Easter Gift Ideas

Are you hosting a holiday brunch for a large number of people? Not sure you are up for baking a large number of holiday treats and preparing the meal as well. Feeling pressed for time - where the centerpieces and other decorations are concerned?

Consider then a cookie basket as a centerpiece or in place of other decorations. These lovely cookie creations will do double duty. An Easter cookie bouquet or basket makes a wonderful and whimsical centerpiece. It will delight the eyes during the meal and once the plates are cleared away it will make wonderful and easy dessert with coffee or tea.

A basket of Easter cookies would also dress up any desert table or buffet presentation. They also make a great party favor for guests - old and young alike. A little something yummy for later - to remind your guests of the lovely meal they shared with you.

Spring is literally less than a month away. The Vernal or Spring Equinox - which is an astrological phenomena - when the sun will spend nearly the same amount of time above and below the horizon in nearly every location on earth will happen on March 20, 2008.

For centuries the Spring Equinox has been a day of celebration. Spring is the season when the earth wakes up from the long winter dormancy in colder climates and it truly is a cause for celebration. Many cultures relate this awakening with fertility and rebirth.

Easter - on the Christian calendar occurs on the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. This is why the celebration of Easter and the Vernal Equinox sometimes seem to occur at almost the same time and in other years they can be almost a month apart. The sun and the moon each play a vital role.

Many of the symbols we now associate with Easter have their roots in pagan and Christian traditions. These include Easter Eggs, rabbits, lambs, grass and flowers.

Either way Spring is certainly the time to celebrate with friends and family after a long cold winter.