For me, Easter feels like the start of the year, when you finally begin to come out of winter hibernation and start embracing spring. Fresh cut flowers, lambs springing through the fields and if we’re really lucky a hint of sunshine to bring all of the beautiful colours back to life.
Compared to the stresses and responsibilities of Christmas, the Easter break is much more relaxed, menus and timings are more flexible and it’s a fantastic opportunity to enjoy catching up over a lovely lazy weekend. Family is my key focus when it comes to planning for the days off, after all doesn’t chocolate tend to bring out the child in all of us?
Whether you’re hosting for a crowd, have a few friends dropping in or are just spending some very valuable time together quietly, it’s always nice to make a little extra effort to make the most of the spring time mini-break. But be playful and relaxed with it, the last thing you want to do is spend your time off fretting and creating more work for yourself.
We make such an effort to decorate our houses at Christmas and it is one of the most effective ways of making it feel as though we are celebrating something special so it’s nice to make a bit of an impact at Easter as well and is a great way to get the children involved.
Create a beautiful table centre or door wreath by reusing a Christmas base (fresh foliage, wooden twigs or something more contemporary such as feathers). Update it for Easter with some of the stronger spring flowers such as beautiful full-headed daffodils or roses in pastel shades, mini eggs secured with florists wire or delicate flowers made from strips of tissue paper. Decorated eggs (either blown, hard boiled or craft egg models) make beautiful place settings and can set the tone of your decorations from elegant pastel shades, vintage style decoupage or family fun bright patterns and designs.
A couple of well positioned jars of fresh spring flowers will immediately bring the optimism of the season into your house and can be very simple, just a couple of bunches of daffodils or a few hyacinth heads will be striking and scent your room. Minimal table settings, white linen and silver cutlery will not only show off your beautiful decorations and Easter spread but will also set the tone for a relaxed, informal occasion that is all about spending time together.
So, the food. Easy, informal, seasonal, family dining works best. A beautifully roasted leg of lamb or a whole baked fish carved at the table with a mixed selection of spring vegetables and salad. With so much chocolate throughout the day you can get away without starters, just a few savoury nibbles when guests arrive. As for dessert, it’s either an opportunity to embrace chocolate in all it’s gloriousness with an indulgent dish such as a chocolate self saucing pudding or provide something much more refreshing to counter those eggs such as a berry mousse or raspberry and almond trifle.
Katy