With Easter less than a week away, I thought I would share some fun ideas of what we are doing in our house. We usually have a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt, but this will be the second year that we will have to cancel it due to the pandemic. And while we are not having any big get togethers, sometimes it is fun to put boards and tables together to make things special.

I picked up this cute tablecloth from Target. They’re $5, and I have them for almost every holiday you can think of. They are great because they are inexpensive and they are durable. We keep them on our table for a month to do crafts on, and when they get really dirty, I don’t feel bad about just throwing them away.

The flower and gingham plates are from Target, as well as the melamine egg plate. The bunny napkin is Meri Meri – I mean, how cute are they?!

I made the Easter board on a melamine plate from Crate and Barrel and filled it with peanut M&M’s, Oreos, jelly beans in an edible nest, Ferraro Rocher eggs, chocolate bunnies from EHChocolatier, and Cubze from The Happy Chocolatier. How can you have an Easter board without Peeps? (Personally I can’t stand them, but the kids love them). Yes, those are Lady Gaga Oreos, but they were pink and green, so I threw them on the board too!

I think that it is fair to say that this year has been hard on everyone, but especially the kids. They have missed out on holidays, family get togethers, seeing their friends on play dates, birthdays…and the list goes on. So this year, we decided that even though we couldn’t have our friends over to look for eggs, we would bring the hunt to them. We are filling eggs with Cubze and surprising friends by leaving them in their lawn! Yes, we could put in the usual suspects (and don’t get me wrong, give me ALL THE REESE’S), but this time around it is quality over quantity, and we love a good local business! The truffle Cubze come in a variety of flavors (traditional milk and dark chocolate, but also flavors like dark chocolate orange, milk chocolate cappuccino, and cookie & cream to name a few) and are the perfect size for when you need a special treat. Each truffle comes with an inspirational quote about happiness – just a little pick me up to your day! When you buy Cubze you are supporting a local business and, as an added bonus, with every sale, a percentage of the profits are donated to Feeding America.

We are also leaving little treat bags of Cubze for our mailman Steve (who is just the greatest), our UPS driver Dan and our milkman. We like to surprise them every once in a while with fun things (pictures the kids draw, notes, treats etc.) because we appreciate all that they do and it’s important to acknowledge them. I tell my kids every day before they go to school to remember to be kind and to be a good friend.

When I was putting together baskets this year, I decided to really scale back. Instead of filling their baskets with lots of $1 items (although WHY is that the stuff that they love the most?!?!) and things they will look at for 5 seconds and promptly forget about, I went with practical items. I put Cubze in for the kids – yep, you read that right. It’s funny how they will eat maybe one or two good pieces of chocolate and be happy – as opposed to trying to eat 200 pieces of the “regular” candy. My little guy continues to surprise me because I just found out he actually PREFERS dark chocolate.

Why yes, those are Valentine’s Day pajamas in the Easter basket. I bought them this year and forgot to give them to the kids, so in to the basket they go. I mean, hearts don’t have to be JUST for Valentine’s Day. I picked up those cute bunny glasses from the dollar spot at Target. We use so much chalk in the summer time I feel like I should own stock…so these Crayola egg shaped chalk boxes were a good find. I always like to add a book into each basket – and we are a Duck and Goose loving family.

My kids have been asking for cameras for the longest time. I found these at Target for about $25. We will see how they hold up!

To friends, we decided to forgo the traditional baskets with candy and decided to make a baking themed basket. Cute bunny plates and carrot napkins by Meri Meri, bunny ear measuring spoons, some fun baking cup liners, Easter colored sprinkles, some spatulas and of course some Cadbury mini eggs, because you have to have SOME chocolate!

For my daughter, I picked up this cute rainbow basket for under $10 at Target, which she can use to store all her “treasures” in when Easter is over. We picked Betty Bunny as our book for the basket, written by an old friend, added Cubze for the sweetness factor and some bunny ears from Pottery Barn. To be honest, I bought these a few years ago and I put them in her basket every year, she doesn’t seem to notice and I get to reuse something – win win. Everything is rainbows and unicorns as far as my daughter is concerned, so I picked up some cute gardening gloves for about $5 each. We can never have enough art supplies and I love everything ooly makes – pictured are the ice cream erasers and the scented twist up crayons. We use so much washi tape – so I picked up this cute four pack from Michaels.

