EGGcited for Easter!

I have so many childhood memories of Easter.  Some mornings it was so cold and we'd have to rush through finding the eggs that I'm sure my parents hid that morning.  There were also many Easters spent at my grandparents' house with the cousins.  We'd search for eggs, attend Easter service at their church and have a wonderful lunch with ham and deviled eggs.  The "quirkiest" memory I have is being a teenager and my grandmother deciding she wanted all of us to attend a sunrise Easter service - in the freezing cold, at actual sunrise, in a cemetery!  We still talk about that crazy morning, amongst the headstones celebrating the resurrection.

Now that I have a child of my own, there are two things I make sure we do on Easter Sunday.  Celebrate the resurrection of Christ and have a great Easter basket.  I'm not too hip on the whole egg thing - the dying, the hiding, the finding.  I'm also really bad at trying to sell the idea of a rabbit doing all of these things to my child.  Now that Wes is 9, putting together a basket has become more challenging.  Here are some ideas I think are great if you have an older boy, age 7 to 10.

• Summer Fun - bathing suit, summer shoes (flip flops or Crocs), swim goggles, disposable camera, sunglasses, beach towel and a kite.  For girls, just add in some fun nail polish!  
• Movie Night - movie tickets or gift card from your local theater, boxes of movie candy, a few DVD's from the bargain bin, temporary tattoos and some comic books.  For girls, instead of comic books find a few magazines.
• In the Kitchen - recipe card and some of the ingredients for their favorite meal, fun apron, a kid themed cookbook, personalized notebook, kids watch and a few card games.  What a fun night this would make!

Here are some super cute Easter products I've found.  Most of these are for the younger set, but I loved them and couldn't resist sharing.

The tutorial for making these felt bags, from Martha Stewart, isn't on her site anymore, but I love the idea of using a bag instead of a traditional basket.  This is a great idea for an older girl.

These wool felt baskets from Etsy are adorable.  There are tons of options as to color and design.  When you're not using them at Easter, hang them from a cute hook in the bathroom and fill with stuff.

These metal buckets from Etsy can be personalized for your little one.  I love the colors on this one and the matching ribbon is perfect!

These personalized plates from The Polka Dot Press are so fun and can be used every day of the year.  Lots of patterns available.

I just loved how this photo made me feel.  The pink and green colors are so fresh.  Pink carnations in a white pitcher?  How easy and perfect is that?  The idea of using glue and glitter to create polka dots on the eggs may make me want to actually decorate eggs this year.

Another great idea from Martha Stewart for the table using real grass.  You could use boiled eggs you might eat or dyed eggs if you wanted more color.

By using real glass blades on standard candles, we continue the theme from above.  You can still keep these out after Easter.  Green and white, with a punch of yellow is a perfect color scheme for an Easter meal.  Find out how to make these, here.

I hope you are able to spend some time with your family this weekend as we celebrate this amazing holiday.  I pray for warm weather and for everyone to understand the real reason for Easter.