If you’re lucky enough to have little ones in your life, you know how wonderfully imaginative their minds tend to be. They can entertain themselves for hours by creating fun stories around whatever they have to work with, be it a few dolls or building blocks, or a few crayons and sheets of paper. Sure, most of them love video games and other electronics as well. In fact, most kids I know had an iPod before me! But they can still be quite captivated and creative with some of the simpler things, even if you have to give them a little push.

I came across a video recently on YouTube that I had to watch a few times to truly appreciate. One of YouTube’s top viral videos, kittens inspired by kittens features a vibrant little girl flipping through a picture book of kittens and offering her take on what each is thinking. At first, I thought she was just being goofy, saying the first thing that came to mind. But after watching it a few times, I could see what she saw! The kittens really did look like they might be thinking those things. Some were a little more obvious, while others showed that the girl really took a picture in for a moment before deciding what to say. She looked at it the way a child looks at things, where anything is possible and one must rely on clues instead of life experience. Then, we all get to look at it through her eyes too, and it’s suddenly a lot more magical!

While we think any time that you encourage your child’s creativity is the right time, we couldn’t help but wonder what amazing tales kids would tell involving the ‘characters’ in their Easter baskets. This Easter, we hope you’ll consider asking your kids to create a story for the contents of their basket before they dig into the deliciousness. If they don’t know where to begin, simply ask them how the Gardners Chocolate Bunny and the Marshmallow Peeps met, or how the Easter Bunny makes breakfast in the morning – with regular eggs, or Bubble Gum Eggs? You’ve seen your children dream up imaginary worlds of wonder with little more than a rainy day inside fueling their creativity. Imagine what they can originate with a basket full of Easter Candy! If you’ll be giving an Easter basket anyway, why not let it fill their minds and their bellies with fun? Even if their story is shorter than it might otherwise be as they can’t wait to indulge in a Jelly Bean breakfast, it’s sure to be one of the best stories you’ve ever heard.