Holiday Gift Ideas & Traditions Blog

The doldrums of winter are almost behind us, the days are growing longer and spring is in the air. Spring, a renewal and rebirth of life, is showing signs of being close at hand. It is such a lovely time of year! The days are growing longer, nature is in full bloom, and spring fever is in the air.

With spring arrives a special Holiday and a special friend, the Easter Bunny. Children everywhere are not only looking forward to spring vacation and a long-awaited break from school schedules, but to the arrival of the Easter Bunny and the treats that are left for them on Easter morning.

My daughter, who is 3, has grasped the concept of Santa Claus, however, she hasn’t learned about the Easter Bunny yet. But it won’t be long! My almost 2-year old son doesn’t know either but I presume it will not be long for him either.

Looking back on my childhood, Easter was special and an occasion that stays in my heart and mind. And it is with these memories that I want my children to remember their holidays with love and happiness.

With less than three weeks away, it is time to plan traditions and fun activities for the children. So what can we as parents, teachers and guardians do to make Easter a memorable occasion for our children?

• 1) Take a visit to the Easter Bunny. Seeing the well-known icon of Easter is an exciting time for most young children.
• 2) Have your child write a letter to the Easter Bunny.
• 3) Build creativity and family time with Easter craft ideas, from printing coloring pages off of the internet to making Easter cards to dyeing eggs for Easter. Children love to be creative and this will surely bring much joy.
• 4) Read the story of Easter to the children. This will introduce them to the true story of Easter and will help them learn about the meaning of this special holiday.
• 5) Plan a Easter party for the little ones.
• 6) Start a tradition and plan an Easter egg hunt. Children love surprises and will have so much fun, and I guarantee that they will always remember the Easter egg hunt.

Are you out of Easter ideas or need fresh new ideas? The internet is a wonderful place to search and there are hundreds of ideas, crafts, recipes and coloring pages all themed around Easter.

Looking for a gift to send to a loved one or family member? On the internet is a wonderful store called Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets featuring gift baskets for any reason and season. Send Easter greetings across the miles!

Build fond Easter memories for your children and family and make the holiday one to remember. Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Serve your special Easter Bunny this delicious Easter themed pie. Make sure to make ahead to allow enough time to chill.

• 1 ready made graham cracker pie crust
• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup of cold water
• 1 package instant vanilla flavored pudding and pie filling
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
• 16 mini chocolate eggs

In a large bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Beat in milk until smooth. Add water and pudding filling; mix on low speed until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon 1/2 of filling into crust. Place candies evenly over filling. Top with the remainder of filling. Chill for 3 hours. Garnish with candies on top.

Have you ever wondered how the rabbit was associated with Easter? Next to Santa Claus, the second most popular figure adored by children is the Easter Bunny, another of childhood’s greatest pleasures. But why an “Easter Bunny?”

Although the Easter Bunny is a major symbol used in advertising Easter, the Easter Bunny is certainly not a modern invention of commercialization.

Historically, the rabbit, hare, and eggs in folklore have their basis as pagan fertility symbols, signifying spring and new life, and the worship of the goddess Oestre or Eastre.

Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She was believed to be the goddess of the dawn and the spring, and a fertility goddess.

The Goddess Ostara, it is believed, saved the life of a bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow and she made him her pet. She had compassion for him since he could no longer fly and turned him into a snow hare and named him Lepus. Goddess Ostara gave him the ability to run with incredible speed to protect himself from hunters, and also gave him the ability to lay eggs one day out of each year.

Eventually Lepus managed to anger the goddess Ostara, and she cast him into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare). He was allowed to return to earth once a year to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring.

The bunny as an Easter symbol also has its origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500’s. The Easter Bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers in 1700 when they brought with them the legend of “Oschter Haws”, the white Easter Hare.

Believing that if they were good, children believed that Oschter Haws would lay colorful eggs for them in a nest the children had provided, usually their hat or bonnet placed in a barn.

By the 19th Century, the Easter Hare became the Easter Rabbit. American families would later adapt the nest tradition, using baskets, chocolate, and money. However Easter itself was not widely celebrated until after the Civil War.