And last but not least, for the littlest bunny in the house, some cute carrot and bunny pajamas from Old Navy, pink bunny slippers from L.L.Bean, a blue goose made by Le Voyage D’Olga (that I bought from one of my favorite stores – Gus and Ruby Letterpress), sparkle bunny ears from J.Crew and the book Easter Bugs.

What are you doing to make Easter special?

Disclaimer: I was gifted samples of Cubze. All opinions are my own.

The post Random Acts of Kindness: Easter with Cubze appeared first on A Little Bit About a Lot of Things.

With the state that the world is in right now, Easter is bound to look a little different this year. For us, I usually host a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. We have about 25 littles and 50 adults come together for an afternoon of fun. This year we had to cancel, but hopefully we will get to do it later this spring.

I put together some really simple Easter baskets this year, glad to not be going overboard. I added things that I could order online easily and tried to support local/small businesses whenever I could.

This top basket has a stuffed Jellycat bunny, some vanilla caramels from McCrea’s (they’re offering free shipping), chocolate bunnies on a tractor and on a motorcycle from Laughing Moon Chocolates in Vermont and flutter nutter bunnies from EHChocolatier (they’re offering curbside pickup if you’re local).

For my daughter I picked up this cute unicorn hooded towel from Pottery Barn Kids, because we are all about the unicorns these days (and the llama-corns and kitty-corns). I added in these cute ring dings from the Ring Ding Bar (they’re offering free shipping), my favorite bunny from Harbor Sweets, some sparkle sunglasses (you can never have too many pairs), some chocolate bunny pops from EHChocolatier, and some fun stationary (with stickers) from local shop Calliope Paperie.

Here’s a better look at those ring dings starting on top left and going clockwise:

Peanut Butter and Jelly: Peanut butter cream filling and raspberry jam schmear form the nutty nucleus of this snack cake that makes for a tastier (and tinier!) alternative for your lunch box.

Pistachio Raspberry: Savory and sweet meet in this delightful marriage of fruit and nut. Nutty pistachio cream filling and tangy raspberry jam sit within a sandwich of pistachio cake and green-tinted white chocolate.

Nutella: Chocolate cake and a dark chocolate shell encase a savory-sweet center of thick Nutella cream, choc-full of classic Ferrero flavor.

Red Velvet: A red chocolate shell and red velvet cake filled with tasty vanilla cream that’s as smooth as the surface that inspired it.

Strawberry Shortcake: Vanilla cake and pink-tinted white chocolate surround strawberry jam and strawberry cream filling.

Lemon: Lemon cake and white chocolate cream fill yell-tinted chocolate shell in this tantalizingly tart addition to snack cake canon!

Check out my post from last year for more inspiration!

What is your Easter going to look like this year?

The post Easter appeared first on A Little Bit About a Lot of Things.

Easter is just over a week away and I wanted to give you some ideas for the perfect Easter baskets! You know, something a little different, not your average Reese’s and Cadbury baskets (although, Cadbury mini eggs are my weakness!). All of these items (with an exception of a few things) are from small (mostly local) businesses, which I hope that you will support.

So here we go: Are you throwing an Easter brunch? What a perfect Pinterest way to showcase your amazing Easter baskets! Our party included home made chocolate covered pretzel rods and treats made by Bisous Sweet. Karen Collins is the talented baker behind the Bisous Sweet name. I’ve loved her linzer heart cookies and rugelach for some time now, and was delighted to see that she’s adding new things to her repertoire. These iced cookies are adorable, great for individual place settings or served on a platter. They come individually wrapped, so they can also go in your Easter basket. Look at that chocolate tart – so rich, with topping light as air! It’s sure to impress all of your guests. The chocolate cupcakes were a hit with us, the dark chocolate cupcake was filled with vanilla Italian meringue buttercream and glazed with dark chocolate ganache (and topped with my favorite, a Cadbury mini egg). Her bakery is located in Shirley, MA, but we have found Bisous Sweet goodies at Brothers Market in Weston, Volante Farms in Needham and Donelan’s Market in Lincoln. Check out her website to see where you can find Bisous Sweet treats near you.

