It is Easter and what greater joy could there be for Christians than to celebrate our Savior’s triumphant resurrection from the grave! My friend and neighbor, Beth Clark, shared with me some of her family’s traditions and ideas for celebrating Easter. We invite family and friends to church Easter morning and afterward to join us at our home for a luncheon and Easter egg hunt. The Clarks intentionally look for friends that don’t have family nearby and invite them to join their family Easter celebration.
Each guest brings a dozen filled plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt and a side dish for the meal. Beth fixes a traditional spiral-cut ham, ham and cheese sandwiches and a pineapple cream cheese ball (see recipes below). She likes to decorate her tables by arranging natural twigs and flowers, decorated sugar cookies on a tiered stand, and m&ms or jelly beans in apothecary jars. She graciously and spontaneously showed me how it is possible to arrange a centerpiece without purchasing anything new by using various figurines, crosses, flowers and photos to create an interesting and unique Easter centerpiece.
After lunch, the Clarks have two Easter egg hunts: one for the youngest children followed by one for the older children — a wise idea probably learned from experience! The teenagers enjoy the job of hiding the eggs.
One other tradition Beth loves is making an Easter basket for each of her two boys. She puts some candy and treats in them but she also picks out a new devotional book for her older son and a few Bible story books for the younger one to enjoy and encourage spiritual growth in the days and months to come.
Beth’s recipe’s:
(Both of these recipes are prepared ahead)
Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
2 pkgs. small dinner rolls (a dozen attached rolls per pkg.)
1 large pkg. of boiled ham or deli ham, sliced or shaved
1 pkg. sliced swiss cheese
2 tsp. minced onion flakes
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
2 T mustard, prepared (not powder)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
Mix butter, Worcestershire, onion and mustard. Cut entire sheets of rolls in half.
Layer ham and cheese over bottom half of rolls. Drizzle 1/2 butter mixture over ham and cheese.
Cover with top sheets of rolls and cut around each roll. Drizzle with rest of butter mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Bake 15 minutes at 350 F.
Pineapple Cheese Ball
2 (8 oz. pkg.) cream cheese
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/3 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 T chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
Form into a ball and chill at least 1 hour.
Roll cheese ball in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
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