My friend Danielle posted the most adorable springtime portraits of her children on Facebook the other day and I asked her if I could please share them here on the blog.  She graciously gave me permission.  They are absolutely precious, and will bring a smile to your face.

I also thought I would also share some Easter ideas with you, and perhaps others (yes you, my friend) might enjoy sharing their traditions with us, too, in the comment section.

(a glad easter)

Resurrection Sunday has deep and beautiful meaning for all lovers of Jesus Christ.  In fact, Easter is my own personal favorite holiday because of the joy I feel in my heart as I meditate on all my Lord and Savior has done in atoning for our sins on the cross and conquering death on the third day, when he rose up from the grave. This is why I believe, first and foremost, that telling the “old old story” to our children should be the highest priority on this important weekend.  There are so many ways to make this a special weekend for them, but if I can only do one thing, I will share the gospel TRUTH at their own level here at home, and take my children to church.  Soul-needs come first.

But what other things can we do to make this springtime celebration fun and memorable for our families?  Here are some simple but lovely ideas:

1. Decorate eggs (bet you didn’t see that one coming!)

You can use vegetables to dye eggs, or kool aid, or regular food coloring.  But however you do it, it is fun to afterwards rub each egg with a drop or two of vegetable or olive oil.  In this way, your eggs will glow like polished marble.

2. Make an Easter Egg tree

I love seeing the colorful plastic eggs dangling from little trees or bushes outside in the neighbor’s lawn.  At our house, we decorate an artificial indoor tree at every holiday.  This morning Grace helped me hang it with eggs, ribbons, and green plastic grass.   We put our tree on the table as a centerpiece.

3. Make hot cross buns for breakfast (served with an icing cross on top, these buns are “traditionally considered blessed and believed to impart powerful protection.” (quoted from the book Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions)

I am rather busy this year, so I bought mine from the grocery store.  But if you would like to make them, here is the inspiring Tasha Tudor’s recipe, of which she always made “a large quantity to serve at tea on Good Friday and for breakfast on Easter Sunday.”

1 cup milk, warmed to 110 degrees
1 packet yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup currents
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

In a small mixing bowl, stir the milk into the yeast to dissolve, adding 1 tsp of the 1/2 cup sugar.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, the remaining sugar, the cinnamon, and the currants.  Add the milk and yeast mixture and mix well.  Cover with a warm towel, set aside, and allow to rise in a draft-free place for 30 minutes.  Add the salt and melted butter, being sure that the butter is not too hot, so as not to destroy the live yeast.  Knead the dough lightly on a generously floured surface, then place in mixing bowl, cover again, and let rise until double in size, 1 hour or so.

Shape the dough into 12 buns and place on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.  Cover and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until nicely browned.  Remove from the oven and cool on racks.  When the buns are cool, make an X on top of each one with a tasty tube filled with a mixture of:

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. light cream or milk, or enough to make the icing easy to spread.

4.  Easter Basket or Nest for each child..

At our house, we have each child go outside in our woods and make their own little nest out of twigs and pine needles, leaves, and whatever else they can find, like charming, busy little birdies.  Oh they have the grandest time, especially my older teenage boys (kidding).  It’s all worth it on Sunday, when they troop back to the woods to discover all the wonderful goodies that the Easter bunny (me) has left them.

5.  Egg hunt

I have heard they are great fun.

6.  Living Easter basket

It’s too late for this year, but another idea is to take a basket, layer it with gravel and potting soil, and sprinkle fast-growing ryegrass seeds on the top.  Keep the soil moist and place the basket in a warm, sunny spot.  Once the grass is high enough, you can add little Easter toys and figures within it.

7.  Do the chicken dance

repeatedly

8.  New clothes

Use Easter Sunday as an excuse to freshen up the children’s spring/summer church clothes.  I usually buy the boys each a new shirt and the girls each a new dress.  I also buy snow white tights for Sarah (or ruffled bobby socks if the weather is warm) and proper footwear (pink glitter of course!)  Don’t forget to buy yourself a new outfit, too, if needed.

9.  Prepare a Feast

This year I am roasting a leg of lamb.  I am also making a pan of apple crisp, a nice salad, mashed potatoes, and corn.

10.  ?????

Leave a comment telling me what you or someone you know (like your grandmother) does for Easter!

This one gets me every time:

Utter adorableness!

Here is the link to my friend Danielle’s Photography Facebook Page:  InJoy Photography

Happy Easter to my wonderful blog friends!  xo

PS, most ideas were gathered from the book Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions, Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort & Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach