Easter Bonnet Parade

E A S T E R     B O N N E T     P A R A D E

As most parents with children still at school will know this tends to be one of the busiest seasons, when it comes to fancy dress. There is book week, Purim and also Easter which has the very traditional Easter Bonnet Parade.

Traditionally the wearing of an Easter Bonnet represented the wearing of new clothes at Easter, especially during the Great Depression, as the purchase of a new or even refurbished Bonnet was classed as a great luxury.

Today the Easter bonnet is a type of hat that women and girls wear to Easter services and at Easter parades.   Modern Easter bonnets for children are usually white wide-brimmed hats with a pastel coloured satin ribbon around it and tied in a bow. It may also have flowers or other springtime motifs on top, but it is very popular in infant schools to ask a child to design and make an Easter bonnet to wear for an Easter parade.  

Here is a simple but very effective idea for an Easter Bunny Hat. Get one black felt bowler hat (or plastic), attach with pva glue or super glue (parents to help), rabbit ears on headband, place towards back of hat.  completely cover the whole of the hat with cotton wool balls, making sure headband (not ears) are covered, (these should stick with pva glue).  At the back of the hat, put a few cotton balls together to represent a rabbits tail.  At the front of the hat glue a black cat nose with whiskers and then with cardboard, design, colour and stick on the rabbits eyes and teeth. This is an simple but unusual Easter Bonnet, which children and parents will enjoy making.