Easter Memories

My little sister and I taken around 1959
@ Encanto Park in Phoenix, AZ

When I was a girl part of our Easter tradition was to get a new spring dress and dress shoes to wear to church on Easter Sunday. This wasn't a trip to the department store to pick a dress off of the rack but rather a trip to the fabric store weeks before Easter with my mother. My mom could sew anything beautifully and I loved to be sewn for. I loved picking out my own pattern and the fabric of my choice. I even liked picking out the zipper, buttons, the lace or trim if needed, and the matching thread.

Easter usually meant new lacy socks and a new slip since I had usually outgrown my slip from the previous year. For me, the new Easter shoes were always the same shoe only a size larger as I grew. My feet were and are still very hard to fit. My parents had found one specialty shoe store and one style that fit my feet. I would get two new pair of patent leather shoes each year. One in black for the fall and new white ones at Easter time. I will keep my casual (same as always) shoe selection story for another time.

My Easter clothes and our Easter dinner was always handmade by my mother as were our hand filled Easter baskets. We always colored eggs and we always had a great Easter egg hunt in our big rural yard. The Easter Bunny was always very generous to fill our Easter baskets with all of our favorite store bought goodies. Mmmmm. I still remember eating candy for Easter breakfast! Aren't
Easter Gift Baskets the best!

Once I married and had my own family it was still a tradition to get new complete spring outfits to wear to church on Easter Sunday. Only my children and I hit the department stores in search of the perfect Easter dress or suit.  Thankfully, my kids were all blessed to not get my hard to fit feet!

The generous Easter Basket tradition was also kept as a family tradition for my children. In fact, my kids got Easter Baskets until they became adults. Now, I leave the Easter Bunny job to my grand children's parents while I always try to come up with a simple yet perfect little something for my ten little pearls on Easter Day. Which reminds me, I better get hoppin' and crackin'. Easter is less that two weeks away.