Little Girls And A Love For Bubbles

My daughter Sally loves to blow bubbles. As soon as it starts to warm up outside she is ready to sit on the front porch and blow bubbles. Her best friend Mandy who loves down the road also loves bubbles. They have every imaginable shape of bubble blowing stick. Both of them wear necklaces with little bottles of bubbles.

Sally and Mandy told me that this year they plan to mail a letter to The Easter Bunny. They told me very seriously that they just knew The Easter Bunny would bring them bubbles in their baskets if they asked.

They looked through all their coloring books. Any pictures they found with bubbles they pulled out and colored. There were pictures of fish bubbles, soap bubbles and of course the kind you blow. They wanted to add the pictures they colored in their Easter letters to The Easter Bunny. I showed them there wasn’t room in the envelopes for all the pictures they colored. I let them each pick two pictures to send.

They were disappointed about the pictures they colored until I told them that they could leave the pictures in their Easter baskets for The Easter Bunny to take with him when he comes.

The letters the girls wrote were long. They included every reason they loved bubbles. They sat at the kitchen table talking to each other while they were writing letters to The Easter Bunny. I baked them bunny shaped sugar cookies to snack on while they worked. I had never seen those two girls sit still for so long.

Finally they announced they had finished their letters and were ready to mail them off. I gave them each a stamp. They very carefully placed the stamp on the corner of the envelopes. I walked with them to the end of the driveway to put the letters in the mailbox.
They lifted the red flag and doubled checked that the door was closed real well.

For the next week we had to check the mail everyday. I was so happy when Sally pulled two pastel purple envelopes out of the mailbox. They opened the letters from The Easter Bunny. Inside the special letters The Easter Bunny told them he was real impressed by the way they blew bubbles. The girls bragged to their other friends about the things The Easter Bunny said, including that they took excellent care of toys.

Sure enough the girls were right. The Easter Bunny left bubbles in both their Easter baskets. They skipped off to the front porch to blow bubbles. Through the open window I could hear them planning the next year’s letters.

An Easter Bunny Letter Writing Party – Why Not!

Every year we have a ‘write to The Easter Bunny’ party. It is one of my favorite things we do for Easter. I take all the kids shopping with me so that they can help pick out the supplies for our party. We have such a good time picking out the decorations and writing supplies. We always find little surprises while we are shopping that will make our party a little more special.

I let the kids make home made invitations to send out to everyone. They really feel grown up filling out the address and putting the stamps on the envelopes. Sally makes sure that each envelope has an Easter sticker on the seal. At the post office they drop each invitation one by one into the big mailbox.

The day before the big party the kids and I bake lots and lots of sugar cookies. The girls love to spread the pastel colored icing and sugar crystals on the tops of the cookies. I make two trays of deviled eggs I have to keep those hidden from my husband Drew. My daughter Melanie helps me make the cheesecakes.

Outside we tape the brightly colored table clothes to the picnic tables. We double check that we will have everything we will need for our Easter Bunny letters. The kids always get so excited waiting for the party. They cut tulips and daffodils to put all around the house as decorations. I have to admit, I think the house looks wonderful with the beautiful flowers and pastel Easter decorations spread about.

On the morning of the big party I put out the streamers and balloons. I go through the house and make sure the house is ready for visitors. On the tables outside we set out the supplies we have collected. We always ensure that we have plenty of markers, crayons, stickers, glue, and glitter. Those are some of the basics needed for properly decorating an important Easter letter. Plus, some of the kids like to create imaginative Easter crafts while they are into the concept of writing and creating. I always make sure that we have plenty of tables set up so no one will be crowded while they are busy designing and writing letters to The Easter Bunny.

We are all so happy when people begin to show up. It is always nice when we get a chance to have a day to spend with so many of our friends and family. The kids run through the yard glad to be out in the warm sun after being stuck inside all winter.

All the kids work very hard on their letters. The older kids help the younger ones to decorate the letters with glue and glitter. The kids are always excited about getting a letter from The Easter Bunny. We have a special satin bag we put all of the letters in when they are finished.

The party is something we look forward to every year. I hope to hold one each year, even when the kids are grown. Hopefully then I will have some grandkids that will be running and playing and we can teach them how to write letters to The Easter Bunny. It is always nice to be surrounded by the ones you love. I am glad that we get this opportunity to connect with out friends and family.

Family Traditions That Bond – So Simple But So Important

I was so pleased when I looked out the window that Easter morning. A bright blue sky like a Robin’s egg hung over head. The path down to the creek shined, lit up by the cheerful daffodils that swayed in the breeze. The branches of the trees were brushed with the bright green of new leaves promising the return of warmer weather. I couldn’t help but think of the Easter’s when I was a little girl.

About a week before Easter my brothers and I would decorate our Easter baskets and write our Easter Bunny letters. We started out with a plain wicker basket. My mom would bring out all the things she had gathered for us to decorate our baskets. I loved running the bright satin ribbons through my hands. We were allowed to decorate our baskets however we wanted. I always used lots of glitter on my baskets. My brothers liked to glue small chicks and bunnies on theirs. One year my Mom helped them to make cowboys and Indians baskets.

While we worked on our baskets my mom would bake us a carrot cake. We would all talk about what we were going to write in our letters. My youngest brother was always so excited about getting a letter from The Easter Bunny. It always amazed me how my mom always had the best ideas. She knew which colors would blend nicely together and how much glue it took to make paper butterflies stay in place. As the room filled with the sweet scent of the carrot cake we would be finishing up our baskets.

My mom would place all the finished baskets on a shelf in her laundry room to dry. She would then bring out the paper for our letters. When my brothers were real small I would help them write their letters. We spent a lot of time on our letters. Along the sides of the paper we would draw colorful Easter eggs or put stickers with bunnies and eggs. We wanted to make personalized Easter Bunny Letters. My mom was the best - she had Easter envelopes and she even found Easter stamps for us to use on the letters.

Now that I am a mother I try to build special memories like my mother did when I was young. Every year when my children sit down to write letters to the Easter Bunny I am so grateful my mom started these holiday traditions. I hope that when my children grow up they carry them on with their families. It is funny how something as simple as writing a letter can bring a family closer together.