Do you remember the show on the BBC The Great Egg Race? I don’t remember much about the actual series but I was fascinated by the opening. I looked it up recently to show the children and was pleased they like it to. This post is nothing to do with the TV series and everything to so with getting into the Easter mood in the space of a few hours. My own personal egg race, if you like.

You might have seen in the last 24 hours over on my instastories that I have been faffing about with flowers, bunnies, eggs and twigs, trying to bring an air of Easter festiveness to the house. I usually like to have the house Easter-y by the weekend before Good Friday but this year, time just didn’t allow. Hence my race against time yesterday and today, hanging painted eggs and fiddling with flowers.

It worked though. Easter is in the house. So much so that I almost let the children eat the chocolate bunnies that arrived into the house today with visitors. I caught myself just in time.I’m slightly old-fashioned in a lot of ways, sticking to traditions like no sweets during Lent, no meat on Good Friday and no bunnies or eggs before Easter Sunday morning. But back to the decorations. Here’s my last minute decoration list.

An Easter Tree

Indoors or outdoors, an Easter tree is an easy and pretty way to bring an Easter feeling to your home. For indoors, take some small branches or long twigs and arrange them in a large vase.  Then simply hang painted or dyed eggs onto the branches. Gnarled or twisted branches work really well for this. Pussy willow with furry catkins is another great choice. Failing that any slim branches, whether left plain or sprayed white or a metallic colour, will make a great Easter tree for your home.

To make an outdoor Easter tree, hang eggs (make sure they’ll stand up to the weather) on branches of a tree. Add as many as you like and make it as colourful as you want. We use our pear tree since it is in the centre of the garden and is usually beginning or finishing blossoming around Easter.

An Easter Centrepiece

As I said above, I’m old-fashioned in a lot of ways. At festive* occasions I like to have a centrepiece for the dining table, coffee table or windowsill. Something with candles and flowers. Something seasonal and pretty. Stuck for inspiration, as well as time, this year I browsed Pinterest a bit and then hit the DIY shop on Thursday once I was out of work. Four pots of mini narcissus, which I got for 99c each, became the focal point of my centrepeice. Along with my Easter grass, a potted thyme plant I had in the kitchen and a pair of candles from the candle basket,  I set to work. For an hour’s work, including lots of photos and filming, the result isn’t too shabby, is it?

*I’m not too happy about Christmas having taken over the word festive

Hanging Eggs

Last year I made a garland of eggs for the stairs. This year I went with an idea I have seen in several home here in Germany at Easter – painted or dyed eggs hung above the dining table. Our new light fitting in the kitchen being glass and very simple in style works really well for this kind of idea.

What I did to be able to hang the eggs was wind gnarled and twisted branches from our kiwi tree around the top of the light fitting. The branches I used are so curly-wurly that I didn’t need twine or wire to hold them in place. Once the branches were securely in place, I hung painted eggs from them. If you are using straighter branches, you could use fine copper wire or gardening wire to hold them in place inconspicuously. Colourful ribbon is another idea for securing the branches. Tied in with the colour scheme of the eggs you are using, that would give a great result.

So, that’s me adn mine sorted for Easter. All we have to do now is sit back and wait for the Easter Bunny to make his appearance. That and sit out the last Saturday evening of Lent without a G&T.