A Small Business Easter!

This is a great time to support small businesses! Our economy is suffering, and we can support one another by giving our money to small businesses when we are able.

With Easter coming, many of us are realizing that we don't have the perk of Amazon 2-Day shipping to rely on! Aaaah! And stores are closed!!! What will we do?

Well, I just ordered everything we would like to celebrate as a family in our home. I have a couple of weeks, and all of the shipping estimates say they will arrive on time. Of course, they are only estimates, but most of these companies I have ordered from before and they have always been very prompt.

                                    Easter Candy

I try to buy fair trade chocolate when possible. It is more expensive, however last year The Washington Post reported that Nestle, Hershey's and Mars Chocolate all broke the pledge they made nearly two decades ago to stop using cocoa harvested by children.  I realize this is a complicated issue, and a political one. I don't pretend to understand it. However, when possible, I would like to support smaller cocoa suppliers who do not use child labor.

In Seattle, we are lucky to have Theo Chocolate! They are a local award-winning chocolatier company that makes organic, fair trade chocolate from scratch! That happens to be delicious!

Their Salted Toffee Chocolate Bar, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Beer Confection Collection (shhh - for Jason!) and Coffee and Cream Cups (for me!) will do perfectly.

I spent $44 on chocolate for our family of 7. That seems like a lot. It's over $6 per person. If I just bought candy at the grocery store, I'd probably spend something like $20.

But if I adjust my thought process, I can see the goodness in this. I spent the $20 I would have, plus $22 more to support a local business during this difficult time.

Also, it's really great, high quality chocolate!

Instead of Plastic Eggs . . .
This wouldn't work very well for an egg hunt, but inside Easter baskets, these felt Easter eggs from Mercy House Global are perfect!

Also, a couple of our girls will love these Make Your Own Bracelet kits, also at Mercy House Global. As we are all stuck in the house right now, crafts and activities will be great in Easter baskets!

Shining Lights Dolls
Our girls love these saint dolls. And they are virtually indestructible, which is great. We have quite the collection now, as our children have found these in stockings and Easter baskets for many years. This year, our girls will receive the St. Joan of Arc, St. Rachael the Archangel and St. Michael the Archangel dolls. They are having a 20% off sale right now, no code needed.


Cross Stitch of the Saints
I gave this book from Catholic Sprouts to our goddaughter for her baptism anniversary. She loves hands on crafts, so this was a great fit. Our 9 year old daughter has been cross stitching, so she will find this book in her Easter basket.






Rosary Books
Our 3 year old loves these rosary books, so I bought her the Glorious Mysteries and Luminous Mysteries to complete our set. She loves to come sit with me to pray the rosary! Flipping through the pages with me makes it so enjoyable for her!



Catholic Socks!

Yep, we are going to be that family, and I am totally excited about it. Sock Religious (LOVE that name!) is a Mom & Pop online store that designs and manufactures Catholic inspired socks. Each person in our family will get a new pair :) Post Easter, you will see our family sporting St. Joseph, St. Dominic, St. John Paul II, St. Padre Pio, St. Joan of Arc, St. Teresa of Calcutta and Our Lady of Guadalupe socks. Can't wait!

Hacky Sacks
International Blessings sells these hacky sacks from Guatemala. They will make great items for our teen boys' Easter baskets :)

Christian Guitar Picks
These guitar picks from Atlantic Seaboard will be perfect for our teen, as he plays guitar during ALL of his free time. He's getting really good!

St. Padre Pio print by Tracy Christianson at Portraits of Saints

Confirmation Saint Bracelets and Prints
For our boys, I bought each of them a bracelet with the medal of their confirmation saint. Joshua will receive this bracelet and this print. Noah will receive this bracelet and this print.

Stationary
Our girls have been writing letters like crazy. I thought it would be good to get them some new stationary, journals and stickers to encourage this. Christianbook.com had some great deals! The girls will love this.

Easter Decor
I have slowly been collecting Easter decor. We make such a big deal out of decorating for Christmas, which is part of why we all love it so much. I want to make the same fuss over the Resurrection of Our King!

Most of my Easter decor, I have purchased from Serrv. They are a non-profit organization that sells fair trade, handmade items that secures fair wages and safe working conditions for rural artisans and farmers.

Last year, I bought their Big Blue Chicken Box and their Teal Soapstone Egg Set. This year, I purchased their Natural Nests from the Philippines, Soapstone Birdies from Kenya and Amethyst Wildflower Tablecloth from India. I've wanted that tablecloth for a few years now. It's on a great sale, so I am so excited to get it!

Sacred Heart of Jesus plaque by Tracy Christianson at Portraits of Saints

I also bought our family a few holy images from Portraits of Saints, a local, small family-owned business that sells beautiful images painted by Tracy Christianson, a self-taught local artist. I have wanted some of her images in our home for a long time. This Easter, when we won't be able to celebrate Mass in our regular sacred place, it seems like the perfect time to add some holy art to our home.


I also ordered this Paschal Candle Kit. We have done this before, and it is so much fun. It will help our family to celebrate the Easter Triduum at home.

Lastly, I did order a couple things from Amazon :) I don't know how they choose what is essential, and what isn't, but these items made the cut.

3 Pack Watercolor Art Journal
Our girls have been doing a lot of painting around here. Children love art, and I have found that they like it even more if they have high quality materials to work with. Of course, sometimes we buy the less expensive supplies. But it is SO frustrating to work hard on a watercolor painting, only to have the paper turn to mush and tear.

These small journals will be perfect.


Watercolor Pencils
Our girls have never had watercolor pencils, but I'm sure they will love these!

I hope you all have a beautiful rest of your Lent, and that you are getting excited to celebrate Easter. I pray you all are healthy and well!

The Amazon links on this page are affiliate links, which means I receive a small monetary compensation if you click the link and purchase the item. Thank you! The other links are not affiliate links. I just think their product rocks!