Easter Gift Ideas:

• If you are crafty and love to socialize, invite all your loved ones over and decorate Easter eggs together.  There are plenty of ways to decorate Easter eggs whether your style is simple or extravagant.

 

• When it comes to Easter gift ideas, people often forget about the wonderful gift of books.  Books are a great way to show your love. Try Around the Year with Emmet Fox: A Book of Daily Readings. If you would like to give something more light-hearted and fun, try novels by Elizabeth Gilbert or Helen Fielding.  Some great children’s books out now are The Lion and The Mouse and The Easter Egg.

 

• No Easter season is complete without flowers.  So whether you want to send a bouquet or create your own bouquet to give as a gift, the Spring is the time to do it. Or, if your Easter gift recipient enjoys gardening, surprise them with the American Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques: The Indispensable Illustrated Practical Guide. Need something for the little one in your life?  Try The Secret Garden for the older kids and How to Find Flower Fairies for the younger ones.

 

• If you love intricately decorated eggs, look into Ukrainian Easter eggs.  When people think of Easter gift ideas, they often think of eggs. . .but they don’t typically think of eggs that are painted by true artists.  Learn how to make your own Ukrainian Easter egg or buy a beautifully handcrafted one to give as a gift that will last a lifetime.

 

• Easter gift ideas don’t always have to include decorated eggs and flowers.  Everyone loves to watch movies and the Spring season is a great time for a comedy.  Add some baseball to that comedy and your Easter gift is complete.  Try Major League, The Sandlot, or Bull Durham–you can’t go wrong.

 

• And of course, don’t forget about the chocolate easter bunnies!

Now you have plenty Easter gift ideas. Have a wonderful Spring and a Happy Easter!

This is Hershey’s Easter site and you are gonna love it. It is full of the classic Hershey’s candy we all know and love as well as crafts, recipes, Easter basket ideas, basket fillers and even screen savers. Best of all, you can shop by your favorite Hershey’s candy from Reese’s to KitKat to Twizzlers… allowing you to add your own personal touch to the Easter season.

2. Candyfavorites.com

This remarkable online store offers much more than just Easter Candy, but the Easter selection is enough to keep you busy for some time. Serving candy since 1927, Candy Favorites offers a wonderful way to shop online; search by candy, color, themes, flavors, brands and even decade (how wonderful to find those old favorites!). Have fun shopping for your Easter holiday here as you will find everything from edible Easter grass to jelly rabbits.

3. Blaircandy.com

Sweet Products… Sweeter Prices! Indeed! Blair Candy offers a great online service with live online chat, deal of the day, testimonials, and newsletters. Shop by category or occasion and find all the Easter candy you can sink your teeth into from Reese’s Peanut Butter Giant Eggs to Cadbury Clucking Bunny with Cadbury Cream Egg. Don’t forget your four-legged friend this Easter Holiday—buy them a treat here!

4. Sees.com

See’s Candies has made their name in candy and lucky for us, they have brought that candy to the web. Shop by holiday, occasion, catergory or price. See’s also offers sugar-free as well as kosher candy, and be sure to check out their fund-raising programs, delectable recipes, business gifts, and shop locations (a great place to make a physical appearance!). And once you have placed your order, become a fan on Facebook.

5. FannieMay.com

This online store offers fine chocolates and the best candy of the Easter season. When you visit the site, remember to enter the Great Chocolate Giveaway weekly drawing in win up to a $100 gift card to use at Fannie May. From spring pretzels to caramel pecan fudge eggs, you are going to be more than pleased with your purchase. Certainly all holidays are a wonderful time for giving, but when you shop at FannieMay.com you won’t be able to pass up ordering some chocolate covered strawberries for yourself.

Have fun shopping and Happy Easter!

Perhaps, however, you would like to add the beauty of the outdoors to the indoors. Or maybe you would like to give flowers as an Easter gift. Here are some great Easter flower ideas:

Easter Flower Arrangements:

If you like to place a vase full of flowers in your home or give them to a loved one, consider making an Easter flower arrangement. A mixed Easter flower bouquet is vibrant with color and so refreshing. Consider the following Easter flowers to use in your spring arrangement:

• Tulip
• Rose
• Orchid
• Lily
• Cherry blossom
• Daffodil
• Daisy
• Magnolia
• Carnation
• Iris

Take a mixture of any of the above spring flowers and get creative. Use the flowers that appeal to your eye and to your nose (can’t beat the wonderful perfume of a flower). Because it is Easter it would be fun to lay your Easter flower bouquet in a basket. Perhaps place some beautifully decorated eggs in the basket as well.  Even a couple of miniature stuffed Easter toys would be a great addition. If you would like to place your Easter flower arrangement in a vase, you could also place Easter chocolate bunny suckers in the bouquet as well. If you have a flare for crafts and painting, get out those paint brushes and paint your vase with some colorful Easter scenes (and if you are not an artist, use stencils—stencilsearch.com). Your home or your loved one is sure to adore the Easter flower bouquet you have personally, and creatively, arranged.

