Easter Meals & Traditions

I am so looking forward to Easter this year - the food, the traditions we look forward to as a family, and the excitement in my children's faces. I am continually reminding myself to enjoy these years with young children and how excited they are with holidays!



EASTER MEAL IDEAS:

Herb Roasted Lamb from Ina Garten. My mom made this lamb with the addition of carrots the past few Easters, and I love the symbolism of Jesus being the "Lamb" of God. I don't always care for meat, but this recipe is a winner and the seasoned roasted vegetables are so good. We are planning on making this on Sunday (the week before Easter Sunday) with the addition of Resurrection Rolls (these rolls are a great object lesson on the resurrection). I thought this meal would be a nice introduction to celebrating the main reason we celebrate Easter - Christ and His Resurrection.


Photo Credit: Oh, Sweet Basil

Decorate Your Own Pizza Eggs. We visited Utah a couple weeks ago and went to a restaurant where kids can make their own pizzas! It was so much fun, I thought we could recreate the idea at home. I bought these mini pizza stones and that you can use individually for small pizzas or place together to make a larger pizza. They can be used in the grill or oven. I love the idea of everyone making their own pizza - add oil, garlic and parmesan cheese (my five's favorite), a simple pepperoni (my three's favorite), or add mushrooms, peppers, sausage - the options are endless. We are going to make these on Easter Sunday as we celebrate Easter with our dear friends in Eugene.

Photo Credit: Conde Nast Traveler
French Toast Casserole: If you want a dessert-like breakfast, this French Toast Casserole (from Lil Luna) was amazing. We had it for Conference Weekend and served it with Vanilla Syrup (from Chelsea's Messy Apron) and fresh fruit.


 Gram's Eggs Benedict:


Easter Bunny Pancakes:
Photo Credit: Growing a Jeweled Rose
Easter Egg Snack:
Photo Credit: Dagmar Bleasdale


EASTER TRADITIONS:

Have you ever asked your children what they remember the most from Easter last year? Or what they're most looking forward to this year? My three remembers the bunny footprints in our home and wants to give the Easter Bunny a hug this year (I already bought a bunny costume this year for our Easter Party and I can't wait to watch my husband in it). "You can act animated right? Let's hear your best Easter Bunny voice.." It will be hilarious. My five remembers the Easter Bunny Trap we made last year and the lollipop garden. So fun.


Bunny Foot Prints: To make bunny footprints, you'll need:
  • Large Circle Sponge
  • Small Circle Sponge
  • Baking Soda
  • Glitter (optional)
Run some water over the sponge and squeeze the water out (you want the sponge just damp enough, so the baking soda/glitter sticks - not dissolves). Dip the sponge in baking soda/glitter and stamp on the floor to make a bunny foot print. 


Photo Credit: Little Hiccups
Photo Credit: Little Hiccups

Easter Bunny: Our kids were so excited Santa came to our house at Christmas, I couldn't help myself from buying this Easter Bunny Costume. We have a sun room in our home that the outer wall is all windows. I'm planning on reading "The Story of the Easter Bunny" and as I'm reading, I want our Easter Bunny to jump past the windows. Yes, it will be on film. Whether you go to the mall and take pictures with the Easter Bunny, or have the Easter Bunny come to your house, you may want to add it to your tradition list.



Easter Bunny Trap: Is setting traps a boy thing?? My five loves setting traps for every holiday. Christmas he wanted to trap our Christmas Elf, Saint Patrick's Day we made a crazy trap to catch a Leprechaun and now an Easter Bunny Trap. It may be fun to read "How to Catch the Easter Bunny" before building a trap.


The Lollipop Garden: Plant "magic jelly beans" in the ground (or a dirt cup) the night before Easter and in the morning they grow into lollipops! My boys love this and we do every year.

Photo Credit: Beauty and Bedlam
Dye Easter Eggs: Along with the Lollipop Garden, we dye Easter eggs the night before Easter. If you have little kids, these egg whiskers are really helpful. If you have really little children, this no spill egg decorating kit from Amazon looks awesome.



Easter Basket Trail: This is a new tradition I want to try this Easter! Leave a trail of string/yarn on your kid's beds for them to follow to their Easter baskets. The kids could follow one string or use different colored string per child. Our trail is going to pass by our Lollipop Garden, the Easter Bunny Trap and maybe some Easter Bunny poop in the toilet.

Photo Credit: Beauty and Bedlam
You've Been Egged!: This is a fun way to incorporate service and the resurrection into Easter. You can print the printable from her website.

Photo Credit: The Larson Lingo

Easter Egg Coupons: When my kids are a little older, this idea looks fun.

Photo Credit: The Larson Lingo

Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt: I wasn't sure if I wanted to add this, but I think it's worth adding. You put bracelet sized glow sticks inside of large plastic eggs - you can find both items at the dollar store. You can do this indoor or outdoor, depending on the weather.

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