Easter is a time for children
to celebrate with chocolates, painted eggs, and… more chocolates? Lifestyle shows you how to
expand your Easter traditions with some of our favourite holiday activities that are sure to entice that
quick-hopping bunny to leave a treat or two behind.
Easter Themed Sugar Cookies
Baking
is a fun family activity that comes in at a close second to enjoying your homemade goodies. Celebrate the
holiday with a simple sugar cookie, like the recipe we’ve provided below. Buy several different colours of
icing, chocolate chips and other items to create some beautiful Easter treats.
While rabbit, carrot and bird-shaped cookie cutters can be hard to find, egg-shaped cookies are an easy
hand-cut option that offer a wide range of decorating possibilities.
Lifestyle’s
Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
•
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 375
degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set
aside.
1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually
blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie
sheets.
2. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before
removing to cool on wire racks.
Easter
Bunny Baskets
Ask a child
about his favourite Easter tradition and he’ll undoubtedly come up with: the chocolate! Every year the
poor Easter Bunny scampers across the globe to deposit those creamy, egg-shaped confections in our homes. Why
not take some of the pressure off of Thumper by providing him with the perfect place to leave his candy?
Wicker baskets are available at most craft stores, as are the ribbons, buttons, glue-guns and other
decorative elements you’ll need to make beautiful Easter baskets.
For the naturalist, real grass can act as a nest for brightly coloured Easter eggs. Shredded construction
paper also provides a comfortable backdrop for your favourite chocolate treats.
Decorated Easter
‘Trees’
There’s
nothing more satisfying than putting that crowning star on top of a Christmas tree. This Easter, why not
extend that tradition with a pastel cousin to our favourite evergreens. As seen on Martha Stewart, the
‘Easter’ tree can be something as simple as a dried branch that adds an easy yet stunning element to your
spring decorations.
Fit the base of the branch securely in a piece of foam or heavy vase. If using multiple twigs for a fuller
effect, tie with rustic twine or pastel ribbons.
Tree decoration ideas include some of your homemade Easter cookies; hollowed, painted eggs and pastel ribbons
chosen in colours to complement your home’s décor. •
