Parties!... Easter Egg hunt and Brunch

I'm gonna try to be a little strategic here to throw out ideas I have for upcoming seasonal stuff in time that you could actually implement them for THIS current season.  But... I have to be completely honest and tell you that I didn't do a darn thing for St. Patricks Day save wearing green and making my children do it too.  Sorry.

I guess now would also be the time to confess to you that I don't change the wreath on my front door for each Hallmark inspired holiday, I don't do a new mantle for each of the 4 seasons, and I don't celebrate Halloween either.  So if you're disappointed and don't ever want to come back....well, that's your choice, but I do hope you'll stick around despite my choices and shortcomings.

Easter though...well that's just something worth celebrating in my book.  Christmas is my favorite, but if Jesus wasn't born first, then he couldn't have died, and then the raising from the dead wouldn't be happening either.  And well, resurrection is a big deal in my book...especially when the dying was done for me (and you.)

So celebrate Easter I will.  And it's one I like to make a big deal out of.

Three years ago we moved into our current house which is surrounded by over an acre of yard. It's really part of what we loved about this place.  House in town, pool in neighborhood, great school in walking distance, and big ol dirty yard for boys!  At the time we only had Tid Bit (Hudson was a more recent addition,) but I knew even then that a little boy needs a yard and dirt and sticks and freedom to play.

A big yard to me screams fun for parties too!  So that's just what we do around here...we have parties!

The Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch started the first Easter we were here and this year will be the third annual!  It might just be my favorite party of all.  I think this year I sent an evite to a couple hundred people....yes I did say a couple hundred.  I just love a good party with loads of people! (this stuff on the left, well that's not from my party, but I think I just might copy some of it this year. SO CUTE!)

Everyone comes at about 10am and brings a brunch item.  Yes...this party is a pot luck.  I like for pot luck to be a little more inspired though, so the requirement for this one is that it be a brunch item...think homemade cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, egg casseroles, yummy salads, muffins.  Glory glory I love breakfast foods!  So everyone brings something yummy first of all.  Also, for each child participating in the egg hunt, they must bring 12 pre-filled eggs.  My kiddo has severe peanut allergies, so I request no peanut products inside.  Hey...it's my party, I can specify if I want to!

Then usually around 11am we send all the men-folk outside to hide the eggs around our yard.  Remember Shannon from a post awhile back?  Well, she lives next door, and the past couple of years she's let the egg hunt bleed into her big old yard too!  (I'm hoping she'll let us do it again this year!)  We've learned that part of making an egg hunt successful is dividing up the kids in age groups and sectoring off the hunting areas.  It's just not fun for an 18 month old to hunt beside a 10 year-old, so we split them up.  Usually kids who are 3 and under hunt in the most obvious area close to the house, then kids 4-6 hunt in another area, and 7 and up we send over to Shannon's yard for some trickier egg placement.

Now, the inside of my house isn't big enough to hold 200 people either, and I don't really want that many people (and their kids) eating all over my house at once, so I suggest on the invite that people bring picnic blankets to spread all around.  I've also found that it can be helpful to have drink stations both inside and outside to minimize repeat traffic through the house just to get drink refills.  And if you can get your hands on some, buy giant drink dispensers.  Then you can make tons of lemonade, tea or water and not have to be refilling pitchers like a crazy person the whole time!

I set up the dining room for all of the main food, plates, cups, utensils, etc.  Oh yeah, we provide all of that stuff.  The only thing people have to bring is a dish to share and eggs to hunt.  Drinks and all the particulars, we take care of providing.

Now, I should warn you about having an Easter Egg Hunt at your house.  If you are particular about cleanliness, this may not be the party for you, as all the in and out of the house leaves some clean-up at the end.  But I'll tell you a little Secret of a Great Illusionist...before a party like this, don't you dare think about mopping your floors!  Give a swift vacuum to look tidy and save the heavy scrubbing for afterwards....because that's when you'll need it!

So friends, there's still time for you to send an evite and do one of these this year too!  Easter is April 24th, so you have plenty of time to get a party together!  And when you come up with fun ideas, let me know!  One of these days I'm gonna learn how to do a linky party...this would be the PERFECT post for that!

<----For now, look at these chocolate covered strawberries that my blogger friend Beth made....I'm SO gonna copy her and have these at our party!!!  Click HERE to learn how to copy her too!

Anyhow.  Hope I've inspired you to have a party of your own!  I'll be posting more about this as I iron out details and start working on decorations!  I even bought astroturf the other day to use as tablecloths....oh, I'm just so excited!

More to come!

Good gravy...I just learned how to do a linky party!  Thanks Beth!!