Easter Traditions

My parents love Easter, and when I was a kid, they made the holiday extra-special with plenty of fun holiday traditions.  The first tradition was the egg decoration process: my dad, my sister, and I would sit outside on the porch with mugs, food coloring, and eggs while the Easter Bunny (my mom) went around collecting goodies for our baskets. My dad pierced two holes in raw eggs and then we’d put our little mouths over a hole and blow until they were all hollow. Then we’d clean and decorate them. We always used food-coloring kits to help us make cool patterns.

If you don’t have the time or the cheek muscles to make hollow eggs, dye hard-boiled eggs with the Eco-Kids Eco-Eggs Easter Egg Coloring Kit, one of the best coloring kits out there. It has capsules with natural dyes made out of nice things like sweet potatoes and blueberries, so the colors are super-vibrant and chemical-free, and there’s no need to worry about eating your hard-boiled eggs afterward.  It also comes with two soy-crayons, so you can decorate after you dye.  It’s always helpful to have colored cups so you know which color of dye is in each cup – try Dudley’s Easter Egg Coloring Cups.

Those eggs were only a part of our Easter decorations, though. Leading up to Easter, we made little pieces of artwork for the fridge and things for the mantel like Easter Fun Shrinky Dinks. Another festive decorative item we like is the Easter Sculpt ‘N Soaps set by Ganz – when they get wet, you can sculpt these colorful egg-shaped soaps into anything you want, so they can be used after the holiday’s over!

Our parents also loved making us huge, extravagant, fully-loaded Easter Baskets. On Easter morning, my sister and I would wake up and search all over the house for our Easter baskets – my parents are really good at hiding things! The baskets were filled with tons of candy, stuffed animals, Peeps, books, and cool trinkets. Oh how I loved those Easter baskets! And the fun didn’t stop as I grew up: as I got older I started getting CDs, shoes, and even undies.

Finally, my parents crafted an epic annual Easter Egg Hunt every year. After my mom put the ham in the oven, she and my dad would spend at least two hours filling and hiding around 25 eggs, filled with cash, change, or jelly beans. Then we’d gather outside with our emptied-out baskets and search. Somehow I always found the money-filled eggs, while my sister was left with jelly beans and coins. It’s the hunting that’s the fun part, though, not the prizes, right?

I thank my parents so much for putting so much energy into making Easter such a fond memory, and I can’t wait to share these traditions with my kids. For now, I’ll have fun sharing them with my friends. If you’re looking for more Easter activities, check out mbeans.com for some cool kits and ideas.

What are some of your Easter traditions?

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