I always like to send my guests away with something sweet – something from Spindler Confections would be perfect. I love the chocolate caramel pretzels because they come covered in white, milk AND dark chocolate. The caramel is made in house and the sea salt it’s topped with is from Gloucester. You can buy these goodies online, or if you are local, check out their shop in Davis Square.

I’ve been a big fan of EHChocolatier, so I am excited to show you an ENTIRE Easter basket with their goodies in it. The company started in 2010, by Elaine Hsieh and Catharine Sweeney. Their chocolates are top notch, trust me, you’ll love them. You can order these goodies online or you can visit their shop in Somerville during the week. So let’s talk about what’s in this basket: (clockwise from top right) Hand piped marshmallow chicks (4 for $8.00); Salted caramel Easter domes made with dark chocolate and filled with their popular salted caramel (5 for $15.95); Honey Bunnies filled with honey caramel (made with local Carlisle honey) (6 for $15.95); the classic chocolate rabbit that comes in white, milk or dark chocolate is approximately 5″ tall ($9.95) and the bunny pop ($3.50) comes in caramelized white chocolate, 70% dark chocolate or 45% milk chocolate; and the marshmallow caramel bunnies (3 for $11.95) are made with homemade vanilla marshmallow with a touch of honey and a dollop of dark caramel.

Do you have a sports fanatic at home? I filled this basket with a Red Sox hat (because, hometown pride and all), a Si’p by S’well 15oz aluminum water bottle (it’s important to stay hydrated when consuming this amount of Easter candy!) which I bought at Target for $24.99 (it comes in a variety of colors), chocolate sports ball candy (basketballs, golf balls, and soccer balls) that I picked up at the Wayside Country Store in Marlborough, and some hard candy sports balls from Pure Sugar Candy. Stacey Nectow runs Pure Sugar Candy, based in Needham, and makes all kinds of custom hard candy. Basically anything you can dream of: basketballs, golf balls, tennis balls, baseballs, footballs, hockey players etc. And that is just the sports themed things, you’ll have to check out her Facebook page to see a larger sample of what she can make! (Continue reading to see some of her other goodies below) Their new spot in Holliston is almost ready, so keep an eye out for their brick and mortar shop to open!

Don’t want to go with a theme? No problem, this Easter basket will make anyone happy! I had this bunny from Jellycat that I couldn’t resist adding in, along with the Duck & Goose Here Comes the Easter Bunny book. Duck & Goose books are favorites in our house, and the board book fits perfectly in this adorable Spritz basket that I found at Target. The pink bunny pajamas are from Gap ($26.95) and come in sizes 6 months to 5 years. The Spindler Confections caramel pretzels are in here, as well as a Bisous Sweet cookie. No Easter basket would be complete without Peeps ($5.95), these ones, dipped in chocolate (white, milk or dark) are from Phillips Chocolates, Boston’s oldest chocolatier. You can order Phillips candy online, head to their corporate headquarters on Morrissey Blvd., or check out their store in the South Shore Plaza. Side note: they make the most delicious turtles, so you should pick some up for yourself while you’re shopping for others.

I thought that a farm themed basket would be cute. This basket was a Spritz basket I picked up at Target. Again, the pajamas from the basket above from the GAP. I added in a chicken stuffed animal by my favorite brand, Jellycat. I realize that lumberjacks aren’t found on a farm, but I love this guy, Duke, made by ChickPea Studios out of Waterbury, VT. I found him on Etsy, one of my favorite places to support small businesses. We love these “Bernie’s Farm Animal Cookies” by Annie’s in my house. The individual packages are perfect for snacking on the go and they come in fun shapes like a cow, a tractor, a barn and a chicken. They are made with organic wheat and are naturally colored with fruit and vegetable extracts (if that’s important to you!). Harbor Sweets makes my favorite candy, Sweet Sloops, but they make other delicious goodies as well. The peanut butter pony ($13.95) is perfect for this farm themed basket, and a lot more fun (and tasty) than those other peanut butter and chocolate treats. Farm shaped lollipops from Pure Sugar Candy are an adorable addition to this basket and they come in a variety of flavors. Those Donald and Daisy duck macarons are made by Tamy, of Maca Boston. Tamy makes some of the best macarons I’ve had outside of Paris, check out my previous post about her here.

