When on earth did Easter “trees’ become a thing? We certainly never had one when I was growing up – but then we didn’t have stockings at Christmas either. My mother was never one for making extra work for herself: four children will do that to a person. Sorry, any person except Jools Oliver obviously. I think women are divided into 2 sorts – the sort who love doing an Easter tree, and the sort who looks at you like: are you high?
It’s a big ask, merely four months after putting up and decorating a Christmas tree, to put up and decorate an Easter tree. I, of course, fucking love it and for the last 3 years have painstakingly blown and painted eggs to hang from branches of blossom stuck in a tall vase. Only because I enjoy it, you understand, I am not some crushed hausfrau – despite what my husband would dearly like to believe.
But I’m not doing that this year because every single year I’ve done the egg thing my children have been so overwhelmed with the awesome dinky-ness and pastel beauty of blown eggs painted and tied up with ribbon that they’ve demanded to play with them and I’ve allowed them to, thinking “Who am I doing this for, if not them” and they’ve ended up smashing every one to smithereens.
Easter tree egg detail 2013 – that was such a cold Spring that I could only get half-dead branches of blossom
So I’m not bothering with any hand-made element until my children are either old enough not to break them or old enough to join in and enjoy it.
Anyway if you are up for this sort of thing but don’t know where to start, you just find some big branches of blossom, or just big branches, or even sprays of catkin – most florists have blossom branches this time of year – and put them in a massive vase and hang decorations off them.
I like the Gisela Graham decorations available on Ocado, or there’s some very cute stuff available here.
We always had an Easter tree when I was little (nearly 50 now!), mum made them from forsythia branches.
I can’t see a forsythia bush now without thinking of yellow petals all over the table where we tried to hang blown eggs on to the tree!
I have never blown eggs with my kids – maybe I should do it this week before they get even more boringly teenage.
Thanks Esther for giving me even more to do 🙂
We had one growing up (with the same wooden eggs every year) and absolutely loved it but didn’t know anyone else AT ALL who had one. In our case it was other kids looking at us as if we were high – wtf is an Easter tree?!
Bought some little yellow and white polka eggs from Dille&Kamille when we lived in Brussels (I feel you would love that shop) but have no pussy willow or blossom branches to hang them from. I would resent paying for them when one used to be able to quietly cut a bit off some public tree…
Love love love your photos of your trees. (And love love love this new blog – was an avid reader of RR and have been lurking here daily!)
Thanks H, great to have you here. I do like new readers, but I treasure people who followed me here from Rifle. I must point out that the top photo in this post is NOT MY PHOTO! yeah right like I could ever style and take such a good shot. The egg detail is all my own work however. xxx
“… blown eggs painted and tied up with ribbon…” You “blew” eggs?? hehehe! Pics now!!! I love this Esther!! Really my thing! I have never ever heard of an Easter tree either, but was out taking photos of blossoms and buds yesterday, so know I have lots, and daffs.. and a rustic jug… ribbons. Eggs? I have chickles! I’m still not sure “WHY”?? But I’m now off to blow some eggs! Thank you!! x
I did this last year – I got the children to help, so we ended up foraging some pretty awful looking branches from the local woods, one might even have been classified as a log, displayed them dirtily in an old vase, the children then made some scribbles which I hung off it, and finally we stuck a load of chocolate mini eggs in the middle to look like a nest. Terrible, but not pretty enough to destroy. My husband made his “you’re a lunatic who needs a job” face when he saw it so probably giving it a miss this year.
I’ve just got back from a week in Berlin and they’re crazy for easter trees over there. All the trees have plastic eggs hanging off them. Have come home with egg dyes. I suppose it’s only a matter of time before everyone has easter trees over here too. I love it.
I love Easter trees! Its a German thing I think as my Mum always did one when we were posted in Germany as my father was in the forces there. And she makes a simnel cake which is basically christmas cake covered in a thick layer of marzipan with balls of marzipan on the top. Although I might be the only one in my family who does, as the kids are never quite as excited as I am about decorating it.
Esther you’ve unwittingly carried on with your Scandinavian obsession, this is where it’s come from! Over there they do it with catkins as you describe but also can hang a branch of corkscrew hazel from the ceiling (yes really) and hang eggs/chicks etc from it. At least then it would be safe from irreverent nippers?
Totally true! We have had these things here in Norway like forever, I am 57 and we had them in my childhood home every year. Back then, ALL eggs were proper, emptied eggs, painstakingly decorated by hand, some pretty and delicate, some more rustic, but all terribly fragile. And it is also true that some families prefer hanging branches from the ceiling rather than sticking twigs in a vase. That is what we do in my kindergarten, as well, but that is more of a permanent thing, as we hang up various seasonal stuff all throughout the year ( think paper flowers in spring, conkers/chestnuts/pine cones in the autumn, paper snowflakes and santas and whatnots in the winter…you get the idea, surely.)
I love doing an easter tree, you can make incredibly pretty eggs by tying blown eggs in bits of pattterned silk tie and boiling them – the more hideous the tie the better. Great excuse to prune husbands collection. Good “how to” here: http://mommyknows.com/silk-tie-dye-easter-eggs-tutorial/
Have just looked at this link – that’s AMAZING. Off to raid husband’s wardrobe right now while he’s still at work ………
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of an Easter tree or any variation of hanging things on a plant or decorating it this time of year, but we did used to collect some pussywillow twigs and bring them inside in a vase. So pussywillows make me think of Easter.
I wasn’t going to bother but I’ve done a late effort and finished it tonight. My eggs are very dark though – more Autumn than Spring (have put some Cadbury foil ones on too, to brighten it up).
My tip – I’ve used a hot glue gun to attach embroidery floss to the eggs instead of trying to thread it through – much quicker.