Easter Family Fun © ADOBE STOCK EASTER FAMILY FUN | GIFTS Better-for-You Easter Baskets Whether you’re avoiding sugar for health reasons or just don’t want to make Easter morning a sugar-fueled three-ring circus, it can be difficult avoiding heaps of candy in kids’ Easter baskets. Here are a few ideas for keeping the candy to a minimum. © ADOBE STOCK BOOKS nursery, a few plants to get them and pocket-sized games to round them up with bath bombs, bubble Got a bookworm in the house? started. out the basket and keep it to a man- bath, skin care, cosmetics and Stack their basket with new reads ageable size. more. This can work with guys, too, from their favorite authors. You can ARTS AND CRAFTS just look for things like soap, beard also include bookmarks, a reading Load them up on crayons, col- A FEW OF THEIR oil and brushes, shave soap, and light, a lap desk and other reading ored pencils, markers, craft paper FAVORITE THINGS toiletry kits. accessories. For younger kids, look and more to keep little hands busy. Combine these ideas, but make it at activity books and throw in a new Younger kids might enjoy coloring on a theme. If your kid loves dino- COUPONS pack of colored pencils or crayons. and activity books while older chil- saurs, grab some dinosaur books, Another one for older members dren may love craft kits that allow mini dinosaur toys, and so on. of your family is to fill up plastic GARDENING them to make finished projects, like Repeat as needed with your little Easter eggs with coupons they can Get them outside with garden- LEGO or jewelry. ones’ favorite things. Trucks, Star redeem. For teens, consider tickets ing-themed baskets full of pint- Wars and more. for a later curfew, extra screen time sized yard tools, seeds, flower pots, GAMES or a night out on your dime. For a sun hat or apron, and potting soil. Load up baskets with a variety of RELAX adults, a coupon for a nap, for tak- You can also include books on gar- games and let the competition For teens or even adults, sched- ing over one or more chores, or dening and, if you hit up your local begin. Look for smaller card games ule some relaxation time and load picking a Saturday activity. EASTER FAMILY FUN | FOOD Easter Brunch Recipes Easter brunch is a great way to bring family and friends together after Sunday services. Make-ahead recipes make this festive occasion even bet- ter, as you can spend more time with your loved ones. Keep reading for some great ideas that will save you time. HAM AND CHEESE CROISSANT CASSEROLE Recipe is from Betty Crocker. 3 large croissants 1 8-ounce chopped cooked ham 1 1/4 cups, or 5 ounces, shredded Swiss cheese 6 eggs 1 cup half-and-half 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoons ground mustard 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoons pepper 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg 1. Spray a 10-inch glass deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray. Cut the crois- sants in half lengthwise, then cut in half into five pieces. Place the pieces in the pie plate and sprinkle with ham and cheese. © ADOBE STOCK 2. Beat the eggs, half-and-half, honey, mustard and spices. Then pour the eggs utes or until a knife inserted in the cen- 2/3 cup light brown sugar 6 small croissants, torn in bite-sized 3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and over the ingredients in the pie plate. ter comes out clean. Let stand 10 min- 1/2 cup granulated sugar pieces milk, then add baking mix and butter Press the croissant pieces into the egg utes before serving. 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat more. Add in pieces of crois- mixture to moisten completely. Cover 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1. In a 10-inch skillet, sauté apples sant and soak. the plate tightly with foil and refrigerate APPLE DUMPLING melted and cooled and sugars until the apples are tender 4. Add the apple mixture to the soak- at least eight hours but no more than FRENCH TOAST BAKE 1 tablespoons ground cinnamon and the sugar is caramelized. Add vanil- ing croissants. Stir to combine and pour 24. Recipe is from Betty 1 teaspoon ground ginger la and stir to combine. into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Refrigerate 3. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake the Crocker. 5 eggs 2. While the apples are cooking, mix overnight. casserole, covered, for 35 minutes. 