Easter traditions?

We always ALWAYS made the Bunny Cake (from the Betty Crocker Cookbook). Jellybean eyes, licorice whiskers, coconut 'fur'. Makes me smile to think about it now... Oh! And we always ALWAYS took a nap after lunch and dishes were done to give the EB time to hide the goodies. : )
And p.s. Did you happen to catch Martha on The Today Show last week? She showed how to dye eggs using an old silk tie. Super cool and the results were BEAUTIFUL!
HTH. Have a blessed weekend!
xoxo,
Becca

Our tradition is more an after Easter thing. We leave our baskets and eggs on the front porch for the Easter bunny to collect and reuse next year. Since we don't want our eggs and baskets mixed up with other people's we make a big show of writing a note that would like them back. The Easter bunny then leaves a note that he will reuse them next year for us.

We have many wonderful Easter traditions in our family. This year the Easter bunny is planning to visit on Saturday morning because our Sunday's always seem so busy. Y'know, he does come early to some houses each year so he can fit them all in (just like Santa Claus). In the baskets will be a small amount of candy, and then he always leaves a little toy to play with -- usually a new toy that's most popular at the time with the kids. Right now it's stuffed animals, Littlest Pet Shop & Transformers. We've got the coolest Easter bunny ever!! Then on Easter Sunday our church has a service at 9:30 a.m. which my husband and I are always singing for. Our church famiy will then share a traditional Easter brunch that we eat in the basement of the church. This is always a wonderful time of fellowship & eating what has been provided by the worshp committee. It's always delicious and we all have a great time visiting with each other, until we have to leave to go to other famiy gatherings for the day ..... and eat some more!! Thanks, Ali, for the reminder of these traditions, which we sometimes just "do" and not think about the reasons for celebrating them in the first place. Bless you & your family this Easter season!!

First the easter bunny always brings "things" to put in the easter basket.. not just candy.. My kids always get a new toothbrush or an umbrella, new crayons, a matchbox car etc. Little things they need-- but don't know they need. You know the stuff mom found in the after xmas sales!!!
We always dye eggs-- (even now that they are 20 and 24!)
While our traditions are pretty mundane (hiding eggs outside, the menu that doesn't change etc) I wanted to share a tradion of a friend of mine. They hide clues in plastic easter eggs... POEM Style-- When their kids were little the clues were easy, and now that her kids are adults they still look forward to it and Mom and Dad get very clever with the brain teaser poems... Its hilarous to see them reading the poems that may not really rhyme that well and figure out where to go next! The Golden Egg is the prize and while bragging rights for the year are generally the biggest part --there may be a Clue to a Prize (A Gaint chocolate Easter Egg, or no dish washing for a month or now that they are adults a gift card to the bookstore)
I think its just great that they started this tradition that has lasted 25 years in their family and is still going strong!

My boys are grown and the oldest has two little boys. He's carrying on this tradition...the Easter Bunny always left their basket (full of goodies) on the front porch. We had a huge covered front porch. As they got older, the Easter Bunny had to wait for them to get home to put the basket out. LOL Even though they are grown, the Easter Bunny still visits. Somethimes it has to be a day or two before Easter but she still deliveres $omething!
Have a wonderful Easter week.
Teresa

We always make our own eggs, mainly as our Oliver doesn't like milk chocolate - yep a kid that don't like chocolate!! LOL Decided to use last years moulds and make as many as the HUGE bars of white choc will make, hide them in the garden and say the Easter Bunny did it!!! Emillie still thinks the Bunny brought her new "super slide" from last year! Bless!! Love Easter as that means Spring is actually here and our dreary winter is over yippee!!!
Whatever you do - have fun!!

We do a trail of little chocolate eggs, that snakes around the couch, up the stairs, through rooms, swirls curls etc. They gather it in a litte basket and it always leads to a little pile of candy and chocolate.

Always a family party - traditional dinner with ham, bean casserole, salads , homemade rolls and greens, etc.... we too have the fantastic Easter bunny cake ( just like the gal in post #1) The older kids hide the eggs while the little ones try to peek out the windows. So many of us that we now head over to the empty lot across the street and hide the eggs. We use both real dyed eggs and the plastic ones filled with money and candy. We also have one golden egg with a large $$ amount in it - it is traditional that you can only find it once so all the cousins, neices and nephews have the chance to find the golden egg treasure ! I take the larger plastic eggs and tie them to the pink flowering cherry tree in the front yard so it looks like they are hanging from it - I use fishing line so you can't see it....This is done right after St Patricks Day so the neighborhood is "decorated" for Easter for a few weeks...We put or try to put the funny bunny ears on the dogs - the kids usually end up wearing them !! Family and fun - that is our Easter tradition !!!

My crazy parents hid our easter baskets and left the first clue of a series leading us to our basket on our bedroom door so we'd find it when we woke up. Best year ever, the basket was left in the dryer, we loved it!