Have fun with your Easter flowers and Happy Easter!

As soon as you visit this site, you will be absolutely in love with their magnificent Easter flower arrangements. This site offers floral tips and info that include: flower meanings, how to dry flowers, and rose colors and meanings. Proflowers also sells baskets, organic fruit, plants, and gourmet gifts. Be sure to check out their specials. And you will love their freshness guarantee!

2. 1800flowers.com

Shop this online store by occasion, flower and plant. Check out their sales, same-day delivery, gift baskets, food, and Martha Stewart section. They also offer balloons to go along with your beautiful Easter flower bouquet. 1800Flowers also has giveaways that are a must to enter—depending on the season, you could even win a vacation. The site also features music, special bouquet’s, and bestsellers. If you need help to find a gift fast, all you have to do is answer 3 simple questions and 1800flowers will give you the perfect idea.

3. Teleflora.com

Fresh flowers hand delivered daily. Shop by occasion, collection, color, price, or flower guide (if you need helpful ideas). When you purchase flowers from Teleflora, you will receive a full description of what you have bought as well as the option to add balloons or even chocolates to your purchase. Be sure to check out their Flower Blog and “Can’t Decide?” section which gives you the option to let an expert choose your gift. At Teleflora you will find beautiful Easter flower arrangements from a Victorian garden basket to lily topiary.

4. Organicbouquet.com

Offering Eco-elegant flowers, you can’t go wrong with this online store as it sells both beautiful and environmentally sound products. They are a carbon free partner, meaning that for every flower they deliver, Organic Bouquet donates funds into a reforestation project. Look for their specials and promotions as you peruse the absolutely astounding selection of flowers they offer. This wonderful site also presents tasty gourmet gifts as well as decorative wreaths. Be sure to join their gift club and check out the Meet the Farm page.

5. Buyflowersonline.com

The freshest flowers for all occasions. Visit this site for all your floral needs as they donate a portion of proceeds to the American Cancer Society. Here, gift baskets start at $19.99, same day delivery is a must, and freshness is guaranteed. Buy Flowers Online has an astounding Easter flower collection from exotics to rose chic. You will love their elegant vases as well.

This should get you started on buying your Easter flower gifts. And whether Eco-elegant flowers, donating to a worthy cause, or finding the most magnificent floral display available is important to you, you will find that and more on these sites.

Have fun smelling the flowers and Happy Easter!

What to use as paint:

• Food coloring (combine food dye, vinegar and water)
• Acrylic paint
• Watercolor paint
• Soak boiled egg in cranberry juice for pink
• Soak boiled egg in grape juice for blue
• Boil egg with spinach to get green or red onion skin to get red
• Boil egg with ground cumin to get yellow or black walnut shells to get brown

How to decorate:

Color eggs with crayons before you dye them. The wax from the crayon will not soak up the dye leaving an artistic look and texture.

Use a sponge dipped in paint to decorate the egg. You can also add many different colored layers with this method. Just make sure that each layer is dry before you sponge on the next color.

Wrap rubber bands around the egg before you dye it. Once the egg is dry, remove the rubber bands and you will have a cool design where the dye could not reach under the rubber bands. Once the egg is completely dry and the rubber bands have been removed, you can then dip the egg in a different dye if you wish to have more color.

Wrinkle up a piece of aluminum foil and then paint one side of it with acrylic paint. Place a boiled egg in the center of the painted side of the aluminum foil. Roll the egg around inside of the foil. Remove the egg and allow to dry. Do with more colors if you wish to create a more layered and textured look.

Flatten out a cardboard light sleeve. Paint the textured side with acrylic paint and roll a boiled egg on it. This creates a beautiful pattern. Repeat with different colors if desired.

Now you are ready for a fabulous Easter egg hunt. Be sure to check out some true art at the International Egg Art Guild (eggartguild.org). You will be astounded by this artistry and perhaps even inspired.

Please share with us your egg decorating techniques~

Have fun decorating those eggs and Happy Easter!

Hair Accessories:

As we all know, hair is an important part of every outfit. Little girls absolutely love to adorn their hair with all kinds of fun pieces.

Consider the following hair accessories to complement her Easter dress:

• Hair bows
• Headbands
• Hair clips
• Barrettes
• Ponytail holders

There is so much variety on the market today. You and your little one will be thrilled with all your options from color to texture to style.

Socks:

It may sound boring, but you will be surprised to see how many different styles of socks are out there today. Just the different designs alone will give you much to consider. Socks definitely add a lot of character and fun to any Easter dress, and the little girl in your life will have a delight picking them out.

