Celebrating Easter

   The Easter holiday is fast approaching; it is literally this weekend!!  I cannot believe how fast April is flying by, but never the less, it is here, and I love celebrating Easter. It is a time when we get together with family and enjoy good food, laughter and beautiful weather (hopefully)!
   Today I am going to share an easy and casual Easter table scape, as well as a fun Easter egg hunt for the littles in your life. Whether you are having friends or family over for a simple late afternoon lunch, or maybe even an early morning brunch, these ideas will bring some spring fun to your Easter holiday!
   So you are having a little get together to share in the Easter celebration, and you want to impress them without breaking the bank! No worries; this simple yet stunning table setting will do the trick!
   White chargers, cream dinner plates and floral napkins in soft blues and greens, bring on the feeling of spring! Add a few pretty pastel blue egg shaped bowls, alongside green salad plates to complement the colours, and your table is nearly complete!

   I love these pastel coloured chalkboard eggs; yes that's right! Chalkboard!! I found them www.walmart.ca for $1.98. You get 12 eggs in various colours, plus a box of chalk! Adorable!

   Here I used them to act as place cards for your table and added gold initial stickers. If your handwriting is exceptional, then you could always add the letter with the provided chalk.
   I then used my favourite brass napkin rings as a holder for the eggs, and placed them on a small white side plate, which would be used as a bread plate. I wanted to use egg cups to hold the chalkboard egg, but had a hard time finding any. If you happen to have a set, by all means pull them out, as they would work beautifully on any Easter table.
   Then all you need to round out your table is glassware and cutlery, and a few more touches of colour. Here I used simple stemmed wine glasses and water glasses with a green hue to them, and added some lovely silver cutlery.

   I also like to sometimes dress up the place setting with a little something. I found some small twig wreaths at www.michaels.ca, and added them to the salad plate for a little visual interest. Of course, they will be removed once the meal is served, but for now, it gives your guests a taste of how much attention to detail you put in for them!
   A simple and easy centrepiece which doesn't take any time to do, is some lovely tulips and greenery. Here I used a metal pitcher and placed it on top of some grass mats which I found at the dollar store! It just adds an extra spring touch that doesn't cost a lot. I also added a pretty Easter platter just because, and a ceramic bunny. You could always make the platter useful by adding a butter dish or jam jars ( if you are serving brunch).

   And there you have a casual Easter table ready for friends or family!
 
   Now if your guests are bringing children, why not let them have a pretty table set up all for themselves! If they are old enough to sit on their own, it would be so fun for them to have a place where they can sit with their friends and just be kids. If the weather permits, you could set this up outside, but indoors works just as well.

   It also helps if the outdoor area isn't too far from the dining area, this way parents can keep an eye on the younger children if need be. You just have to work with the ages of the children and what feels right to you!
   I remember always having our own table as children, especially for holiday get togethers. It was always so much fun! We felt like we were grown ups, even though our parents were in the next room, or even in the same room sometimes!
   Make it colourful and make it fun!

   If the children are fussy eaters, meaning they won't eat the adult food, and it's okay with the parents, give them a fun meal. Children love to snack, so why not give them little lunch boxes filled with plastic easter egg snacks! Fill the eggs with crackers, cheese, carrots and hummus/dip, bite sized fruit like blueberries or cut up strawberries, cheerios, etc. Bite size is the key!

   If they are going to eat what the adults are eating, then you could always just give them pretty paper plates to have their meal on, or if you are able to cut up some of the meal items into bite size portions, then those items could be placed inside of the eggs. In a pinch, muffin liners work really well too!
   Assign each child their own special seat with these adorable chalkboard signs in Easter motifs! At the end of the day, they can take them home with them too as a little reminder!

   Don't forget to dress up their table too! Ceramic bunnies, tulips in a milk glass vase and little carrot pots are so cute, and these little carrot pots are a cinch to make!

   1. I used 6 mini terracotta pots and cleaned them out.

   2. Stuffed them with basket grass (the kind you use for Easter baskets).

   3. Added these adorable sparkly carrots to make it look like they were growing out of the pot!

   And ta-da! I told you it was easy!

   Once the meal is over for both children and adults, how about getting into the spirit with an Easter egg hunt. Have baskets or pails at the ready for each child, and a good idea is to have it all set up before hand so you don't have to scramble for places to hide the eggs! If you are limited on space, maybe keep the children distracted with games while one or two of the adults do the hiding!
   Some game ideas are:
                -tic tac toe

                -pin the tail on the bunny (printable found at www.sugarandcharm.com
                -Don't Eat The Peep (printable found at www.thirtyhandmadedays.com

               
                -disc or bean bag toss
                -plastic egg tower: this is where you get a bunch of plastic easter egg halves and see how many you can stack on top of one another without falling down. This is a great game for the younger kiddos.
    Now the egg hunt can begin! A few rules to keep everyone happy while egg hunting, are to try and keep the location of the eggs in one general location, such as the backyard only, and have a variety of eggs to find. Chocolate ones, plastic ones filled with jelly beans or even non-sugar treats.

   You could even fill the plastic eggs with instructions for simple exercises that are great fun for all ages.
          Here are some ideas:
                 
                     -touch your toes 4 times
                     -do 10 jumping jacks
                     -hop like a bunny/ cluck like a chicken
                     -march on the spot for 20 seconds
                     -dance around like a butterfly
                     -hop on one foot and touch your nose
This list could go on and on, but I am sure you get the point!

   If you have more than four children at your egg hunt, an easy trick for everyone enjoying themselves and making sure they all go home with candy or treats, is to give each child a pail in a different colour. Hide eggs in coordinating colours, and instruct the children to only find the eggs or candy that match their pail colour! No one goes home crying or complaining that Johnny has more than they have, and everyone, including the adults, have a good time!  

      I hope that you find this post interesting and filled with ideas that you can use to create a fun-filled, and entertaining Easter celebration for your family and friends!
   Happy Easter to you and yours! Until next time!
 

~A