One of the sponsors at the Blissdom conference last month was Hershey's. They had a fun booth where you could design a custom Easter basket and take a photo with the Easter Bunny (sorry - I didn't get one!). My basket filled with some delicious chocolate treats should arrive soon. When we made our basket choices, we were asked to join the Hershey's "Bunny Trail" and post some Easter tips, memories or traditions.
You can follow the Bunny Trail by clicking the image above to go to the Hershey's site. You'll find coloring pages, craft projects, egg hunt ideas, egg decorating stencils and holders and even some digital scrapbook papers.
When I think back to Easter in my childhood, there are a few things that stand out. I have two older sisters and we always had special Easter outfits - including hats. That's me in the photo with a corsage almost as big as my head. These dresses often were matching sister dresses in sets of two or three. When my brother came along, he didn't have to dress to match! Some years when the weather was still chilly we had fluffy white muffs to keep our hands warm (yes, I really am that old!).
Apparently, when we posed for these photos I was not about to let go of my Easter basket! My love of chocolate started early and continues to this day. When I was little my favorite was the plain Hershey milk chocolate bar, now I prefer the dark chocolate. Growing up in Pennsylvania, I had several school field trips to Hershey, PA. We would take a tour of the factory and then go to the amusement park (I guess the factory tour satisfied the "educational" component of the field trip!).
I really don't remember my Dad wearing bow ties but he had one on for this Easter photo. It's always fun to look at old photos and see the styles and how we looked when were were young. It looks like that basket was getting a bit heavy - I can hardly hold it up. We always had a chocolate bunny and there was a great debate over the proper way to eat it. It seems cruel to take off the ears first, but I think that is the most popular way to start!
I scanned these old photos and made a digital scrapbook page with my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator 4.0 software using the Reminisce Spring Digital Additions. It was interesting to see that the next photos in the book were from my birthday in July. We didn't take a lot of photos, so the ones that are left are very special to me.
Our family has a great tradition of egg hunts. When our boys were young, we lived near my sister in New Jersey and she would hard boil five or six dozen (!) eggs. They were dyed in lots of pastel colors and my brother-in-law would hide them in the yard. He would keep track with an elaborate hand drawn map to make sure that all of the eggs would be found. The hunt was quite challenging (think yellow eggs high up in a forsythia bush) and everyone would get involved in helping the kids find the eggs.
My Dad always would get a big kick out of both the hiding and the search. For years we have kept up a joke of hiding eggs (the plastic kind with Hershey's nuggets and jelly beans inside) at his apartment whenever we visit. Last time I was there he gave me a bag with what he thought were the "last of the eggs." Little does he know that they'll be returning, refilled and hidden in unexpected spots, when we go to visit Easter weekend.
In 2010, I made the layout above for some egg hunt photos. I had forgotten about it but now I am motivated to find some photos from the New Jersey egg hunts and fill in the photos spots! I even made an egg card with some of the offcut pieces. You can find details about the card and the layout and how I designed it HERE.
Thanks to Hershey's for motivating me to make this heritage page and for the Easter basket that will arrive soon. Be sure to check out the Bunny Trail - there are lots of fun things for you there.
What are some of your favorite Easter Memories? I'd love to hear about your family traditions.
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I may have to scraplift the layout - it is really cute! I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Every year on Good Friday, we would pack a lunch and my grandmother and go to the Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, MN. Many were the years we ate our lunch in the snow - lots of snow! But every year, back we would go...
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories to cherish and to scrapbook them. Beautiful photos something about the black and white that brings back the olde days. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Easters were in late April when the weather in northern California allowed us to hunt outside (not so when Easter was early). We had the hunts out in my grandparent's backyard, big, lush with growing things, my favorite place in the world. Grama always made matching dresses for my 2 sisters and myself. Judging from the glasses in the picture, I'm probably about the same vintage as your oldest sister. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I remember the new dresses, hats and of course, white gloves. We always hid the entire basket, not just eggs. The eggs would be left unrefrigerated for days and we never got sick. People today would faint dead away at that idea.
ReplyDeleteOne time, when my kids were little, we hid one basket behind the curtains. Unfortunately the dog found it and ate all the chocolate. They say that's not good for dogs but she showed no ill effects. I can't say the same for the child whose basket was raided.
We would travel 120 miles to see my grandparents and cousins. We cousins would dig holes in the dirt and find twigs etc to make Easter nests for the bunny to put our eggs in during the night. Nowdays my husband and I have a kids egg hunt for money and candy in our yard and then a pot luck for the neighbors. They love counting their loot and comparing how much each kid got. We'll never grow up I hope!
ReplyDeleteI love the photos. i have some and should scrap them. We never got to go to Hershey for a field trip. It really wasn't that far but I don't think the nuns approved. LOL Plus my class alone had 65 students to one nun.
ReplyDeleteLove all the hats and gloves. It really brings back memories.
I too had the hats and gloves and corsages. We went to church with the Cousins and Grandparents and then to the Grandparents for Easter dinner. But my favorite memory is dying eggs. We did dozens of eggs--all different sizes! Chicken eggs, peacock eggs, duck and goose eggs, and once, and ostrich egg! This tradition continued long after I left for college and after I married! I would go "home" every year and dye eggs with my dad and the neighbor kids. Those "kids" are now grown with kids of their own. While we no longer have the variety of old, we still get together to dye eggs and relive the fun times of the "old days" with my Dad.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures and comments brought back wonderful memories. I think I had the same outfits. LOL I would like to ask a favor. Could you do a tutorial on "End Caps" I have never understood them even after calling Provo Craft. They are on Plantin School Book and I think a few others. Thanks. Joan Murphins, Port St. Lucie, Fl.
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