7 fun Easter ideas to enjoy at home with the kids

Easter holidays come around quicker than you think – aside from Valentine’s Day, there are few holidays on our calendars worth addressing once New Year rumbles past us. And despite still being in lockdown, there will be some relaxation of rules around Easter. From Monday 29th March, we will be allowed to meet outdoors in groups of six or two households. So whether you plan on meeting anyone or sticking to your own household, its a 4-day weekend and we have put together seven great ideas for you to enjoy at home as a family.

Finger puppets

All you need for this is a bunch of pipe cleaners in Easter colours – yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, red – some card, googly eyes, tiny pom-poms, glue, and child-friendly scissors. All you need to do is have your child wrap a pipe cleaner around their finger, then attach pom-poms, cardboard shapes and eyes to make the character of their choice – a bunny, a cat, a chick. Whatever takes their fancy! Build a cardboard set for a play from your kids or make a competition of it!

Easter baskets

Okay, so you may need to make some cakes here – or just buy some cheap ones from the shop! – but get some large cupcake holders (the paper kind) in different colours to hand out to the kids. Have them place the cake at the bottom and build up into the rest of the holder with an assortment of treats – miniature chocolate eggs, sprinkles, strawberry laces, whatever can be decorative! Whoever wins, you can guarantee each kid will be happy scoffing their creation at the end!

Egg decorating – go wild!

All you need is a lot of cardboard, felt tips, crayons, glue – whatever you already have in the house, really. Set the simple task: decorate your egg however you want! You could make a car, a spaceship, a rock band on stage with four eggy singers… one thing’s for certain: it could take them all day to make, and you’ve got something to put on display in the end!

A good, old-fashioned Easter egg hunt (with your own rules)

It may sound pretty boring, but Easter egg hunts are fantastic fun, especially if you make up your own rules. The standard game is best played with inexpensive plastic eggs you can pick up for next to nothing at £1 shops, but consider these spins to make it better…

• Paint one egg gold and hide it in a particularly tough spot (that the kids will be able to reach!) and make that the extra-special prize.
• If your kids have their own bedroom, hide one special egg inside for a present that’s just for them – almost like a personal Crystal Maze!
• Don’t make it about who finds the most – aim for who can find them the fastest, find the first, or even find the last – it keeps them looking!
• Get the kids to hide eggs for you, and reward whoever finds the best hiding place.

Live stream a church service

If church has always been a part of your family’s Easter tradition but going to church isn’t a possibility due to Covid-19, you can still attend a Sunday morning service from the comfort of your home. There are quite a few services that will be live streaming through Facebook, YouTube live or their own websites. Last year we had BBC Radio 4 broadcast live a service by Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. Another great website to keep an eye on for live services is Churchservice.tv.

Whip up some Easter-themed snacks

The kitchen can be a great place to keep the kids occupied and entertained for hours with the added advantage of a snack to be enjoyed at the end. Deviled eggs, brownies, cookies, whatever they fancy, get them to help out in the kitchen. Check out some great easy-to-follow recipes at Forkly.

Watch Easter themed movies

A great way to unwind after a day of Easter activities is to relax on the couch and play a movie or two. Whether you are in the mood of a light-hearted kids movie like ‘Hop’, ‘Here comes Peter Cottontail’ or something more classical like ‘Ben Hur’ or ‘The Passion of the Christ’, an Easter screening is the perfect way to end the holiday!