The Incredible Egg: Some Fun Easter Traditions

It was no joke; Easter really did arrive on the first of April this year.  In trying to prepare for this wonderful holiday with its many rich traditions, I completely forgot to play a prank on anyone until the end of the day; and it ended up being a pretty lame one.  I heard later that someone had told their kids money was hidden in the yard.  After excitedly rushing outside and fervently looking for hours, the children finally begged for more clues. Their dad just smiled and asked the kids what day it was?  The teenage children sadly realized their error in overlooking that both holidays fell on the same day!

So while I will have to wait another 11 years to pull off a good Easter prank, my son will be 14 then so he will be a prime candidate, I can still continue all my regular Easter traditions I love so well.  Below is a list of my favorite Easter traditions, which all involve eggs!

• Egg dyeing:  Can never go wrong with this beloved tradition.  We like to draw caricatures on the eggs of the people that will be finding them before we dye them.  Adds a little more excitement for adult participation in the event.  This year I added some excitement to the egg hunt by dyeing one egg golden for a lucky finder.
• After you have had your annual egg hunt, I like to play the “egg roll” game. This is a tradition that my mother started and I loved it as a child.  Although one time my sister got creative and painted her egg with clear nail polish to guarantee a win!  How you play this game is everyone has their hard boiled colored eggs that they found on the hunt.  You sit across the floor from a partner and roll your egg into your opponents.  One will always crack and the other won’t.  You continue to pair off the winning eggs until you have one egg left with no cracks at the end.  The owner of this egg is the winner.  Took a while to figure out why my one sister kept winning every year!
• Although I am not a fan of eating hard boiled eggs, I do enjoy the delectable mini Cadbury eggs that used to be sold once a year (now stores sell them a couple times). These things are super addicting and I often go through a whole bag in one sitting.  If however, I can manage to control myself, I love making bird nest treats using Cadbury eggs.   Here are instructions on making these treats.

         1 cube of butter                    4 cups milk chocolate chips  

         1 cup of peanut butter         A bag of the stick pretzels

                          And, of course, a bag of Cadbury eggs 

Over medium heat melt the butter, and then add the chocolate chips stirring constantly.  Once the chocolate is melted then add the peanut butter.  When that is a nice consistency, add the pretzels until they are all coated generously with the rich mixture. Then place some parchment paper (wax paper would also work) on a baking sheet and scoop out the mixture.  Then coat a muffin pan with a non-stick spray and scoop the mixture into each tin, adding the chocolate candies to the top!  A bit of time in the freezer, and they are ready to taste.  I was a little worried that they would not come out of the pan easily, but luckily they did. The following picture was quickly taken before greedy hands began to devour them!
These are just some of my favorite Easter traditions involving the wonderful diverse egg!  I love sharing ideas and trying new things.  What are some of your favorite Easter traditions?  Let us know in the comments below.