Springtime Trivia and Holiday Entertaining
with Michele Ammon owner of
Michele Ammon Design in NYC
www.ammondesign.net
Springtime is here! What an exciting time of year. The days are longer, the weather starts to warm up and it’s time for springtime celebrations. There are many occasions during the summer to have a party and invite friends and family over but spring can be perfect for an impromptu party or fun family celebration as well.
First up we have St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t forget to wear your green, if you don’t…you might get pinched on this day! Many don’t know that St. Patrick’s Day is the mark of a feast for Ireland’s patron saint that wasn’t even born in Ireland… He was born in Britain! What’s even more baffling is that the traditional green color associated with the holiday wasn’t the original color, blue was the rule until the holiday went worldwide, then the green color was adopted.
Easter is next, celebrating Easter annually started in Europe and was marked with traditional meals being bought to church in a basket to be blessed before eating. The blessing was thought to bring about goodness and abundance. Don’t we all need some of that? Nowadays you see that children all over go mad for Easter baskets filled with chocolate, candy, and plastic eggs filled with little treasures. You can add a little more flavor and variety this Easter by adding “the official jelly bean of Easter,” to your baskets. Life Savers is making jelly beans in bold and pastel colors that come in exciting flavors like cotton candy and pineapple! Or try Life Savers Gummie Bunnies and Eggs as a new alternative to traditional Easter candies. Another exciting activity for the family during Easter is making up your own Easter baskets. It’s a fun and rewarding way to spend some quality time together.
Easter is also a time when families have big meals in celebration. The egg is associated with Easter because of its connection with life and fertility. You can incorporate eggs into your Easter by making an egg dish. I love the new Egg Beaters with Yolk, they have just a touch of yolk and taste great without all the cholesterol, fat and calories of shell eggs. Create an omelette to order or festive egg scramble. You can even use Egg Beaters as a substitute for eggs in a recipe to create delicious cinnamon blueberry muffins for the whole family to enjoy.
Check these out:
http://www.eggbeaters.com/recipes/view.jsp?action=recipe&recipeid=3641&view=view
April Fool’s is the last of the popular spring holidays. Who hasn’t played an April Fool’s trick or had one pulled on them? This tradition was started in France when the Pope changed to the Gregorian calendar. The first day of the year had been April 1st, but then changed to January 1st. Those refusing to adapt to the new calendar were dubbed “April Fools.” The pranks started during the American Civil War when a newspaper started printing stories of pranks with the caption “April Fool’s Day” there hasn’t been a prank-free April 1st since.