My Easter decorations have been up since February (my husband hates it)

Telegraph

14-04-2025

Sunita Shroff is putting the final touches to her Easter decorations: arranging vases of roses and tulips; tweaking a branch of faux blossom; and hanging an extra pastel-coloured egg on the tree. The kitchen of her home in the Berkshire countryside is ready and waiting for an Easter lunch party, down to the bowls of chocolate eggs and the bunny-ear napkins on the table.
But, truth be told, her Easter tree has in fact been up since late February – as have the floral garland above the window, the 'happy Easter' banners, several spring wreaths and a scattering of wicker bunnies that peek winsomely from every surface.
Sunita, a television presenter and event stylist, is a huge fan of seasonal decorating, and she's not alone. While American lifestyle influencers such as Martha Stewart have been espousing seasonal decor for decades, it's a relatively new but growing trend in the UK, too: at John Lewis, searches for spring decor are up 67 per cent on this time last year, and sales of Easter tableware are up 34 per cent. Dressing your home for Easter is no longer a niche pastime, but is fast gaining traction among the middle classes.
'Easter trees are totally acceptable now,' Sunita agrees. 'Ten years ago, if I said I was going to do an Easter tree people wouldn't know what I was talking about, but now I know lots of people who have one. It's the same with spring wreaths.'
For her, it's been something of a slow burn. 'I've always loved putting up Christmas decorations,' she says, 'and the house looked so empty when I took them down. The gap between Christmases just felt too long, so I decided to start decorating at other times too. I pick up decorations throughout the year whenever I see them, so I've gathered quite a collection.'
Valentine's Day and Halloween now get a nod in her home – Chinese New Year is a recent addition to the decorative calendar – but Easter, with its celebration of springlike colour and flowers, is undoubtedly the most joyful. It starts with the tree, a five-foot-tall faux cherry blossom tree with fairy lights that she bought from Gisela Graham around 15 years ago and brings out each year to hang with eggs, birds and bunny ornaments; then come the garlands and the floral wreaths, which are hung on every door, including the garden gate.
Sunita has become such a fan of floral styling, she now hosts seasonal wreath-making events, where she demonstrates how to make a wreath using a wicker ring and cuttings from the garden, such as eucalyptus and other greenery, mixed with dried and fresh flowers. 'You've got to prune and cut things back in the garden anyway at this time of year, so why not use them?' she says. 'I use grasses, lavenders, hydrangeas – I trim the rosemary and use it for table decorations.'
The celebrations really kick off in earnest at the start of the Easter holidays and reach their peak on Easter weekend, with the pièce de résistance of an egg hunt around the garden for Sunita's daughter and her friends. 'I used to hire an entertainer who would come dressed as the Easter bunny,' she says, 'but then I just bought a bunny costume, and now when people come over for lunch, one of the adults will dress up.'
The egg hunt takes place whatever the weather – Sunita remembers a time when she was hiding eggs in the snow – although she has learnt from experience to put the chocolate eggs in individual jars to stop them from being eaten by visiting animals. A surfeit of sweets does, of course, hold certain dangers: Sunita remembers with a shudder the time Coco the sausage dog leapt on to a table when her back was turned to eat a large portion of chocolate Easter cake, and spent the rest of the morning at the vet's.
Canine dramas aside, the Easter table is the main event and the centre of the celebrations. Inside, there's a mini twiggy tabletop tree from Nkuku hung with metal eggs and wooden chicks and rabbits; bowls of lemons, limes, apples and grapes to match the green and yellow tableware; and a row of bud vases down the centre filled with spring blooms. 'Tesco roses are the best if you're buying them in,' notes Sunita. 'I'll put them on the table, and then after a few days I'll hang them upside down and dry them, so that I've always got some dried flowers at hand to use for wreaths or for decorating the table. I make up little bundles to use for place settings; they last for years.' For bigger parties, she'll dress an outside table too, with a different colour theme.
The one downside to all this seasonal abundance? 'My husband hates it,' Sunita confesses. 'He sees the table as something functional, where you put food, and despairs when there are decorations everywhere and no room for serving dishes. He can't understand why I do it; but I just love it.'
Sunita's thrifty Easter decor tips
Shop around for inexpensive tableware, and go for a springlike colour theme rather than Easter-specific pieces, so that you can use them year-round. The green and yellow tableware, glasses, candlesticks and cutlery here are from Søstrene Green and John Lewis, and Sunita also rates TK Maxx for plates and glasses.
Make a table centrepiece using pots of supermarket herbs grouped together in a low pot or dish – for her outdoor table, Sunita has used an old copper fish kettle picked up at a charity shop, filled it with pots of basil, mint and parsley, and dotted in some bunny decorations. You can use the herbs later for cooking or drinks.
Sunita buys wooden place names for her table from Personalised Store: 'I've got all my family and friends' names; they only cost 70p each and it's a nice touch that makes people feel special,' she says.
Dry out fresh flowers after a few days so that you can save them and use them for table decorations, or in vases.
Anything can work as a vessel for displaying cut flowers – Sunita has used an old chicken-shaped teapot for her outdoor table: 'The lid broke, but I didn't want to throw the rest of it away, and it works perfectly as a vase.'
Use fruit as table decor – it adds fresh, seasonal colour, and can become part of the meal.
Decorate a chair by wrapping a strip of hessian around the back and tying it in a bow; this works especially well to spruce up plain wooden garden chairs.
Once you've set the table, scatter it with foil-wrapped chocolate eggs and mini chocolate bunnies for a seasonal touch.
If you have a wood-burning stove (and it's warm enough not to use it), stuff it with cuttings from the garden – Sunita has filled hers with dried hydrangea heads which she harvested when deadheading and pruning.