Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Bring back the bunny

 


 I loved Easter as a kid.  My family wasn't really religious, but we always did the Easter bunny thing.  Easter involved crafting (dying eggs), and games (hunting for them), and candy (and toys so my basket wouldn't just be full of junk).  But it is one of those holidays that, if you don't have little kids, and you aren't Christian, you are kind of expected to just...stop...when you become an adult.


And there is no reason why we can't continue to celebrate in a way that brings us joy!  I definitely think of Easter (in the way that I've always practiced it) as a secular holiday.  Especially if you didn't have a highly religious childhood, Easter was all about the bunny!


There is something about dying eggs that really brings out my inner child.  I was one of those kids that didn't want to just dip an egg in a color and be done with it.  I wanted to draw secret symbols in white crayon and watch them appear.  I wanted to see how many layers of dye I could add and still have a pretty egg.  I loved that the dye changed my skin, and part of my goal in dying eggs was to have colorful hands when I was done!


And honestly, none of those things have changed.  I still love all of those things, and they still delight me.  As an adult, not only can I make sure I have all the fun stuff that I want to decorate my eggs with, but I understand better how to make the idea in my head come out in the egg in front of me (because that was always super disappointing, when you had this great idea, but couldn't make it happen).


I also think Easter is a great time to treat yourself to something sweet.  Now my tastes as an adult have definitely changed.  I remember absolutely loving Peeps (those bird shaped marshmallows, covered in more sugar, dyed in neon colors)...but when we got some when son was little, hubby and I both found we couldn't even eat them (son loved them though LOL).  But some of my childhood favorites remain favorites (Reese's peanut butter cups and Cadbury eggs!), and of course I've found new treats that I adore (Lindor truffles mmmm!). And if candy isn't your thing, why not buy some nice, seasonal fruit or a lovely baked good!


When it comes to egg hunts, I think there are all kinds of great ways to make these fun for adults!  One of my last Easters as a 'kid' (I was in college, but still 'living at home' so basically still a kid hehe) we had two egg hunts.  First, the adults hid eggs for the kids to find...including some 'harder' ones for me and my friend to find.  Then, the kids (and me and my friend) hid eggs for the adults to find.  It was actually pretty fun to not only look for well hidden eggs (the advanced version of what we did as kids), but also to hide them for adults (so we could look for those really cool/tricky hiding spots that would not be great for kid searchers).


You can also have a lot of fun by putting little prizes in those plastic eggs.  Most of the time, when I was little, I remember us decorating real eggs (for eating), but searching for plastic ones (which typically had small candies in them).  We used to hide real eggs, but lost one once, and it seemed safer to hide the fake ones (note:  if you do hide real eggs, always count them before hand so you know if you found them all!)


The great thing about doing adult egg searches is you can put adult prizes inside the eggs.  It would be really fun to have everyone bring a few eggs to hide, and put their own little gifts inside, and then the eggs get mixed up and hidden (or everyone has a turn at hiding their eggs, or everyone hides eggs in a different room or however you want to divide it up).  There are a lot of great little items that can be tucked into eggs (especially if you have witchy friends, you can put tumbled stones, bags of herbs, small charms....and of course candy).


Easter (or really any holiday you have fond memories of, especially as a child) can be a great time as an adult, especially if you alter it to fit who you are now.  If the religious aspects of it appeal to you, wonderful, incorporate those!  But, if you never really participated in those aspects (or if they are part of a religion you have since left behind and no longer bring you joy)...let them go.  Embrace the secular parts, the bits that you remember most fondly, and find new ways to explore and celebrate.  You are an adult...no one can tell you how you do a holiday!

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