Consider the following styles of socks to complement her Easter dress:

• Frilly ankle socks or Ruffle socks (be sure to look out for the ones with the ribbon on the side!)
• Mary Jane socks (in the style of the classic strap shoe)
• Pixie socks (in the style of slippers)
• Butter socks (so soft and warm!)
• Knee-length socks
• Tights
• Leggings
• Leg Warmers (these are back in style and some are made specifically to be worn in the warmer seasons)

Hats:

Though hats aren’t typically worn as much today, they are still around and look fabulous. And we all know that hats are a fun tradition for girls when it comes to the Easter holiday. You can find plenty of adorable hats online and even learn how to make one yourself.

Consider the following styles of hats to complement her Easter dress:

• Easter bonnet
• Knitted hats (you’ll love those adorned with flowers or butterflies)
• Crocheted hats
• Floppy sun hats
• Felt hats with ribbon
• Cloche hats (bell-shaped hat)

Shoes:

Footwear is important to ladies, even the little ladies. Shoes are fun and stylish and make the outfit. You don’t need to be reminded about how many different styles of shoes there are out there, but you will have tons of fun shopping for them.

Consider the following styles of shoes to complement her Easter dress:

• Sandals
• Jeweled flip-flops
• Dress slippers
• Patent leather dress shoes
• Mary Jane Shoes (strap shoe)
• Boots

This certainly gives you much to think over when putting together the Easter outfit. The great thing about accessories is that your little one can wear them time and time again—and she will have a delight doing so. And if she loves to get fancy, be sure to look into satin gloves and even jewelry.

Have fun and happy Easter!

Ukrainian Easter eggs are a true art form and the symbolic designs created are vibrant, brilliant and mesmerizing. The earliest known civilizations practiced pysanky (plural) and it has stood the test of time. If you are interested in learning more about this folk art, would like to learn the art of pysanky yourself, or want to buy Ukrainian Easter eggs, please check out the following fabulous websites:

Learning About Pysanky:

1. The Pysanky Page

This simple page gives you a description of the tools used in this folk art as well as the meanings to symbolic pysanky designs. It also offers a short tutorial on how to make a Ukrainian Easter egg.

2. Pysanka Home

This in-depth website is chock- full of great pysanky information. This wonderful site offers such sections as: symbolism, history and legends, and traditions. You are sure to get all the pysanky information you can handle here.

3. Wikipedia

As always, Wikipedia is a great source for information. Here you can find out everything from folklore to types of decorated eggs to making pysanky.

Learning the Art of Pysanky:

Learn Pysanky

This site teaches you step by step how to make pysanky at home. It offers basic steps, coloring pages, symbol and color meanings, where to buy supplies and more.

Where to Buy Ukrainian Easter Eggs

1. Vyshyvanka Ukrainian Gifts

This website is dedicated to all different types of Ukrainian gifts, but they certainly have their share of pysanky. From wooden to real Ukrainian Easter eggs, you will be delighted with the hand crafted quality to these art pieces. With fast shipping directly from the Ukraine, 100% satisfaction and safe shopping, you will feel good about your purchase here.

2. Best Pysanky

This online store offers every kind of decorated egg you can imagine. From goose size Easter eggs to beaded pysanky, you are bound to find all that you desire. Equipped with PayPal, free shipping, live support, and no sales tax; your buying experience is sure to be an easy one.

Now that you know about the art of Pysanky, make your Easter a unique one by creating or purchasing your own Ukrainian Easter egg. It will be a true piece of folk art you, and your loved ones, will admire for years to come.

Have fun learning Pysanky and Happy Easter!

When purchasing Easter dresses for little girls, you not only have to consider the occasion, you also must consider the girl. When picking out Easter clothing keep the event in mind. Will your little one be outside searching for eggs and playing with other children? Will it be a casual affair with lots of candy and food? Or will the event be sophisticated? Perhaps you will be celebrating Easter at church. No matter the type of occasion, do yourself a favor and buy a simple and inexpensive dress for the casual affair and save the frilly dress for the fancier or more reserved event.

Once you have established where you will be spending Easter day, reflect on the little girl you will be buying the Easter dress for. If she is a tom-boy, save the bows and bells for someone else—you are wasting your time and the dress will end up ruined by the end of the day anyway. There are plenty of beautiful Easter dresses out there today perfect for a rambunctious kid. If she is a girly girl… let loose and have a great time attaching as many frills as possible—you will both get a kick out of it.

If the affair is casual or the little girl is rather playful (or both) consider a smock, jumper dress, sundress, or tent dress. All these gowns are very free-flowing and allow the child enough room to move about comfortably. Also, they are relatively inexpensive and come in a wide variety of beautiful prints and patterns—making them perfect Easter dresses for little girls. So, there is no need to let go of the idea of fashion all together, you will easily find a casual Easter dress that looks magnificent. And remember that accessories are the perfect way to make any dress fancier without having to buy an expensive frock and worry about the outfit being torn or stained during the Easter holiday celebration.

