Mar 24, 2024 By Katherine Mansfield 4 min read

Those of a certain age might remember the foul smell of sulfur emanating from a closet several days after Easter; there was, it seemed, always one colorful egg that got trapped in a basket during holiday cleanup.

Traditional Easter baskets, the ones passed down from generation to generation and filled by a family’s designated bunny with each child’s favorite candies, trinkets and dyed, hard-boiled eggs have, for many, been relegated to the memory files, replaced by premade baskets that line local stores’ shelves. While woven baskets brimming over in Easter grass may never completely go out of style, some area organizations and businesses offer alternatives to the annual Sunday morning basket hunt.

Organizations like the Relay for Life of Fayette County are again hosting Egg My Yard events. The Fayette team’s funds will go to the 30th annual Relay for Life event in June.

“Our crew has done this for a couple years now,” said Dillon Ardabell, national director of college and youth engagement for the American Cancer Society. “The concept behind it was … how can we incorporate something fun, fun for us, fun for the community, while also taking some work off of parents? They’ve got a lot going on.”

In the weeks leading to Easter, Fayette Countians place Egg My Yard orders through Relay for Life. Relay crews will spend this weekend stuffing eggs with candies and other goodies. On Easter Eve, small relay groups receive their egging assignments and head to those homes, to fill yards across the county with colorful eggs.

“We usually don’t even start until about 9:30, 10 p.m. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t think we got done until 5 a.m. last year,” Ardabell laughed.

Egging yards is not for the faint of heart: one year, a Relay for Life team was pulled over and, in the wee hours of the morning, had to explain the car full of eggs to a police officer. Now, Ardabell said, the organization gives authorities a heads up, and sends a reminder to those whose yards are scheduled to be egged, so folks aren’t surprised to see the Easter Bunny’s helpers hopping about their yard in the middle of the night.

Most of the time, Relay for Life teams come and go quietly and quickly, but occasionally they connect with a family.

“Last year we did have a house, I can’t remember the town; it was kind of in the middle of nowhere, up a very long driveway,” Ardabell said. “It was really exciting because when we got there, the parents were actually outside and shared with us that Easter is their kids’ all-time favorite holiday. While we were hiding eggs, they were setting up inflatables. It was really neat to get to share that story with them.”

Egg My Yard not only brings joy to kids on Easter morning – Relay for Life crews are excited when folks share photos of their kids joyfully hunting for eggs on Easter morning – but it also connects the community.

“We’ve got grandparents doing it for their grandkids, or a house doing it for another house to spread some love,” Ardabell said.

Also spreading Easter love is Cynthia Grooms, of Uniontown, who has been creating custom baskets for Easter and other holidays and events for the last 15 years.

“I enjoy making baskets,” said Grooms. “It is time consuming, but I like doing it and I want to make people happy.”

Ahead of Easter, Grooms, who often curates baskets for donation to fundraisers and raffles, talks with busy parents, who share their children’s favorite things, and then gets to work, shopping for items that fit a particular theme.

“I did the Hot Cheetos: they had the Snuggies, which was Hot Cheetos. They have makeup, they have chapstick, they have bath bombs. A lot of the kids now are into Prime; I did Prime baskets,” Grooms said. “They have Poptart bath bombs, Poptart lip gloss, they have everything.”

And while everything is, thanks to technology, easier to come by today than it was even 10 years ago, every year, more parents reach out to Grooms for an Easter basket assist.

“It seems like every year I get more and more,” Grooms said. “It’s easier for me to do and they like my work.”

Grooms is offering a limited number of last-minute Easter baskets; those interested in a Basket by Cynthia may reach out to her at 724-963-0705.

And Relay for Life is taking Egg My Yard orders through March 24. To order or to learn more about Egg My Yard, visit https://www.facebook.com/relayforlifefayette/.