I can’t believe in just a few short weeks it will be Easter. It seems like just yesterday we were putting decorations on the Christmas tree.
Christmas and Halloween are popular holidays, and rightfully so. It’s fun to decorate for those holidays, not to mention all the candy and holiday treats. Personally I find that Easter is also a wonderful holiday. It might not be known for it’s decorations, but it’s certainly a fun time to be with family and friends.
When I look back on my childhood the one thing that stands out the most to me about Easter was the time that the Easter Bunny brought me an Easter basket made out of solid chocolate. Both the basket and the handle were made out of solid chocolate. If that wasn’t sweet enough, there was plenty of chocolate and other goodies inside the basket.
I was in such awe of the basket. I was just a little girl at the time and I couldn’t believe that the Easter Bunny brought me such a spectacular basket.
The Easter Bunny left the basket at the front door. I wanted to move it to the playroom (family room) which was downstairs. As I was walking down the stairs I tripped. The basket flew out of my hand and landed on the floor which was made out of tile. It shattered and there was chocolate EVERYWHERE. So much for my amazing chocolate Easter basket.
As a parent I have always looked forward to the holidays, especially Easter morning when my children first laid eyes on the goodies that that Easter Bunny brought them.
One year for Easter I wanted to surprise my kids with a 5 foot blow up Easter Bunny. It was not one of those lawn decorations. It was a decoration you used inside. We didn’t have a bike pump so I had to blow it up with my mouth. It took HOURS to blow it up. Then after I blew it up I discovered that is had a leak in it. Ugh! I was so disappointed. At least my kids had the opportunity to see it before it lost all of it’s air.
I know that Easter is all about the candy for children, but my husband and I try to limit the candy and give them other items as well. Not only that, their grandparents would give them Easter baskets overflowing with candy. My husband and I would give the kids a book or two, coloring books, new crayons and a small toy. As they got older we swapped out the coloring books, crayons and a toy for a DVD.
Don’t get me wrong, their baskets also had plenty of chocolate bunnies, Hershey’s kisses, jelly beans and a Cadbury egg. 🙂
One fun thing we love to do on Easter is visit Grandpa and Grandma and have an Easter egg hunt. My kids are teenagers now so it’s not so much of a thrill as it was when they were younger. When they were little they couldn’t wait to visit Grandpa and Grandma so they could hunt for eggs.
The eggs always contain some candy, and occasionally some change (quarters, nickles, dimes). One year my mom put the eggs out the day before which happened to be a hot day. By the time the kids did the egg hunt the next day all the Hershey miniatures and Kisses had melted. Worse yet, some of the chocolates melted around the money that was in the egg with them. We had to wash all the money off in the sink to get the chocolate off of it.
One year it was pouring rain on Easter. My father didn’t want to disappoint the kids so he hid the eggs in the basement. Needless to say that was a bit of an odd Easter egg hunt. All the kids were afraid to stick their hands into the little nooks where the eggs were hiding because they were afraid of spiders or other creepy crawlies. LOL!
As a mom I always looked forward to dressing my kids up for Easter. One year a friend of mine made my daughter a dress. It was a bit big on her but she still looked adorable.
Aside from the Easter egg hunt at Grandpa and Grandma’s house we have other traditions too. We always color Easter eggs. Even though my kids are teenagers now they still have fun coloring eggs. I hope that is something we can do together until they are grown and on their own.
Another tradition that I have been doing since I was a little girl is making the Easter Bunny Cake. The cake is so simple to make – and that is coming from someone who is not much of a baker.
The only hard part is cutting the wedge to make the head and tail. Other than that the cake is super simple to make.
Easter Bunny Cake
Ingredients:
- Cake Mix (pre-made/boxed is fine)
- White Frosting (pre-made or you can make your own)
- Shredded Coconut
- Green Food Coloring
- Candy (for decoration)
- Bunny Ears (make them out of paper).
Directions:
1. Bake the cake according to directions in a round cake pan. Once baked let it cool.
2. Once cool cut the cake in half. Try and make it as close to being half as possible otherwise you’ll have a lopsided bunny.
3. Frost the top of each piece, then put them together to form an upright half circle.
4. This part is tricky – about 1/3rd in on the cake cut a wedge (triangle shape). This will create the head as well as the tail.
5. Take the small piece of cake that you cut off and place it on the opposite side of the cake to form the tail. You can use both pieces or just half of it. I usually use half.
6. Carefully frost the entire cake, including the area that you cut open. Make sure to frost the tail piece and adhere it to the cake. Sometimes it sticks on it’s own. Other times you might need a toothpick.
7. Once frosted cover the entire cake in shredded coconut. This gives the bunny the appearance of “fur”.
8. Cut out bunny ears from paper and place them on the top of the head. Next, using candies, create a face for your bunny.
9. In a small bowl place some shredded coconut and a few drops of green food coloring. Mix well then spread the green coconut around your bunny to make it look like he’s lying in the grass. This part is optional. You can also add more candy around the grass for more decoration too.
The face on our Easter Bunny Cake always turns out different. This year my kids thought it would be fun to use real baby carrots. My son shoved one into the cake to make it look like he was eating it.
Other fun treats you can make are decorating cupcakes to look like mini bird nests (after all, Easter is in Spring) or decorating cupcakes to look like mini Easter Baskets.
My kids made mini Easter Baskets using licorice as the handles (you can cut put paper handle too). Then they used frosting to make the side of the basket and stuffed the basket with various candies.
You can also decorate cupcakes to look like bird nests with shredded coconut. One way is to tint the coconut with green food coloring. Another way is to put some shredded coconut into a frying pan and CAREFULLY cook it (moving it around constantly) until the coconut turns brown (toasted). This method gives the nests a more realistic appearance.
I like to use Cadbury Mini Eggs to decorate the nests.
These are so cute and SO EASY to make. I think the bird’s nest cupcakes would be nice to serve at parties including Baby Showers (use pink, blue and yellow eggs).
Easter is a wonderful time to create special family memories. It’s something that we look forward to every year. Even as my kids get older it doesn’t mean that the holiday has lost it’s magic. It will always have a special place in all our hearts and I know my kids will carry the memories of decorating eggs and Easter egg hunts with them for the rest of their lives. One day I hope to share the magic of Easter with my own grandchildren.
Do YOU have any special memories about Easter? Do you have any traditions that you do every year to celebrate the holiday? Is there a special recipe that you enjoy making to celebrate the season? I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment on this post and share your Easter memories with me.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the enjoyment of my site readers.
Tanya says
What a cute cake! I’m planning on buying stuff for my son’s Easter basket this weekend. I can’t wait because he is finally at the age where he knows what is going on. It should be really fun this year.
Rachel says
That cake and the cupcakes are adorable. I may get brave and try the cake. I am sure mine will look a lot like a alien…
Betty Baez says
How cute! I love the coconut cupcakes I have try making them this year
ANN*H says
I like the bunny cake I will have to make one this Easter for the grandkids. In their Easter basket I dont put alot of candy I put in fruit snacks and juice boxes and fruit and maybe a little toy . Happy Easter