If you have on your hands a true princess, you are going to have a blast picking out Easter dresses. Consider such brands as Martha Miniatures or Dolls and Darling. These dresses are so full of frills, ruffles, bows, and bells that you won’t know what to do with yourself. They are absolutely cute as can be and you will love taking portraits of your little girl in her beautiful Easter clothing. However, if your little girly girl is going to spend Easter outdoors playing with other children, there are plenty of ways to still make her look gorgeous. A jumper dress is great for playing and if you add an elegant blouse underneath, your little girl will still feel like a princess. And remember, the best way to have her looking like she is ready for a pageant is to frill up the accessories!

Have fun shopping and Happy Easter!

Easter Chocolate Bunny

When it comes to Easter, who can forget about the Easter bunny. And when it comes to candy, who can forget about the Easter chocolate bunny. There are all kinds of sizes and types of chocolate Easter bunnies on the marker today. Consider the following types of edible Easter bunnies (and remember that you can get Easter bunnies in mini, small, medium, large and even giant sizes!)

• Milk chocolate
• White chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Belgian chocolate
• Very dark chocolate (vegan) (hippyshopper.com)
• Organic chocolate (hippyshopper.com)
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Reester Bunnies
• Exotic flavored chocolate bunnies (vosgeschocolate.com)
• Assorted nut-filled Easter bunny (harborsweets.com)
• Solid or hollow
• and though they’re not chocolate, no Easter is complete without marshmallow Peeps Easter bunnies

And if none of these quite fit the bill for you, buy Easter molds and make an Easter bunny (or egg or duck or just anything you can think of, really) just the way you desire (sugarcraft.com).

Easter Chocolate Eggs

Now that we have covered the basics of Easter bunnies, we must move on the another Easter tradition—the Easter chocolate egg. Consider the following types of Easter chocolate eggs:

• Milk, white, dark chocolates
• Filled eggs (debrand.com)
• Chocolate malted
• Marshmallow-filled, jelly bean filled, caramel filled Easter eggs (amazon.com)
• Cadbury (Hersheys.com)
• Reese’s peanut butter eggs

Now its time to start shopping. We all know how much fun it is to buy Easter chocolate candy for the kids, but be sure to set some aside for yourself… there is still a sweet tooth inside all of us, no matter our age.

Have fun and Happy Easter!

Here is a list of some great online stores to purchase that perfect outfit for the little girl, or even boy, in your life:

1. SophiasStyle.com

This online store is a children’s clothing boutique that offers girl’s dresses, shoes and hair accessories. They have a wide variety of top-notch dresses for all occasions, not just Easter. Check out their swim-wear, sleepwear, cheerleading, and dance sections. You are bound to find something that the little one will absolutely love. The website is equipped with live-chat for all your questions and concerns, PayPal, and a handy size chart for newborn baby to plus size girls. Be sure to follow this boutique on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

2. Infashionkids.com

This designer boutique showcases everything from adorable costumes to beautiful flowered, pastel dresses. They also offer coats, boys tuxedos, toys and plush animals, gift baskets, and more. With their featured “deal of the day”, size charts, and international shipping; you are sure to find all your Easter needs with ease.

3. SoSweetBoutique.com

With a fabulous accessory section equipped with everything from gloves to petticoats, you can’t go wrong with this online store. You can search by designer, collection, or occasion. This boutique has more than just Easter dresses and you will absolutely love their Easter selection–they also offer pageant dresses, ceremony gowns, and prom dresses. Be sure to check out their adorable suits for your little guy too. So Sweet Boutique ships worldwide, has online telephone support, and extends free shipping, specials, as well as no sales tax. Enjoy looking through their beautiful online catalog and finding that perfect dress for that perfect girl.

4. BestDressedChild.com

The name says it all. Your little ones will look stunning in their Easter outfits purchased from this online store. This children’s clothing boutique showcases smocked clothing as well as accessories and baby gifts. Shop by brand, category, boys clothing size, and girls clothing size. Then sort your selection by whats new, brand or price. Be sure to join their free mailing list to stay up to date with their new offers and specials.

5. PinkPrincess.com

Every little girl wants to be a princess and her wish can come true here. And so can yours… with free shipping both ways, free returns, and a lowest price guarantee you will enjoy shopping at this online store. This boutique offers a delightful Easter selection, wedding party gifts as well as boys formal outfits. Be sure to check out the Princess Gallery which showcases pictures of their adorable customers modeling outfits. You can also read customer testimonies here. Become a fan on Facebook on even follow them Twitter.

Spring is a time to rejoice and have fun. Take some time to remember how playful it can be to dress up and feel like a princess or even a  prince! This is the perfect time to join in the fun with the little ones in your life.

Happy Easter!