I have always loved Springtime so I look forward to Easter every year. I’m sure that stems from being a kid. Since my birthday is in April, I knew when the flowers started to bloom and the Easter decorations came out, it would soon be my special day! My oldest daughter’s birthday is in May, so she shares the same excitement.

Now that we have kids, Easter is so much more exciting. My girls absolutely love decorating the house, dying Easter eggs, dressing up in their Easter dresses and hats, and of course, hunting for Easter eggs. As for the Easter bunny, they have really cute personalized baskets that we put out the night before, and the bunny comes and fills it with treats! They get the usual chocolate eggs and candy, and he likes to throw in some fun surprises like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, coloring books, crayons, and stickers. He must also know we take our annual spring break trip right after Easter because he’s been known to throw in some sunglasses and swimsuits, too.

After checking out their Easter baskets and eating too much candy, we get ready and head to church. Once we get home, we host brunch for my husband’s side of the family. Easter is a pretty easy holiday to host because everything is ready ahead of time aside from heating a few things up. Our main menu for Easter is basically exactly the same as it is for Christmas. We have ham (we order ours from HoneyBaked Ham), smoked kielbasa, and pierogies. I am part Slovak and my great-grandma and grandma made them from scratch, as does my mom… I have promised myself once my youngest is in school, which will be next year, I am going to learn and start making them too, but for now, I buy them from the Polish ladies at the Westside Market. For sides, we have homemade crescent rolls (one tradition I am successfully carrying on!), deviled eggs, and fruit salad. For dessert, we usually have a cassata cake that my mother-in-law brings for my birthday.

I love setting the table for holidays with placemats, my grandma’s fine china, cloth napkins with napkin rings, crystal glasses, and beautiful centerpieces of fresh flowers and crystal votive candles. My mom always made holidays really special and fancy when we were kids, and I absolutely loved being all dressed up and surrounded by family. I also set up a separate kid's table with festive Easter-themed paper plates and napkins and get everyone a chocolate bunny for their place setting. My in-laws have lots of kids, so it’s fun to see our girls playing with their cousins on these special days.

As soon as we finish eating, it’s time to head outside for the Easter egg hunt. My girls aren’t even the youngest anymore since my sister-in-law had her son, so it’s fun to see them run around and be so excited about finding the eggs since the other kids aren’t as into it anymore. If the weather is nice enough, we like to build a fire and spend some time outside before everyone heads home. In fact, the weather has been so nice the last two years that we’ve been doing a more casual outdoor brunch which has been kind of nice!

Once we get the house cleaned up (while the girls hopefully take a quick nap), we have some coffee and recharge for a bit before heading to my parent's house for round two! I love going to my mom’s because she gets to be “Martha” as we like to joke with each other, and I can relax and enjoy her cooking. She typically makes roasted lamb with glazed carrots and potatoes which is so delicious (the kids have mac and cheese, of course). She always has some fun Easter treats for the girls and it’s just nice to end the day catching up with my brother and sister and parents while they play. My mom also makes the most amazing cheesecake for Easter, so I get to have dessert two times in one day, what’s not to love?!

Holidays are such a special time to slow down and connect with family that we don’t get to see as often as we’d like. Everyone has such busy and crazy schedules, so it’s nice to know that when the holidays come around, we all make it work out to get together. Easter with my in-laws is also typically when everyone wants to make their summer vacation plans, so that is always a big topic of conversation. I can’t wait to find out what I am going to be talked into this year ;)