I have a friend who rather likes to throw themselves with great gusto into every holiday and festival. He loves the traditions of each occasion and takes an almost childlike joy in the details. Christmas is naturally the main event but he loves Easter too and despite my own feelings of indifference towards the festivals I have found myself being dragged into proceedings.
Establishing a Tradition
I am now firmly in the habit of buying my friend an Easter egg each year. He normally provides me with some heavy hints about which one he would like and it is rarely a cheap one! I always complain about the expense but at the end of the day I can’t help loving the reactions of the happy recipient and so my efforts have gradually become more and more grandiose. Heaven knows what I will do this year as last spring I decided to take inspiration from a Valentines’ day gesture by a fellow student years ago and to turn my friend’s room into an Easter fiesta!
Valentines’ Surprise
I still have fond memories of that Valentines’ day in my time at university. I was living in a hall of residence and had left my room for a short time to take a shower in the communal bathroom. When I returned to my room I opened the door to find it decked with flowers. There were so many that I couldn’t imagine how anyone could have got them all in there so quickly. More to the point I had no idea who had done it.
The Investigation
I launched an investigation that would have impressed Sherlock Holmes and eventually discovered who my admirer was. Sadly he wasn’t my type but I appreciated the sentiment! I never forgot that room full of flowers and so last year I did an Easter version and when my friend came to stay he opened the door of his room to discover an Aladdin’s cave of Easter treasures.
Decking the Room
I had filled the room with affordable decorations, rabbits and chicks. There were mini eggs everywhere and the piece de la resistance was a spectacular chocolate egg on the bed. It was all a bit overkill for an adult but he loved it and appeared to take particular pleasure in eating his way through all the chocolate.
A New Year
Happily decorations are reusable and so I can go town again this year with only the chocolate to finance as there was no chance that any of that would hang around. I have yet to receive the usual subtle hints about the egg but I am sure some Facebook messages with links to certain products will be arriving shortly. I am still not overly bothered about the holiday myself but the decorating is fun and my friend has started to reciprocate by buying me nice eggs too and they don’t last long either! As it turns out Easter isn’t just for children even adults can have fun and anyway who can complain at receiving chocolate? Unless they are on a diet of course!
Sally Stacey is a keen writer who is learning to get into the spirit of Easter
