Spring is here! Here are 16 ways to celebrate this fresh new season.

1. Make chocolate pudding parfaits or fresh strawberry shortcake and top with real whipped cream.

2. Take your kids on a trip to the zoo.

3. Put your spring and summer furniture back out on your porch or deck. Indulge in a new wicker piece this season - or a new rocking chair, even a hammock or tire swing.

4. Invite the neighborhood children over to share a jumbo box of Popsicles on the front porch. Keep some sidewalk chalk handy and engage them in a game of hangman or tic-tac-toe.

5. Look in the paper or call your local chamber of commerce or historical society to see if there are any historic walking tours of your town or popular attractions. Each spring, make a goal to visit someplace new right in your own town.

6. Find a new, thick, and engrossing novel and sit outside - or in front of an open window - and read for the simple pleasure of it.

7. Just for the afternoon, open all of your windows, even if it means you need to put on a sweater. This is really nice to do during those first spring rains. The scent of rain is one of spring's richest pleasures.

8. Tune up your bike and go for a quick ride.

9. Blow bubbles.

10. Tonight, set a simple table outside and dine al fresco.

11. Treat yourself to a new pair of sunglasses.

12. Make herbal sun tea.

13. Mix up a homemade fruit smoothie for breakfast.

14. Give each of your family members a disposable camera, and take a walk through your neighborhood. Document the signs of spring and arrange the resulting photos in a spring collage for your wall or refrigerator door.

15. Brighten your home with essence of spring. Introduce some light breezy fabrics and colors. A new tablecloth or set of curtains can do wonders to bring indoors the beauty and freshness of the outside world.

16. Sit on your front porch, inhale slowly, and reflect on the beauty of the spring season.