We love Easter in Vermont; it's the first official Spring holiday and it signifies the end of a long, cold winter. Daffodils and tulips are bravely popping through the soggy ground, birds are chirping in the early morning light and despite being knee deep in mud most days, spring stoke levels are still high.
This year, we find ourselves desperate for something to look forward to. We will not be gathering our extended family for a big dinner, attending mass egg hunts or taking pictures of our screaming children with the Easter bunny, who we agree is terrifying anyways.
Easter Baskets for Adults
Quarantined or not, Easter marches on, just like spring. Sure, we'll go out of our way to make Easter festive and fun for the kids, because they are going through as much transition as we are.
This Easter Sunday, there will be chocolate eggs and jellybeans flowing like wine – maybe that’s because we just opened a fresh bottle.
This year, try to look on the bright side, maybe not hosting is okay. I mean we love our families but just once, join us as we chuck out the rules and have as much fun as is normally reserved for the kids.
Maybe it’s time to assemble an Easter basket for you, the quarantined adult that deserves all the treats. Hit up your favorite online retailers and buy yourself a treat to celebrate making it through these trying times. Host a virtual happy hour with friends you haven’t connected with in a while, share a toast to the healthcare workers and indulge in some cheese, chocolate and cheer.
Drink All the Drinks, Eat all the Bread
There is no right way to celebrate a holiday during a quarantine; the only rule is to stay at home and wash your hands. Buy yourself some fancy new antibacterial soap and wash those hands for twenty seconds while humming your favorite tune.
Buy or make a homemade face mask for those essential trips to the grocery store or pharmacy. Our friends at Hedley & Bennett are making these Wake up and Fight Masks for consumers and importantly, critical healthcare workers. If you buy one, they donate one, so everybody wins. Remember, this virus can transfer when you’re asymptomatic, so a face mask is a solid precaution. Plus, they help you to not touch your face!
It's a great time to finally figure out how to make bread. If you already know how, try something more complicated like sourdough. If you’re in possession of a sourdough starter passed down from your ancestors that arrived here on the Mayflower, you win Easter. ‘Gram that bread and pass the cultured butter.
Stay Cheesy.
Build a cheeseboard for four people – it will taste great even if it’s not pretty. Fill Easter eggs with written affirmations or dumb jokes and hide them all over your house; maybe when you find one in two weeks the message inside will make you smile.
If you’re looking to master the cheeseboard, check out our friend Tia Keenan’s book, The Art of the Cheese Plate. She’ll break it down for you, and there’s no better time to learn a fancy new skill. Remember, we WILL party in groups of five or more someday!
Above all, enjoy this time at home. When the isolation is over and the kids return to school and we’re all back at our desks, maybe we’ll miss our time together, when the world slowed down but the wheels kept turning.
We’re all in this together, even when we’re apart.
