Happy Easter everyone! Easter is one of my favourite holidays -- the idea of celebrating the beginning of spring is just so wonderful. We have been spending the days cooking, eating, and hanging out with friends and I thought it would be nice to share some of our Easter traditions with you.

A week or two before Easter, we set a few branches of curly hazel or willow in a vase and decorate them with wooden and felt Easter ornaments we have made and collected over the years. We call this our 'Easter Tree' and it immediately brings spring in the house.

Easter Day here in the Netherlands is traditionally celebrated with a brunch, and I always love making a few things that for us are so typical for the Easter holiday:

• Coloured eggs, of course! We made the beautiful Macedonian Orthodox Easter eggs a few weeks ago, and this weekend we experimented with natural egg dies (using brown onion skins, red onion skins, red cabbage, and turmeric, on white and brown eggs). We were very happy with the pretty results!

• 'Birds Nests' (hard boiled eggs, hidden inside a layer of minced meat). My great grandmother, grandmother, mother... they all made these for Easter. Easter is no Easter without them!

• A butter lamb -- again, a family tradition that I remember from when I was very little. We make a butter lamb every Easter and use cloves for eyes and buxus leaves for the ears.

Of course, after brunch the children search for the chocolate eggs that the Easter Bunny has hidden in the garden : ). (My grandfather used to make a slot in the chocolate eggs using a hot knife, and hide banknotes inside. And then he would hide them in very difficult places! I think that when the kids are a bit older, I'm going to do just the same, so fun!)

The day after Easter is another holiday for us, and we eat leftovers from Easter brunch, an take it very easy. Often, people go to the garden centre and start to prepare their gardens and balconies for spring.

So how do you celebrate Easter? Any special traditions or recipes? Please share!

xxx Esther