It pains me to write this, but my family is all chocolated out. As usual, we’ve eaten way too much Easter chocolate and are in need of new toothbrushes and a good break from holidays that are celebrated with sweets. I’m one of those parents who lets my kids eat the contents of their Easter baskets for every meal during the whole of Easter Sunday, and then at the end of the day, when they are well and truly sick of chocolate (and they always are, even though beforehand they swear up and down that they won’t be), we get rid of what’s left. So far it’s been a winning formula.
I made a point this year to fill their Easter baskets with non-chocolate goodies like sidewalk chalks in the shape of eggs, a pencil sharpener with bunny ears, and colouring and activity books. They got one chocolate bunny each. Until the grandparents, relatives, friends, neighbours, and even the postie inundated us with Easter chocs of every size and variety. All my visions of calm, cheerful children sitting at the kitchen table doing colouring-in and crafts were instead overtaken by chocolate smears on everyone’s faces and clothing, fighting over who got the “good” mini eggs (caramel filled are clearly superior to plain chocolate), and forced naptimes after everyone crashed from their sugar highs midday.
Every year we end up with a pile of leftover chocolate and every year I try unsuccessfully to recycle it into baking, before remembering belatedly that some Easter chocs simply do not melt and, instead, turn into horrid burnt-tasting lumps in muffins or biscuits. This year was no different. There are few things more disheartening than watching one’s children pick apart their muffin to remove the chocolate instead of eating it.
But this morning I woke up with a brilliant idea. There’s a golf course nearby to the holiday house we’re staying in this week. I wonder what would happen if I sneaked out after dark and left the eggs in the holes… If I could get up the courage, that would solve my leftover Easter egg problem right quick!
