Eggcellent Easter!

Every child loves Easter. What's not to love? Bright colors everywhere, delicious foods and drinks, lots of candy and snacks and fun activities and games to play. The weather is usually very nice this time of year as well. Let us not forget however, why we celebrate Easter. I am a firm believer in making sure that the children understand the meaning of each holiday before starting any festivities.

Why do we celebrate Easter?

On Easter, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's only son sent to us to die on the cross for all of our sins. Three days after Jesus was crucified, he rode from the dead for the Lord is more powerful than death.

What is the meaning behind the Easter Bunny?

The Easter Bunny is a tradition passed down by the pagans and brought to America by the Germans. The Easter Bunny was created by the pagans because they believe that the rabbit is a symbol of "fertility and renewal of life".

Why do we color eggs.

The egg is considered a symbol of "life and immortality". It is believed that if you paint the eggs, it will ward off any evil spirits and the good spirits will be attracted to the pretty colors.

Every Easter, my family throws the children an Easter Party that is so much fun, even the adults enjoy themselves. Here are a few fun party ideas to help make Easter fun and exciting for any age.

Decorations.

First of all, make sure to check the local weather forecast to determine suitable location.

Easter uses lot's of bright colors, predominately purple. You can use any bright colors for balloons, streamers, table cloths, confetti, etc.. Remember, the brighter and bigger the arrangement, the happier the children will be. Place small baskets around the tables filled with jelly beans, colored mints, skittles, M&M's, bubble gum balls, and any other brightly colored candies. Don't forget the chocolates! Cut out bunny ears and tape them to the children's chairs. Place colored grass filled baskets in front of each child's seat. Hang plastic eggs and other Easter cut-outs from the ceiling. Just have fun and use your imagination.

Keep the children from being bored to easy. Children become bored and eat, eat, eat and there is nothing fun about a room full of overeaten sick children. Have the children engage in some crafts and activities. Have play dough to create fun shapes with, coloring pages for the refrigerator, or try some other fun activities.

Coloring eggs.

There are a lot of children out there battling with hyperactivity. One of the most harmful thing you can give any child, especially those who are overly hyper, are a number of colored dyes. You can color eggs without using all that food coloring by simply using these from your refrigerator. These tips can be found at www.twingroves.com and you would be amazed at the difference it can make.

The more traditional way of coloring Easter eggs contains water, vinegar, and food coloring. Allow hard-boiled eggs to cool before coloring them. Add 1 cup of warm water, 3 drops of food coloring and 1 Tbsp of vinegar together into a bowl for each color. Have children dip eggs into each bowl for about 90 seconds, remove and let dry. Once the eggs are dry, the children can decorate with stickers. The children can also use white crayons to draw on the eggs before coloring to make some really neat designs.

CD Bunny Face.

Most of us have access to old CD Roms. You can also ask your relatives, friends, and neighbors to donate their old ones. You will also need white tempera paint, cut-outs of bunny ears, glue and a black magic marker. Draw two big bunny eyes, a mouth and freckles on the front of the painted (dry) CD ROM. Glue bunny ears onto the CD ROM.

Easter Egg Family Tree.

Kids will enjoy working on their tree. All you need is oval-shaped paper cut-outs about the size of a regular sized egg, and many copies of a leafless tree. Have handy markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, glitter, and stickers. You can use a wide variety of decorations. Have the children decorate one egg for each person in their immediate family and glue onto tree.

Thumb Bunnies.

Parents will love receiving these cards with their children's thumb print as the main artwork. Use the paintbrush to spread a thin layer of paint on the bottom of the paper plate, this will be your ink pad. Have your kids dip their thumbs into the paint and print them on the card. Their thumbprint will be the bunny's head. For the ears, have them press down only half of their thumb to make a long, skinny shape. After the paint dries, they can decorate the face with markers, adding whiskers, eyes, and a nose. Use a black marker to write "Some Bunny Loves You!" on the front of the card.