“Here comes Peter Cottontail

Hoppin’ down the bunny trail,

Hippity hoppity,

Easter’s on its way.”

Our little furry friend, the Easter Bunny, will soon be on it’s way! Celebrate Easter on this year. And be sure to check out our cheerful and charming selection of Easter gift baskets! A perfect way to send Easter greetings across the miles to family, friends and loved ones.

In the United States and many other countries throughout the world, the bunny has become the major non-religious symbol of the Easter holiday. Jumping along with his Easter basket full of brightly colored eggs, chocolate and candy, the Easter bunny makes girls and boys across America jump for joy. Unfortunately, the joy over the bunny has been literally destroyed in the land down under. So there is a movement in Australian society to replace the Easter bunny with the Easter bilby.

Back in 1859, a hunter with one of his great ideas released twenty four exotic rabbits in Australia. Keeping in mind that the rabbit is not native to Australia, one can understand why the population of rabbits has literally exploded causing vegetation and food shortages for indigenous Australian species. Australia had no natural rabbit predators and the rabbit’s infamous ability to breed caused the rabbit population to exceed millions within just 10 years. Despite numerous attempts to get the rabbit population under control, the rabbits continue to cause an estimated $600 million (AU) in damages to vegetation every year (which also results in significant problems with soil erosion). Understandably, the Australians are fed up with the rabbit and they don’t exactly view it as a warm, fuzzy and fun creature like most Americans do. In fact in most parts of Australia, rabbits cannot legally be owned as pets.

Thus back in the 1970’s, the concept of the ‘Easter Bilby’ instead of the ‘Easter Bunny’ was born. The bilby is a native Australian marsupial that is a member of the bandicoot family. It is about the same size as a traditional bunny and has soft grey fur with a black and white tail. Most notably, the bilby has very long ears and a long snout-like nose. However, recently, the bilby was named an endangered species because only about 600 of them now exist in the wild. So as the bilby’s population has decreased, their popularity has increased and the ‘Easter Bilby’ movement has picked up steam amongst many Aussies. Just like the traditional American Easter Bunny, the Aussie version known as the Easter Bilby totes around baskets full of chocolate, candy, eggs and more that he delivers to the children of Australia on Easter morning each year. From stuffed plush bilbies to chocolate-shaped bilby treats to bilby greeting cards, the Easter Bilby is a phenomenon with traction in Australia. So if you happen to be on holiday in Australia on Easter Sunday, remember not to mention the Easter Bunny!

When Americans think about Easter, they think of decorated eggs and Easter baskets full of candy. The importance of the Easter egg is evidenced by the fact that the White House hosts an Easter egg roll for children on the lawn every year (on the Monday after Easter). Started by First Lady Dolly Madison in the early 1800s, the White House Easter Egg Roll is overseen by the First Lady. The traditional decorating of Easter eggs in the US has now evolved from the simple dipping of the eggs in colored vinegar dyes to stickers and complex coloring kits. The symbolic Easter egg we think of in the U.S. takes on different forms and décor across the world. Here are just a few of the decorating styles and Easter egg gift-giving traditions of other countries.

Russia – Likely the most famous eggs in the world, Faberge eggs were originally created for the Russian Imperial Court. These exquisite eggs are gold and precious stone jewelry that are designed in the shape of an egg. Named after the company that created them, the Faberge eggs can be worth big money. In fact, an American business man paid a reported $5.5 million dollars for the Faberge Winter Egg in 1994.

Poland – The fragile Polish egg called the pisanka is created by dipping an eggshell in wax and then meticulously carving it to form a delicate pattern. After carving is complete, the egg is dyed. These gorgeous pisanka eggs are then exchanged on Easter Saturday as gifts between family members.

Ukraine – Like the Polish pisanka, Ukrainian Easter eggs are also dipped in wax and carved to form what they call a pysanky. Traditionally, these eggs have geometric designs such as diamonds or squares and are custom-colored especially for the intended gift recipient. The Ukrainian culture looks upon the receipt of a pysanky as a great honor and recipients often display their egg as a showpiece in their home.