Groundhog Day

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I’m starting to get ready for one of my favorite holidays! Nope, not Valentine’s Day. Groundhog Day! It might sound a little strange that Groundhog Day is one of my favorite holidays but what makes holidays memorable? Traditions and spending time with family and friends, right? And on Groundhog Day, we have some pretty great traditions.

Every year we attend a Groundhog Day Parade. People wear groundhog hats and all sorts of other groundhog gear. There is hot chocolate and popcorn as everyone waits in anticipation for the parade to start. There are marching bands and fire trucks and all the regular parade participants, and then finally, the star of the day: a giant 6-foot tall paper mache groundhog named Ed.

Each year he is dressed up in different attire, spotlighting a local non-profit. After Ed passes, all the spectators join the parade, following him down the rest of the parade route while banging pots and pans.

This year there won’t be a groundhog day parade, so I’m trying to find some other ways for us to celebrate. We’ll be reading some books about groundhog day: Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons and The Night Before Groundhog Day by Natasha Wing. I also tested out some fun cupcakes to make!

I decorated cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting with candies to make little groundhog faces. The ears are Raisinets, the cheeks are junior mints, the teeth are mini marshmallows, and the eyes are m&ms (with a dab of cookie frosting).

The parade is such a fun, silly, unique tradition, and I look forward to it every year. Unfortunately, this year our Groundhog day won’t include our favorite 6-foot paper mache rodent, the enormous crowds of parade-goers decked out in their groundhog day hats, or the banging of pots and pans, but we’ll make the best of it. Who knows, maybe we’ll break out the pots and pans and hats for a march around the neighborhood. But no matter what, we’ll appreciate next year’s parade more than ever!