Children love to eat, especially when there are so many varieties and fun sweet colors. Aside from the traditional jelly beans, candied apples, and other sweet treats, here are a few things that you might want to try out.

Easter Birds Nest.

1/3c. butterscotch morsels
1c.chow-mien noodles
candy robin's eggs

Melt butterscotch morsels in a medium microwave safe bowl. Add chow-mien noodles to melted morsels and mix. Shape into a circle on wax paper. Use a large spoon to make indention in center. Let nests harden and then add jelly beans or chocolate eggs.

Peeps On The Pond.

1 6 oz pkg blue raspberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups chilled ginger ale
1 cup seedless green grapes
1/2 cup maraschino cherries
1 pkg Peeps marshmallow chicks

Put gelatin in a medium bowl and stir in boiling water. Continuing stirring until gelatin dissolves. Pour in chilled ginger ale. Place bowl in refrigerator and chill until gelatin is slightly set but still syrupy in the middle. Stir in green grapes and maraschino cherries. Pour gelatin into an ungreased glass 8 x 8 square pan. Arrange Peeps on top of gelatin. Return to refrigerator and chill until firm, at least three hours.

Easter Punch.

Use any single colored sherbet mixed in a large bowl with ginger-ale or sprite.

Top the party off with games for the children to play. Keep them occupied with a variety of toys like balls, hoops, treasure hunts, etc.. Here are a few games that will keep any child entertained for hours.

Easter Egg Hunt.

Hide decorated Easter eggs around the yard. Give each child a basket and ask them to find 2 or 3 eggs. It is a good idea to limit the number of eggs for each child so the younger children can have an equal chance with the older ones.

Pin the Ears on the Bunny.
On a white poster board draw a bunny. Make separate ears out of white or pink construction paper and put a piece of folded clear tape on the back of each one. Blindfold each child in turn and see who can pin the ears on the bunny.

Egg Relay Race.

Divide the children into 2 teams. Give the first player on each team a hard-boiled egg and a spoon. He walks fast to the finish line and back, and then hands the egg and spoon to the next player in line. If a player drops the egg he has to pick it up and continue walking. The first team to finish wins.

Copy Cat.

All of the kids stand in a circle. The starting player makes a body movement such as clapping hands, wiggling nose, pinching ears, shrugging shoulders, etc. The next player in the circle copies the starting player's movement and adds a new movement. The third player must copy the first two movements in the order they were made and then add a third movement. Play continues in this manner around the circle.

If a player can't remember a movement or copies a movement incorrectly, he or she is out of the game and must leave the circle. The last remaining player wins.

Giggle & Howl.

The kids stand "frozen" in a circle and can't move until freed by the "magic handkerchief". When you toss the handkerchief up in the air, they must giggle and laugh out loud until the handkerchief hits the ground - then they have to stop instantly and become frozen again. If any player breaks into a smile, giggle, or howl after the handkerchief hits the ground, he must leave the circle. Continue until there is only one player left.

Sense-Sational.

Prepare all of the touch and sniff items before the party by collecting them in bags and jars. Place the tactile items in zip-lock bags first (don't seal the bags) and then in lunch bags, and put the aromatic items in empty containers - cover the sides of the containers with aluminum foil if the labels don't fully hide the contents.

At game time, the players sit in a circle so the items can be passed around easily. Choose one player to start the game and pass the first "touch" item to her. She must reach into the bag and touch the item without looking at it or saying what it is. (The other kids will love watching her expression of surprise or disgust!)

She passes the bag to the next player who must touch the mystery item without telling what it is. Once the bag has gone around the circle, the kids take turns saying what they think is inside. After everyone has taken a guess, pull out the item so the players can see if they guessed correctly, and begin the next round with a new item.

Play the "sniff" version next. This game is played with similar rules - the players must smell each item with their eyes closed and try to identify it.

Bunny Hop.

For a younger group of kids, turn some fun music. Have the kids form a line and hop around the house like bunnies.

I wish you a great Easter holiday and hope that you have found some useful tips in here. Let the party