Tim Rigby, marketing director, Lee’s Marketplace
Making your Easter celebration memorable can take a lot of work. Between the different festivities, including the family meal, a lot of work can fall onto one person.
Here are a few ideas to keep the celebrations fresh, fun and simple all weekend long. Spend time enjoying each other’s company participating in family activities like:
Lawn games: Venture beyond the traditional Easter egg hunt and create a series of lawn games that your family can play together. Maybe you could have a family relay race while balancing an egg on a spoon, “hop” like a bunny in a sack race across the yard or even do a hard boiled egg toss (similar to a water balloon toss).
Family outing: Take advantage of your time together by doing something as a family. You could attend Easter service or have a picnic.
Easter egg hunt: It wouldn’t be Easter without an egg hunt. Gather the children inside for a snack while you sneak outside to hide eggs. It can be fun to put coins or homemade coupon cards (for a day off chores or an ice cream date with dad) inside of plastic eggs along with the candy. If you aren’t up for planning your own, you can attend one of the many local egg hunts including the Lee’s Marketplace “Hoppin’ Down the Bunny Trail” on Saturday, April 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Some of the best family memories are made in the kitchen preparing a holiday meal and around the dining table enjoying it, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated. Here are a few time- and money-saving tips from the local food and grocery experts at Lee’s Marketplace:
Shop the sales. Lee’s offers special Holiday Hams a couple weeks prior to Easter and between Thanksgiving and Christmas. These fancy hams are sure to make easy work of your holiday meal prep.
Plan ahead. Many people make recipes for holiday meals that they don’t prepare any other time of year. Many of these call for ingredients you may not have on hand. Check your refrigerator and pantry ahead of time to ensure you have enough butter, eggs, flour, sugar, spices and seasonings.
Special order. The bakery, deli and meat departments at Lee’s can help you prepare the perfect feast for your family. Consider minimizing your meal preparation and ordering a ready-to-serve dinner from the deli. Services like seasoning, custom cutting and slicing your meats come at no extra charge, so plan ahead and special order all or part of your meal to get just what you want. You can also special order dinner rolls, pies or other goodies from the bakery.
Give up some of the work. Pick up freshly made cheeseballs from the deli and a box of crackers for an appetizer, or keep a veggie or cheese tray on hand for children or guests to snack on until the main meal.
Avoid the crowd. Grocery shopping can be stressful in a crowded store. Try shopping in the less-busy morning hours or even have your groceries delivered right to your kitchen, using the delivery service offered by Lee’s Marketplace.