My last basket is a nautical themed basket. The bags are bucket bags from Sea Bags, located in Portland, ME. I use these bags at Christmas as “stockings” for our family, so I was happy to find another holiday to use them for. I may have a small (ahem, large) addiction to Sea Bags, I probably have half a dozen tote bags in addition to 6 of these bucket bags. They are super functional and easy to clean, perfect for a family on the go. I filled these bags with a box of sweet sloops from Harbor Sweets (12 piece box for $13.50) and some Barque Sarah’s (my second favorite candy they make) which are whole toasted almonds in milk chocolate, chocolate mini turtles from the Wayside Country Store, sailboat lollipops and a lighthouse from Pure Sugar Candy, and a notepad and set of little notes from my new favorite company, E. Frances Paper, located in Newport, RI. How can you resist these adorable sailboats or the adorable seagull in a striped shirt (also, not to be missed are the crab and whale in the striped shirt). They’re so cute you almost don’t want to use them!

Not hosting an Easter brunch, but going to one? I always like to bring a little hostess gift. I filled a blue and white striped mixing bowl from Crate and Barrel  ($19.95) with some delicious goodies. The bowl will be used long after the treats are gone!

Here’s what’s inside:

• A large chocolate Easter egg from Pao Brasil Bakery in Framingham ($16.95)
• Custom flower cookies by A Dozen eggs. These all butter vanilla sugar cookies come individually wrapped and are just amazing. Beautifully decorated AND delicious. (Lilies are 4 for $15.95, 12 for $39.95, 24 for $78.95) (Tulips are 4 for $15.95, 12 for $34.95, 24 for $68.95). Laura started her business in Boston in 2004, and has since moved up to Mount Holly, VT.
• Fudge filled egg from Phillips Chocolate ($14.95) which you can get in milk or dark chocolate. Other filled egg flavors include: dark coconut, dark yolk, milk coconut, milk rocky road, and milk turtle. (YUM!! Turtle filled egg, sign me up!!)
• Gather Chocolates by Harbor Sweets (6 piece box for $12.50). These are the newest addition to the Harbor Sweets family, and they are raising awareness of the plight of the honeybee. Harbor Sweets will be donating 2.5% of all sales to the Pollinator Partnership to aid inn their efforts to preserve and protect the honeybees. Flavors in this box include: caramelized honey, pomegranate molasses, sour cherry, sesame crunch, coconut cluster and cashew caramel. Each chocolate is flavored with a  note of local wildflower honey.
• A Robert L. Strohecker Assorted Rabbit ($18) by Harbor Sweets that is filled with caramel and pecans, almond butter crunch toffee and whole toasted almonds. It comes in two halves, each individually wrapped in gold foil.
• Easter Marshmallows from Williams Sonoma
• Assorted chocolates from Spindler Confections
• Bottom left is a nice selection of treats from Formaggio Kitchen. You can order online or visit one of their stores in Boston, Cambridge, or New York. Greek Honey Botanic Blossoms ($14.95), P&T Sprite’s Delite tea ($23.95)  a green team with hints of strawberry and basil, Generous Stracciatella ($8.95) gluten free cookies that are made in Belgium,
  Sorelle Nurzia Classic Brittle Nougat with Almonds ($16.95), and Pietro Romanengo Fondant Candies ($32.95) that come in a variety of flavors, such as raspberry, pear, strawberry and licorice.

So now that I’ve told you all of my favorite things to add into my Easter baskets, what are your favorite things to add into your Easter baskets?

The post Easter Baskets: Something for Everyone appeared first on A Little Bit About a Lot of Things.