap for annual pictures, we were really excited to wear a new hat to church on Easter morning.
My husband and I raised three sons; they each got an Easter basket every year. When they got into high school, one of them thought it was childish to be given an Easter basket; so I didn’t do it one year and the first thing he said on Easter morning was: where’s my chocolate bunny! My mother always made herself and her three daughters a new outfit for Easter. I remember one year we all had pink suits. I was old enough to wear high heel shoes and it was all great till the car died out in the middle of nowhere and we had to get out and push it to get it started; not easy in high heels! My mother was laughing so hard she couldn’t even help us push; I’m sure we looked pretty ridiculous!
I always had a new Easter dress whether from the store or homemade. I remember the smell of the stiff flocked fabric popular in the 50’s. We saved and reused the Easter baskets and I still have mine and I think there is still one tiny fuzzy chick somewhere. I remember a fun plastic hen that when pushed down laid plastic eggs. There was usually a big family get-together with covered dish dinner. Once we made chocolate covered peanut butter candy and my brother slipped in a couple tiny potatoes to trick my cousin’s friend.
I don’t recall Easter being much different than other Sundays. We did dye our own eggs with food coloring. But I don’t think we had an egg hunt at church. If we did I’ve forgotten. What I do remember was mixing the colors to make some very unappetizing looking eggs. One in particular I recall was a greeny-gray-purple. I did like to hide eggs for others but my hiding places were too hard.
Yes, wonderful memories associated with Easter – both as a child, Mom and preacher’s wife.
I made Easter baskets out of gallon milk jugs! turned out really good!!!
Are you ever too old for Easter baskets???….my girls, now over 50, don’t ever think they are too old. I am so sorry for your loss and will pray for them and you guys. Yes…you will see them again one day and that is a Blessing in itself. God Bless and please tell Granny hello for me.
When growing up, I don’t remember getting anything for Easter. We went to church every time the doors were open and unlike in some families, Mother and Daddy always went with us. We only got a gift two times a year- Christmas and if Daddy got anything back from income tax. We would meet him when he got off work and go to the cotton mill company store and get one small toy apiece. Mother would make some kind of cake for us on our birthday from whatever she had. I may have got a new shirt or pants sometimes, but most of my clothes were hand me downs from my cousin. I have often said church on Easter Sunday seems to be more of a fashion show than a worship service. This goes along with Easter and candy, my nephew’s wife is an online seller, this week she said she had sold over 30,000 of the two piece plastic eggs with a couple of pieces of candy on the inside this year, she has had 5 other people helping her. Empty UPS and FedEx trucks come to her home to pick up the boxes. I have trouble comprehending that. Most of them going up north or out west.
Easter was always a time where we went to Grandpa’s where we got with numerous cousins and hid eggs all day long. In a huge family holidays can sometimes have some bizarre traditions. On Easter our tradition was to hide the eggs over and over and over until they were fairly ragged looking. Children would eat them, so as the day wore on there became fewer and fewer eggs. Why this stands out so in my mind is one Easter we stayed home and an uncle brought our young little cousin to celebrate. When we grabbed all his beautifully colored eggs he had found on the first go round to hide again, he started crying uncontrollably. Those eggs were his hard earned bounty for the day. We had to stop hiding eggs after only one pitiful round, so now what to do the rest of the day? Thu ended a tradition started many years ago by the hoards of older grandchildren. I have wanted to share this funny story with him after he got older, but decided it might embarrass him. We kept the same baskets year after year and they were filled with eggs, a chocolate bunny, and some random candies. I always loved upcoming holidays in grade school, because there were always homemade crafts to take home much like your homemade Easter basket. We also always had a Valentine’s box which I won and took home one year.
After Easter each year, my Mom would carefully pack away all five of us kids’ Easter baskets, along with the plastic grass still in them. We used the same basket and grass every year. I still have mine. Us kids got our Easter basket each year until the day we moved out of our parent’s. We were never considered too old for Easter candy in our baskets or gifts. We always got three gifts each on Easter Sunday, mine was typically a book, some kind of craft kit, and a small toy when I was in grade school which was replaced with a second book when I got older. My Mom made us three girls new dresses each Easter when we were little, and once I learned to use the sewing machine, I made my own. Growing up I don’t remember ever getting a new dress from the store for any occasion, except my prom dress. My Mom even made both of the boys new shirts each year, but she bought their pants. We always ate a lot of our candy before church on Easter Sunday, and maybe just had a pop tart for breakfast that day, if we ate anything non candy at all that morning! After church we had a big dinner at my grandparent’s. Once us girls finished helping clean up the dishes, we had an egg hunt in our back yard. I sang in the choir’s Easter Cantata once I was in high school, and I loved going to cantata practice every week leading up to Easter Sunday. Since my grandmother was the church pianist, she would help me learn to play the cantata music just for fun, too. I honestly don’t remember making oatmeal Easter baskets, but I do remember construction paper ones that were stapled or glued together. That doesn’t mean we didn’t make baskets out of many different kinds of supplies from around the house. I remember my grandmom making glue from flour and water, she was always resourceful in a pinch being a teacher/principal. She knew many tricks like that, or hacks as they are called today. She could just make things work when a needed item was missing. I am still enjoying out of state company this week, but thought I would say hello and Happy Resurrection Day to all the wonderful Blind Pig family of commenters this early morning in case I don’t get a chance to later this week!
Donna. : )
P.s. – Tipper, I am still praying for Kim and all the family and friends. This loss has really touched my heart for all of them.