Happy Easter!

Tomorrow we’re having 30 people over for Easter dinner. My wife and I have spent the past couple of days grocery shopping, cleaning the house, planting flowers and generally getting ready for our Easter visitors.

My wife really gets into holidays. On top of my computer monitor sits a little white bunny. It must have already multiplied (as rabbits tend to do) because I also see three more surrounding our TV. Even the fireplace mantle is draped with rabbit garland (who knew they even made such a thing!) On the end table stands a duck carting a giant painted egg. Giant cardboard eggs are displayed on the window panes in our family room. An oversized chocolate rabbit sits atop the kitchen cabinet, making direct eye contact with “Sara,” the red goose that we bought at Home Goods yesterday.

We’ve set up three separate tables in the kitchen, dining room and living room. They are already adorned with tablecloths and cute little holiday centerpieces and candles. Yesterday, I purchased two-dozen tulips at Dahlias, a great flower stand in Grand Central. My wife tells me she’ll scatter these around the house to make it look extra festive. She even put daffodils in the bathroom!

Because we’re having such a large crowd, my wife has assigned everybody a dish to bring. She’s cooking three hams as well as cream cheese mashed potatoes. My sisters have been assigned things like; green bean casserole, baked beans and ziti. My brothers have gotten off easier; beer, wine, soda and stuffed breads from the local pizza joint.

My daughters and I just finished dying eggs,(do they ever get too old for this?) Tomorrow is also my older daughter's 14th birthday, so we'll be having chocolate raspberry buttercreme birthday cake for dessert.

With the exception of my brother Brian, who is going to his in-laws, all my siblings will be in attendance, (not an easy feat these days.) We’ll certainly miss his traditional holiday greeting:

“Happy Easter…Up your keister!”

Yeh, I know it’s sacrilegious…but it’s funny!