Easter has always been one of my absolute favorite holidays because, (obviously) CHOCOLATE!
As a child, my family celebrated Easter hiking along the westcoast, usually in torrential down pouring rain. We hiked in with tents, food for four days and enough raingear to fill the ark. Needless to say there wasn’t a lot of room (or available weight allocation) to pack in tons of Easter treats.
But, being wonderful parents, they did find room for our treats in an effort to keep the magic and tradition alive, and squeezed in enough chocolate to keep us believing.
Of course, rainwater and chocolate don’t mix well, and by the time we woke up on Easter Sunday to hunt for the gifts the chocolate was less than amazing. It was often a downright soggy oozing mess but we didn’t care. It wasn’t the haul we brought in that made it special, it was the fact that we were in a remarkable place experiencing life and having adventures.
It took me a while to really appreciate the value of the time spent on those yearly family hikes, the work my parents put in to making the experience as dry and fun as possible for me and my older sister. It was something we looked forward to every year, our friends were envious of our trip and the adventures we would have.
One of my favorite memories of our Easter tradition is of the Easter Pig. You see, one year it was raining so much our entire campsite was a mud pit. My sister and I were so upset and worried that the Easter Bunny wouldn’t make it through the rain and mud. We went to bed sobbing, not because we were possibly going to miss out on the goodies, but feeling sorry for the bunny who would be weathering the terrible conditions just for us. Reassured by our parents that the bunny has his ways we fell asleep in a steamy damp tent.
The next morning we woke to sunshine and blue skies (quite a rare site for our location!) and scattered all around our campsite were colourful foil covered eggs. Also, hanging from a tree branch was a slightly soggy note which explained to us that due to the rather terrible conditions the Easter Bunny had felt it necessary to call upon the services of his cousin, the Easter Pig, who handled all deliveries to wet and muddy locations on his behalf. He hoped we enjoyed our wonderful family time and cherished the memories our parents were creating for us.
We were so excited! The Easter Pig! Wow! We felt so special and the reminder left to us by the thoughtful Bunny made us appreciate all the effort our parents put into making our childhood magical.
As an adult I strive to bring magic into the lives of my children along with an appreciation for family and the times we have together. My parents started the tradition of using Easter for family togetherness and this is a tradition I will carry on and pass along to my children.
Whatever your family traditions, creating magic around these events is what creates memories for our children to cherish. With our family it was the Easter Pig, which still makes me smile 35 years later.
Right now Lindt, creators of one of our favourite Easter treats, is celebrating the launch of a beautifully written and illustrated storybook app entitled “The Bell that Rang in Easter”. It is FREE to download from iTunes and Google Play. The best part is, Lindt will be donating $1 for every app download to the Children’s Aid Foundation (up to $50,000). You can download your free copy of the app at goldbunnystory.com and share your Gold Bunny Easter traditions using the hashtag #GoldBunnyStory.
And to help you celebrate this Easter with Lindt, we are giving away a Lindt Basket filled with treats to one lucky reader. included in the basket,
- 50g Milk Gold Bunny (Retail price: $4.49)
- 100g Chick (Retail price: $6.99)
- 90g Happy Easter Bell Box (Retail price: $8.99)
- 138g Lindor Crystal Gift Egg (Retail price: $9.99)
- 100g Lindor Mini Egg Pack – Milk Chocolate (Retail price: $3.99
- Mini Gold Bunny 5-pack – Milk Chocolate (Retail price: $6.99)
Enter below to be entered to WIN! Please note you must be a resident of Canada, and over 18 to win.