Everyone's Favorite Bunny is On His Way

 

Easter joy is all about family …OK it’s also a little bit about candy.

It feels like just yesterday we were wrapping Christmas presents and trying to keep the kids from peeking. Now we’re sneaking off to the store to buy colored baskets and fake grass, and Googling the most mess-free ways to color eggs.

Easter is fast approaching and has us feeling the habitual sugar rush and the candy-hungry kids who will be digging through our flower gardens. In an effort not to panic over an upturned marigold, take a step back into your own childhood, and one of the best mornings of the year. Think of that rush to the kitchen table, and your eyes lighting up at the sight of those bountiful baskets. It didn’t matter if none of it made sense. A giant, benevolent bunny had brought us a basket of candy in the lone hours of the morning. It was our duty to honor his kindness by consuming our own weight in chocolate.

 

 

Easter brings warmer weather, fake plastic grass, and everything in pastel… everything.

Chocolate fingerprints stained our pretty dresses and little man suits. Droplets of spring dew rolled off our shiny Sunday shoes as we stomped through the yard for the annual Easter egg hunt. And when it was all said and done, we retreated inside. The grown ups delighted in Grandma’s Easter ham and deviled eggs. We found a quiet corner and devoured much more candy than any man, woman or child ever should before being discovered.

Yeah, Easter was always a good day. For us and for the dentist. So now, as we fill the baskets, and hide the extra goodies for ourselves, remember, it was all in service of a few precious memories. Just be sure to keep the dog from eating that plastic grass — that’s a whole different kind of memory.

 

 

Now, let’s talk chocolate.

Easter, as we have all come to know, isn’t just for the kids – it’s for the lover of sweets, the sugar hoarder, the treat bandit in each and every one of us. Lucky for us, NEPA’s fantastic candy shops are on top of their game come the Easter rush. From funky bunny molds to popular, and exotic, chocolate combinations, check out these favorite local chocolate shops.

Easter Isn't Only About Candy

 

There are so many other sweet things we can sneak into this holiday.

Part of the charm of Easter is the big family dinner at the end of the day. You know the one; the honey baked ham, the last good reason for that huge pot of potatoes until Thanksgiving, and the dessert table – our favorite spot.  Why worry about doing all of that holiday baking yourself when NEPA has some of the best bakeries and dessert shops in the country.

And Don't Forget to Hide Those Painted Eggs in the Bushes

 

Because it’s not truly Easter until the children have found… all of them?

OK. Maybe I still don’t get this holiday, but who cares as long as everyone is having a good time? No holiday is ever really about the silly traditions and games, or the gifts, or foods prepared specifically by Grandma. Holidays are about being together — from the mess of coloring eggs at the kitchen table to the excitement of finding that one that was so perfectly hidden. Just make sure they find every egg or you’ll be dealing with some serious funk until the end of May.

And if you don’t feel like hosting one in your yard this year, check out these public egg hunts all over NEPA.