Have you ever been marshmallow picking? You haven’t? Shocking. It is a rare experience when the marshmallows come out to bloom. They are only ripe for such a short period of time that you may miss them all together. They really only bloom for a day, and then they are gone, so you need to act quick. Marshmallow picking is such a fun and whimsical idea. I wish I could take credit myself. We get to give credit, this time, to my dad.
My dad has a creative mind and the spirit of a child. You need to know my dad to imagine him saying to my kids, “We should go out and pick some boysenberries. They are ready. I think the marshmallows are ready to be picked now too.” I get just as delighted as my kids in moments like this. The kids all journeyed outside to enjoy the picking experience. Corban did have to be convinced a bit because he was playing with cars, but we finally got him outside. We hit the boysenberry bushes first and got quite a crop.
The real excitement came when we arrived at the marshmallow bush with marshmallows stuck at the ends of the sticks of the pruned back bush. The kids got really excited about it. He has all of the grandkids convinced that marshmallows do, indeed, grow on trees. One of my older nieces said, “Grandpa, I don’t think this is true. You buy marshmallows at the store, so I don’t think they grow on trees.” My dad simply replied, “Well, you buy apples at the store? Where do you think apples grow?” End of conversation.
I know some of you have a different opinion about this whole concept, and I totally respect that. There are parents out there that don’t want to do Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny or Marshmallow Trees. They want to make sure their kids can always trust them to tell the truth. They don’t want to compromise that trust by not being honest with their kids in all circumstances. I really do understand that point of view and have considered it for our family. When it comes down to it, I grew up in a family with a dad who obviously had a creative imagination. My parents let us believe in the whimsical creatures of childhood fantasy. I quite liked the experience. I remember the anticipation and vivid imagination I had as I considered the possibilities. I still trusted my parents. I still felt very safe and didn’t question the bigger things in life because they let me enjoy some of the imagination of childhood. I didn’t become bitter because they had lied to me all these years. For me, it was fun. It was part of being a child. It was part of dreaming. I respect those who think differently, but for our family, I think we’ll keep marshmallow picking.
For safety, you might want to make sure your tree or bush is not on the poisonous plant lists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poisonous_plants
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/oleander/overview.html
Adorable! I wish mine were young enough for this!!!!
Thanks so much. I love the creative brain of my dad.
Such a sweet idea! Your Dad sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing this idea with us!!!
He is wonderful. Thanks so much for commenting.
This is such a lovely post. Thank you so much for sharing your Dad’s idea, my son is 2 and loves mini marshmallows. I am going to go outside this weekend and plant some goodies for him. Just like Easter egg hunts have become an annual tradition, so will marshmallow picking!
That’s so cool. I love that you are going to do it. It seriously brings a smile to my face when I know people are out there trying my activities. This is a real fun one, and I’m glad you see the value in it.
I love it! What a fun dad you have! Cherish every moment!
Thanks so much. I do have a fun dad. I’m very grateful.
As a mom, grandmother and teacher, I agree totally with the fantasy theory. It makes childhood so much fun! (time enough in adulthood to “get real”!) I am going to add this to my “mimi Journal”….and get ready for both granddaughters to go marshmallow picking with me! thanks so much!
Yay! I know my dad is creating the memories that kids will always have of grandpa. I am glad you have that fun spirit too!
I just showed this to my 2 oldest kids. Their reply, ” Let’s go buy marshmellow seeds!” lol I just told them we will talk to Daddy when he gets home about going marshmellow seed shopping. I love the innocence!
That’s fabulous. I was really surprised when my dad was able to get buy in from my oldest niece. I definitely think you need to buy some marshmallow seeds so you get a good crop.
It’s only the cutest idea EVER!!! Love it! Thank you so much for sharing your family’s traditions with us! Ya know, I’m willing to bet that those cute little pastel marshmallows grow only at Easter! (Wink wink)
Love the idea of the pastel marshmallows at Easter. Thanks for commenting. I’m so glad you like the idea!
