It is not often I get asked to share my favorite memories of Easter or ideas on what makes the perfect Easter basket.  But when Hershey’s asked me to share….I hopped at the chance!

I had a chance to meet a few representatives of Hershey’s at BlissDom last month.  Not only were they giving away candy (chocolate I might add ???? but I also got a chance to get my picture takes with….The Easter Bunny! I have not had a picture with The EB since I was a little girl. I have to admit, it was fun!

The EB and I

As if that wasn’t enough I also got to design the perfect Easter basket , chock full of my families favorites, that will be sent to me right in time for Easter Sunday!  It wasn’t a hard choice, really. I went straight for the chocolate/peanut butter combinations. We are a Reese’s egg/bunny kind of family.  We will clean that basket out in a day!

But one thing my basket had to have in it, what I think every Easter basket needs to have in it, is the traditional chocolate bunny. Solid or hollow, the chocolate bunny is THE iconic item to have in the basket. I get my kids the same Hershey’s bunny every year. It is what I remember most from my childhood.  Then, my biggest worry was where to take the first bite ????

Every year when I was growing up we all traveled to my Grandparents house where my cousins and i would hunt for eggs in our Easter dresses and it was the highlight of my year.  My Grandmother made us all handmade baskets embellished with our names embroidered on a ribbon woven into the slats of the basket.  She made us hand stitched mouse or bunny dolls, with handmade dresses. I never knew it then, but what she made for me over the years has now become one of my treasured possessions.  She also laid the ground work for my own Easter traditions with my own children. Now that she can no longer create these things with her hands, she oversees my families activities.  She is about to turn 92 and her wisdom and what she has taught me about family traditions is one of the things I treasure about her in my heart.

When gathering items for my son’s Easter baskets I try to stick with a theme, yet keep it simple.  A card game, their favorite candies (but not too much), maybe a 5$ Itunes card and that’s about it.  Just enough to let them know that someone is thinking of them !

Later on in the day we have our traditional egg hunt with the family and that is always fun.  After, we all sit down to a big meal. Last year I made a HAM a tangerine glaze that has been requested again this year, it was quickly devoured last year!

So all in all, I am a traditional girl. It is important to me to share my memories of growing up, family traditions at holiday times and hopes for the future with MY children.  I am doing that, one chocolate bunny at a time!

Taping my ‘Easter memories’ with a few of The Easter Bunny’s closest friends..

Visit the Celebrate with Hershey’s Website for more information and great Easter ideas!

My special delivery from Hershey’s!