The Easter Bunny hides the baskets at our house! We leave carrots and water out for him the night before (if you're gonna feed Santa, you gotta feed the E.B., right?), and where his empty plate and glass are he leaves treasure maps for where to find the baskets.
Some years he has to hide the baskets inside, because the weather doesn't always cooperate!

We color eggs the night before. The Easter Bunny hides the basket while the boys sleep so they can find it Sunday morning. We then do an Easter Egg Hunt with cousins. We write the initial of each child on the eggs so everyone gets the same number. We have lots of little ones and a few big kids and wanted to make it fair.
My most memorable Easter was when my parents got me a bunny (an actual live bunny.) they put him in a box in the living room and my mother made a stencil of bunny paw prints and made tracks from my bed out to the bunny (she used baby powder sprinkled on the stencil) I freaked though telling her that the Easter Bunny got stuck in a box and wasn't going to be able to go visit anymore kids! You could do this with a stuffed bunny too.

My girls always leave their Easter baskets outside the front door for him to fill, the Easter Bunny doesn't have chimney access like Santa ya know. They always get the same stuff, new jammies, a movie they've been begging for, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, a jump rope etc... now the older one wants Starbucks and mall gift cards. Only one piece of candy though! We dye our eggs before bed Saturday night nad have friends over for a big hunt Sunday after church. Daddy always hides a Platinum egg, usually worth $20! The pressure is always on for the older one to find it befored Papa give too many hints to the youngest! Losts of fun!! I think this year I may try the riddle inside the egg, that's sounds like a regat time and the Florida sun melts anything but money anyway.
Have a Jesus filled Easter!!!

My family is big on unconventional traditions! This year will be about the 20th year for this one (started just me and my dad, now it's the whole family, siblings, spouses, my kids, etc.): We take our Easter baskets and foods to be blessed at church (that's the traditional part -- Eastern European, Byzantine and/or Catholic) -- and after the basket blessing, we go get chili dogs!!!! We call it "The Feast of St. Paas" -- after the egg dye!!! My dad always cries at the basket blessing. It's all about family, tradition, sharing a meal together. Remembering our heritage; those who have died. Blessing the foods that are symbolic to Easter. And then, eating some really unhealthy chili dogs and laughing together.

My mom was always a crafty woman, so every year she made easter eggs out of yarn that she had dipped in sugar water or fabric stiffener and then wrapped around balloons she had blown up. I don't know why, maybe because of my own creative pursuits, but this is my favorite Easter memory,

My mom always left us kids a jellybean trail (from the Easter Bunny) from our beds out to our baskets. It was always a highlight of Easter for us. We didn't get toys for Easter, just candy and books about God. I've done the same for our kids. :)

My mom was always a crafty woman, so every year she made large easter eggs out of yarn that she had dipped in sugar water or fabric stiffener and then wrapped around balloons she had blown up. I don't know why, maybe because of my own creative pursuits, but this is my favorite Easter memory,

Our biggest tradition is an Easter Egg hunt with filled plastic eggs. Some have candy, some have small toys, stickers, etc.(you can find large eggs in the stores although I have an old collection from a garage sale of the L'egg containers). I put names on the eggs so it makes it more of a challenge to find the correct eggs and when the kids were learning their letters it was a great learning tool. I have also done numbers, colors, etc. There is also a special plastic egg unlike the others that has a $5 bill in it. As the kids have grown I have added socks, make up, coins and have even stuffed a tshirt in an egg. Since we are in Oregon, we have gotten creative with hiding eggs inside and out.

this will be my first year to start our own traditions that perhaps my girlie will remember. last year, we had brunch with the easter bunny at the ZOO! $8.00, a huge spread, a visit from the easter bunny, and a day at the zoo! how fun! all for only 8 bucks. this year we will do the same. sat we will dye eggs for the first time ever, then we color a letter to the easter bunny... leave him some carrots a drink and a note. we'll also sprinkle some magic feed on the lawn,(carrots and glitter that sparkles in the moonlight.. santa gets the same treat for the reindeers... only it's oats and glitter) so he knows to stop at our house. we'll hang a magic key on the door, so he can let himself in. our basket we be waiting for him to fill. can't WAIT to start making these traditions a memory for my just about 2 year old!

We always dye eggs and then for Easter Breakfast we have my mom's version of Eggs Benedict using the hard boiled eggs! The Easter Bunny leaves a basket with some candy and some smaller items (ie, hairbows, lip smackers, earrings, etc). And the EB hides about six "bigger" eggs per kid with "bigger" candy in them (ie Cadbury eggs, Reese's PB eggs, etc). And of course we always get the kids new Easter dresses/outfits for church...because church and why we celebrate Easter is the most important part of the Holiday! And it's important to us that we instill that in our children at a young age. All the other fluffy stuff they realize is just for fun, ya know?!
Have a happy Easter!

My boys always get books in their Easter basket, especially fun now that my 7 year old reads pretty well. And we do an Easter barbecue and egg hunt at my mom's house, with everyone making their signature dish - my sister makes her famous potato salad, my stepdad makes the steaks and I make all the stuff that's bad for you! We each take tons of pictures and send copies to each other later.