What a cute idea. I love the imagination of your father…now to try to figure out how to make it work with my family! 🙂
Oh my gosh this is the cutest idea ever! I am definitely pinning this so that I remember to treat my Grandchildren to the memory of marshmallow picking. : )
I hope you do. I would absolutely love to hear about your experience.
This is SUCH a cute idea! My boys would love this!
Thank you so much, Heidi. I would love to hear if you do it. It was one of those whimsical experiences that children love.
This is just a precious idea. Thanks so much for sharing. My grandkiddos would love this! Pinning 🙂
Thanks for pinning. You’ll have to let me know if you do this with them. We had so much fun.
This is adorable! Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library; featuring it this week!
Too cute! I was recently cleaning my 6 yr old’s room and came across a huge stash of very hard mini marshmallows with happy faces drawn on them w/ a black sharpie… (She said she wasn’t eating them, I hope not…)
~Jamie
That is hilarious. After learning about recycling and compost, my daughter started a compost pile behind her bed. Glad I found it the next day. I can relate. Sounds like you have a creative girl.
Very fun, Jodi! I have five-year old niece & nephew (twins) who would love this! Thanks for sharing! Kids don’t get to be kids anymore, God gave us an imagination, it’s important to us it in constructive ways.
Thanks, June. It was such a fun idea that I know will be enjoyed by the kids and probably passed on to their own someday. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
What an adorable idea, Jodi! Even my big boys would love this!
We had a lot of fun. I bet they would! The follow up with one of the older nieces is that she said to her mom, “Does grandpa really have a marshmallow tree? I mean. I know marshmallows grow on trees, but does grandpa really have one?”
Your Dad is one clever guy!!! Love this idea, and I think my teens would even like it!
Thanks so much, Julie! He is a clever guy. I’m a lucky gal.
What a wonderful idea! Going to do it for the grand babies!!
I’d love to hear how it goes. So glad you were inspired.
What a fun idea!
I’m thinking we may try this when it warms up….. Pinning it so I don’t forget!
I’m so glad you like the idea. Thanks so much for pinning. I really hope you have fun with it!
Hope you don’t mind we just shared you in relation with an eating post on our Facebook page: We love your idea! x.
I don’t mind at all as long as you link back. I was hoping to go to your Facebook page to check it out, but I can’t find you on Facebook and can’t find a button to lead me there on your site. Can you point me in the right direction?
what a beautiful story. thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much. My dad is amazing and has spent a lifetime creating memories for me and my family. I’m glad it touched you too.
I was 11 when my oldest nephew was born, I was a later in life surprise to my parents. I was able to see my dad as a grandfather or as the grand kids called him papito and he was amazing. We had a “money” tree in the back yard. My three nephews would spend hours digging in the dirt for spare change. Mostly pennies, a few nickels and dimes and the elusive quarters. The only rule was you had to put all the dirt back. We were not the rich family. My sister had married into money, so it was very funny to hear the 5 year old tell his other grandfather how rich his papito was because he had a money tree, and he should really get one so he did not have to work so many hours!
I love this story of papito. What a good dad you have. Thank you so much for sharing with me what sounds like a very wealthy family in my eyes!
I love this idea and your dad sounds wonderful. My great grandchildren are 8, 7, 4 and 5 months. I will be trying this idea, along with our easter egg hunt. My only problem. we have no trees or bushes in our yard, just rose bushes. But I think the kids will love it.
My kids know the truth about Santa and the Easter Bunny, but marshmallow picking sounds like a lot of fun, whether they believe it’s “real” or not 🙂 My kids would love this! We homescshool and now that you have given me this idea I think it would be a perfect “first day of school” activity! Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you like the idea. I have loved to watch the older ones still try to navigate the truth about it all. I think most of the kids are still convinced. It’s so much fun to watch their reaction. I’d love an update after your first day of school adventure.
It’s a very cute Idea. I would just stress that the tree or bush they were put on were not
poisonous or toxic. Fun idea. The money tree sounds like fun too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poisonous_plants
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/oleander/overview.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerium
That is a really good reminder. Thanks so much for researching these lists. It’s important to keep in mind. I’ll add that to the end of the post.