Hunting for Easter items

• By JULIE KAY
• 2theadvocate.com staff writer
• Published: Mar 22, 2008 - Page: 1D - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Pamela Clouse is finding it easier these days to fill her children’s Easter baskets with faith-oriented items.

Clouse, the mother of 13-year-old Alissa, 10-year-old Micaela and 5-year-old Savanah, said each year she tries to find items that illustrate the message of Easter.

It hasn’t always been easy. Just try to find chocolate crosses in the midst of a sea of Easter bunnies.

Over the years, Rachel Bass has learned who carries the chocolate crosses and other Christian items she looks for.
Filling baskets for Grace, 6, Nathaniel, 8, Charity, 12, and Joshua, 15, has given her lots of practice, she said.

“In the last five to seven years, I’ve seen a huge increase in Christian paraphernalia, if one knows where to look,” she said. “There’s a huge change in Bibles too,” with the variety of colors and designs.

“Society makes it so difficult at times,” Clouse added, “but we’ve always looked for things that help us tell the story.”
Helping parents tell the story is just what Christian retailers hope to do.

Tammy Jackson, owner of Little Flower Religious Books and Gifts in Denham Springs, said she typically stocks a variety of items to help parents fill their children’s baskets with more religiously focused items.

“We sell mostly a lot of cross necklaces and small pieces of inexpensive children’s jewelry. We also have lots of children’s toys and games, like Bible card games, first Easter storybooks, stickers with an Easter theme and Bibles for small children,” she said.

Books are also popular items at Easter, according to Annie Cavanaugh, community relations manager for Barnes and Noble.

The store typically beefs up its children’s section at Easter, including more religious books.

“The closer it gets to Easter, the more come in, especially the Thursday before Good Friday and the day before Easter, and they’re coming for books,” she said.

At Bible and Book Center, co-owner Janet Dearman said some of her biggest sellers around Easter are usually first Bibles.
Rosaries of different colors and price ranges are also popular items for Easter giving, she said.

“Then there are a lot of grandmas that want to give that traditional first cross,” she said, pointing to the wide array of cross necklaces.
Add to that the assortment  of coloring books, stickers, videos such as the Veggie Tales “Easter Carol” and