1 cup milk butter, cinnamon and ginger in a small 5. Heat oven to 350 degrees and Uncover, then bake for 25-30 more min- 2 Granny Smith apples, diced 1/2 cup baking mix, such as Bisquick bowl. bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot. EASTER FAMILY FUN | FUN FACTS Easter Trivia While your family is sitting around digesting delicious Easter dinner (more on that in a minute), chew on these facts. • A medieval Easter game was to pass a boiled egg from child to child. When the clock struck midnight, whoever was holding the egg got to eat it. • Easter is named for the Anglo-Saxon goddess, Eostre. Her symbols were thought to be the hare and the egg and she was the goddess of the spring and fertility. • Good Friday, the holiday before Easter commemorat- ing Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, isn’t a federal holiday and is a state holiday in just 12 states. • The candy-loving Easter bunny is thought to be a German invention that dates to the Middle Ages. • Americans eat about 600 million marshmallow Peeps during the Easter season. • Cadbury can make more © ADOBE STOCK than 1.5 million Cadbury Crème Eggs in a day. • More than half of people eat a chocolate bunny’s ears first. weighed 15,873 pounds and largest Easter egg hunts ever, • Early egg dyes were made Easter follows 40 days of Lent • The White House Easter was 64 feet around at its wid- which featured 9,753 children from natural materials like (not counting Sundays). Egg Roll started in 1878, when est point. hunting more than half a mil- onion skins, flower petals and • Easter eggs symbolize the a group of children • Easter is the second-big- lion eggs. tree bark. Resurrection and are also a approached President gest candy shopping holiday • Americans spend nearly • When Peeps came out in symbol of spring’s new life Rutherford B. Hayes and after Halloween. $15 billion on Easter every 1953, making just one marsh- and fertility. asked him to host one. • Buying a new Easter outfit year. mallow chick would take 27 • Enough Jelly Belly jelly- • One of the largest choco- stems from a superstition that • The tradition of egg paint- hours. Now, it takes just six beans are eaten in a year to late Easter eggs ever created Easter clothes were good luck. ing, called pysanka, originat- minutes. circle the Earth more than five was made in Tosca, Italy. It • Florida held one of the ed in Ukraine. • In the Christian calendar, times. EASTER FAMILY FUN | CELEBRATIONS Easter Around the World Easter is celebrated around the Christian Prague, world. Here in the U.S., Czech Republic it means bunnies and chicks and baskets of goodies. Other countries, however, have their own traditions. Celebrate a different culture with your family this year by trying out some of these traditions. AUSTRALIA In the land down under, bunnies are considered pests. So instead, they have the Easter bilby, or rabbit-eared bandicoot. Companies now make chocolate bilbies with the proceeds benefiting the endangered critters. CZECH REPUBLIC On Easter Monday, men playfully spank women with © ADOBE STOCK whips made of willow and decorated with ribbons. bonfires to ward off witches and the empower liked the used to toss their old items on inducing effect. According to legend, the wil- who fly around on brooms omelets there so much that New Year’s Day. It may also low is the first tree to bloom between Good Friday and he ordered up a huge one to serve to welcome spring, NORWAY in the spring and the branch- Easter Sunday. feed the troops. symbolizing new crops that Norwegian publishers come es symbolize fertility. will be gathered in new pots. out with special crime novels FRANCE GREECE called Paaskekrimmen, or FINLAND Haux, France, cooks up a The town of Corfu hurls HUNGARY Easter thrillers. The tradition Children dress up as witch- gigantic omelet on Easter pots, pans and earthenware Watch out on Easter started in 1923 when a pub- es and beg for chocolate eggs Monday. The dish uses up out of their windows on Holy Monday, ladies. Boys sprinkle lisher promoted its new crime in the streets while carrying 4,500 eggs and feeds up to Saturday, smashing their perfume or water on girls, novel on the front pages of willow twigs decorated with 1,000 people. The story goes household goods in the street. then ask for a kiss. It was newspaper. The ads so closely feathers. In some parts of that Napoleon and his army The custom may come from believed water had a clean- resembled the news that peo- Finland, people also burn marched through the town Venice, Italy, where people ing, healing and fertility- ple didn’t know it was a stunt. EASTER FAMILY FUN | FOOD Easter Dinner Recipes Easter dinner is another great time to gather with friends and family. These seasonal recipes are sure to wow. PIMIENTO CHEESE DEVILED EGGS Recipe is from Good Housekeeping. 12 hard-cooked large eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise in half 1/3 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons hot sauce 1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp ched- dar cheese 1 4-ounce jar pimientos, drained and finely chopped 1 green onion, finely chopped Paprika, for garnish 1.