Lisa and Donald Breton at their Vassalboro home Thursday with paper Easter eggs they’ll place in windows in an egg hunt in Vassalboro on Sunday. The couple cut the eggs from photo paper before spray painting them in their garage. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson Buy this Photo
Lisa and Donald Breton and their daughter, Jessica, want to make sure children have a fun Easter holiday, despite the coronavirus pandemic and all the restrictions that come with it.
So the Bretons, who live in North Vassalboro, have organized a virtual Easter egg hunt, complete with prizes of Easter baskets filled with sweets for those who find the most “paper eggs.”
Lisa Breton said that, in these trying times, she and her family decided to do something to help lift people’s spirits.
“Everyone’s hurting, everyone’s sad,” she said. “We need some bright light. This is something that will get families together.”
Easter egg hunt prizes shown Thursday at the home of Lisa and Donald Breton in Vassalboro. The prizes will be awarded during an egg hunt in Vassalboro on Sunday. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson Buy this Photo
Late Saturday night, the family will go around to businesses and landmarks, such as the historical society building in Vassalboro, and hang painted paper eggs in their windows. The eggs, which will be about 12-by-9-inches in size, may be found in Vassalboro proper, as well as in East Vassalboro and North Vassalboro.
Parents are asked to drive their children around Sunday to find the eggs and keep a list of the businesses or other buildings where they see them. The Bretons noted that parents may only take children within their own households, so as to abide by social distancing guidelines set by health experts.
Then, the parents are asked to email their lists of eggs and locations and their phone numbers to the Bretons at dlbreton@roadrunner.com. Entries must be received by 3 p.m. Sunday.
Those families who find and list the most number of eggs will win a basket. The Bretons will give them directions to their home, where they may pick the baskets up — keeping a safe distance, of course, from other people.
The Bretons contacted businesses such as Walmart and Walgreens to ask for donations of Easter baskets and are matching the number of baskets collected from those businesses.
If there are more winners than baskets to give away, the winners’ names will be placed in a basket and the Bretons will draw the names of the final winners.
There is an incentive for parents to participate in the paper egg hunt, other than to help spread the joy to their children: Parents’ names will be placed in a drawing as well. The winner will get a basket containing hair products, as Lisa Breton owns Studio 61, in Waterville, and paper plate products, as Donald Breton works at Huhtamaki and purchased some items for the basket.
The Bretons said anyone wanting to donate baskets for the effort should email them.
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