What I Wish I Knew Before Our Baby's First Easter

Since Greyson is only 9 months old and can't appreciate church or an Easter egg hunt, my main mission for his first Easter was to get a picture with an Easter Bunny.  I figured there'd be something in our Brooklyn neighborhood, the baby capital of New York, but there wasn't.  And when I stumbled upon this list of Easter activities around New York, it looked like Trinity Church at Wall Street was our best bet for a fun and beautiful Easter...Bunny included and free!

Here's how they described the event:


Easter Fun Fest – Financial District
Sunday, April 8 12:30-2:30pm
Trinity Wall Street, Broadway at Wall Street
FREE
Children 6 and under can hunt for candy-filled plastic eggs in the historic church's south yard while bigger kids hit the north yard for a more challenging scavenger hunt. Families can also make bonnets, pose for a pic with the Easter Bunny or groove to live music from the Bari Koral Band.

We had hoped to go to the service beforehand, but Greyson's first nap didn't line up, so we go to Trinity Church at 1:30 pm.  You could hear kids from inside the Rector Street subway station and as soon as we got out of the subway station near the church, we were faced with a huge line.  I asked a parent in line if it was for the Easter egg hunt or for pictures with the bunny and he said both.  This was an INSANE line.  It went around 3 sides of the block!  It was a perfectly sunny 65 degrees day.  Who wants to stand on line for hours on a beautiful day?

Click to find out what we decided to do and what you want to know if you go to Trinity Church next Easter!



We went to the end of the three-block line and we were like, we can't do this.  We hadn't even had lunch and it seemed like such a waste of time.  I mean, Greyson doesn't even care if we do this or not.  While we were on line, strategizing and trying to find another bunny in the city on our phones, I asked a mom ahead of me if she had been to this Easter party before and if it was worth it.  She said she had and that it wasn't as crazy last year.  She also said she was waiting on line for the egg hunt for older kids, but that there was a party on the other side of the church for younger kids and for bunny pictures.  Say what??  Rob went to scout that area out to see if that was true and if there was a line.  He went to the church gardens and found out the Easter fun was there with NO LINE!  Yay!  I was so glad that we found out about that.  Thanks, random mom on line!

We just strolled into the gates of Trinity's garden slash, um, cemetery and we were immediately transported to Easter World.  There were cherry blossoms everywhere...it was gorgeous!  Also, there was a band singing kids songs, Easter basket making, free hot dogs and coffees and bottles of water (although the hot dogs had run out by the time we got there), a scavenger hunt, and an Easter Bunny photo op!  I can't believe it was all free, too.  They even email you professional photos they take of you with the Bunny.

 

There was one line, though.  For the bunny pictures.  But, it was only about 15 minutes, so no big deal.   We got our bunny picture and everyone was happy.  Greyson was being very good in his stroller, seeming to enjoy the festivities.  What a fun afternoon! Afterwards, we went to Green Bo, a soup dumplings hole in the wall we like in Chinatown, and then we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back to Brooklyn!

If we go to Trinity Church's Easter party next year, we will:

• Go early! When we go there at 1:30, the bunny was hot in his bunny suit and the photographer wasn't as patient about getting the best shot.
• Make sure we're standing in the right line, if there is a line
• Fill out cards for a family picture and baby picture with the bunny (we did this, but some people didn't...they email you the pictures, so you have to fill out a card for each picture you want)

Happy Easter!

Dad entertaining Greyson with an Easter basket/Easter bonnet

Eggs that we dyed at home on Easter morning

Going into the city with Easter bas