All hail this year’s Easter egg hunt champion

Easter - it’s not Christmas is it?
Egg hunting is one of the best things about Easter when you're littleEgg hunting is one of the best things about Easter when you're little
Egg hunting is one of the best things about Easter when you're little

‘Well of course it’s not, you idiot, what kind of a comment is that?’ I hear you say.

No, what I mean is, as the other major Jesus-inspired (for want of probably needing to phrase that better) calendar event of the year, it doesn’t have the same hold over us all as Christmas does.

There are several possible reasons for this.

One, you know exactly where and when Christmas is each year and the so the build up can start at the same time each year (August in Tesco).

Easter, by contrast is a moveable feast, coming at the end of April this year and it’s about a month earlier next year.

As a result, it tends to sneak up upon you without you almost realising it.

Two, Christmas means Santa and he’s everywhere and on everything.

Easter means, the Easter Bunny (sometimes) and he’s neither here nor there these day.

Christmas also means things feel different, sport and TV is different, there’s lights and trees and tinsel and mince pies and more.

Easter this year saw everything carry on pretty much as normal, save for the Pope popping up on TV on Easter Sunday morning.

There’s no trees or lights or tinsel and while there are hot cross buns, they’re not mince pies now, are they?

Moreover, Christmas is all about the joy of birth and seeing out the year and welcoming the new one.

Easter is essentially about death (and then rising again).

And Christmas has presents, surely the absolute clincher in the battle for a small child’s affections?

Well no, because Easter does play one good card of course, Easter eggs.

Easter, when you’re small, is the time when you are actually allowed to guzzle chocolate and not get lectured about how it will ruin your teeth or spoil dinner.

When I was a kid, Easter was a pretty mundane event, apart from the Easter morning egg hunt around the house.

That was brilliant.

And our little one was thoroughly into the egg hunting this year too.

Because she is dairy intolerant, you would think Easter is not a great time.

But no, because supermarkets and confectioners and the rest have now realised that there’s a growing number of people who are dairy-free, gluten-free and the like and vegan is the new black, the shelves are full of niche eggs for people like little one.

As a result, instead of a couple of eggs, little one was bought six (at last count) by various aunties and friends of the family.

And that was before the Easter morning egg hunt with her cousins down in Gloucestershire.

Armed with her Easter bunny basket, little one made light work of the challenge and we headed back up to the midlands after a lovely weekend with a full basket .

Too full actually.

When we got home, we realised little one had not only got her basket but also got one of her cousin’s too.

He is almost a teenager and said he wasn’t bothered because really, he’s too cool for Easter.

For little one therefore, first proper Easter has been an unqualified success.