And if you go chasing rabbits...

In Dubai it is pleasantly possible to purchase the exact same PAAS Easter egg coloring kits that you get in the States, albeit for 25-50 dirhams ($6.80-13.61) and they don't go on sale. In fact, you can still buy Christmas candy now, and it's not on sale either. Holiday stuff never will be anything but a luxury for which we either cough up the cash or go without. Two little kids...no going without.


The hot cross buns, however, are a steal. I shall miss the baking here when we leave...no preservatives, the breads inutterably soft and usually still warm in their bags... yum.

To celebrate the holiday you may make reservations for special Easter brunches and really, really stuff your face, and you can even go to church in this permissive country, though I'm not entirely sure when the few churches hold their Easter services, since everybody goes back to work on Sundays.

Easter Saturday service?

This year, after meeting the Easter Bunny who, she informed me, is "some grown-up dressed up in a costume," Bethy asked me if the Easter Bunny leaving chocolates and hiding colorful eggs is real or "a secret thing grown-ups do".

Uh-oh.

I asked her what she thought, and when pressed, confessed to her that the real Easter Bunny doesn't some to Dubai. It's just too far, and he's not like Santa Claus.

"Right Mom! He's not as magical as Santa! Thanks, that makes sense."

What we did do, besides our own small home celebration, was to go to Ski Dubai for the Easter Egg hunt where we met that snow bunny.

A bunny Bethy happily hugged, even though he wasn't the real one.

As the Mommy, I finally got to experience the gorgeously freezing air of Ski Dubai. Total indulgence, that frigid bite on your face. Loved it. Loved that the snow machine dumped flakes and clumps of snow that fluttered down to us and felt magical. After two hours the cold made its way to my toes, but until then...bliss.

Tourists gawking in at us from the mall on the other side of the windows, the kids danced with the bunny, and dug frantically in the snow for hidden eggs full of chocolate sweeties, slid on the slopes and of course threw snow at one another, firmly ignoring the signs telling us not to. (whatever.)


Bethy pulled Thomas:

Then Thomas pulled Bethy:

Until we were informed by security that they weren't supposed to do that either. Which made me give slanty eyes to the traditionally dressed woman who was hogging a plastic sled that was permissable to pull kids around on. She felt justified holding it for the exclusive use of her children the entire time we were there, even though those kids were nowhere in sight.

If she'd ridden it that would have been one thing, but she didn't.

And no, I did not throw a snowball at the back of her head.

We wrapped up our Easter visit with the cocoa I've heard is the best in Dubai, which we drank at a cafe with ice tables and benches, along with some especially nice salty buttery popcorn.

It is darned tootin' tasty.

Good stuff. Love that my kids had cold little red noses and got to wear their mittens.

And that's what we did for our Easter in the desert.

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{Dedicated to my Mom, who asked the question "What DO you do for Easter there?" Happy birthday, Mom!}