With many Easter Holiday’s lasting a couple of weeks and the ever-present prospect of April showers, this blog is designed to be your go-to guide for simple, wing-it activities that require low or no prep. Dip in as you need it and know that you’ve got this!
So what are they, or more importantly you, in the mood for?
Assuming you have a stash of plastic eggs (or ball pit balls that could pass for eggs), raid the Tupperware cupboard and create a series of targets for them to aim for. Make them progressively harder in either size or distance and give each of them a score; 1 point = easy, 10 points = tricky.
Back with the eggs, grab two large containers or buckets, fill one with the plastic eggs, keep the other one empty and place in front of your child(ren). Pass them a plastic spoon and explain that the challenge is to move all the eggs from one container to the other using the spoon…but holding it in their mouth. This could be an activity you time with a stopwatch or pit them against their siblings as a race, but either way is very funny to watch! Also works well with jelly beans and straws for older children…though we can’t vouch for how many will make it across to the empty box!
Give the jigsaw a seasonal twist, by hiding the pieces in plastic eggs and setting them off on a hunt to find them. With each egg they find, they’ll reveal more pieces that they have to try and fit together, so works particularly well if it’s not a puzzle they’ve done before. Adjust the complexity of the jigsaw according to their age. There’s loads more ideas on how to revamp the traditional egg hunt here.
Requiring a little forethought, grab some of their favourite small plastic animals – dinosaurs, farm animals or marine life all work well – and put them inside a balloon. Fill the balloon with water just enough to be a dinosaur/ostrich egg size and freeze overnight. Then watch your kids eyes light up when you remove the balloon in the morning and they see the frozen egg, and either wait patiently for them to melt or, let’s be honest, chip away at the ice to free the hidden toy!
Pinterest has a wealth of easy, easter-themed, Lego builds that provide inspiration for eager builders. We love these Easter eggs, Easter Mosaics and cute Easter characters!
Put the odd sock pile to good use and create a cute lil’ bunny. Decorate them with pom-pom tails, pipe cleaner whiskers and googly eyes if you have them, use a sharpie for detail or leave them blank for an actually quite stylish addition to your Easter decoration. Watch this YouTube tutorial for a step-by-step.
Raid the baking drawer and stick simple bun cases to a piece of card cut to look like the shape of daffodil petals. Stick these to green-painted lolly sticks and create a little bunch to display in a vase or lay them flat and encourage your child to fill the trumpet with some of their easter eggs treats.
Such a simple shape to cut out, but once decorated with paints or felt pens, they look so effective! Make a few to line your child’s windowsill or shelf or use them as part of your Easter table decorations. Kids love it when they think they’re contributing to the party prep!
Speaking of which, another effective table decoration and equally fun easter activity…pom-poms! Teach your child how to make mini ones using a fork (tutorial here) and once they have a little pile, stick them with glue to some branches gathered from the garden or from a recent walk and place in a vase for a super effective and colourful arrangement! This can be speeded up for little fingers with ready-made poms too.
Not another nest!
We all love a good chocolate rice krispie cake, but if this is the extent of your repertoire and your kids seem unenthused, try these alternative easter bake ideas including Easter bark and lamb cupcakes.
As always, we’d love to see what your children are getting up to, so if you try any of the above ideas, please tag us in any photos @practicallyfamily. Except for the bakes…we’re happy to sample those in real life!
GAMES
Target practice
Assuming you have a stash of plastic eggs (or ball pit balls that could pass for eggs), raid the Tupperware cupboard and create a series of targets for them to aim for. Make them progressively harder in either size or distance and give each of them a score; 1 point = easy, 10 points = tricky.
Egg & spoon…with a twist
Back with the eggs, grab two large containers or buckets, fill one with the plastic eggs, keep the other one empty and place in front of your child(ren). Pass them a plastic spoon and explain that the challenge is to move all the eggs from one container to the other using the spoon…but holding it in their mouth. This could be an activity you time with a stopwatch or pit them against their siblings as a race, but either way is very funny to watch! Also works well with jelly beans and straws for older children…though we can’t vouch for how many will make it across to the empty box!
Crack the eggs
Give the jigsaw a seasonal twist, by hiding the pieces in plastic eggs and setting them off on a hunt to find them. With each egg they find, they’ll reveal more pieces that they have to try and fit together, so works particularly well if it’s not a puzzle they’ve done before. Adjust the complexity of the jigsaw according to their age. There’s loads more ideas on how to revamp the traditional egg hunt here.
ADVENTURE
Dinosaur eggs
Requiring a little forethought, grab some of their favourite small plastic animals – dinosaurs, farm animals or marine life all work well – and put them inside a balloon. Fill the balloon with water just enough to be a dinosaur/ostrich egg size and freeze overnight. Then watch your kids eyes light up when you remove the balloon in the morning and they see the frozen egg, and either wait patiently for them to melt or, let’s be honest, chip away at the ice to free the hidden toy!
Lego builds
Pinterest has a wealth of easy, easter-themed, Lego builds that provide inspiration for eager builders. We love these Easter eggs, Easter Mosaics and cute Easter characters!
CRAFT
Sock bunnies
Put the odd sock pile to good use and create a cute lil’ bunny. Decorate them with pom-pom tails, pipe cleaner whiskers and googly eyes if you have them, use a sharpie for detail or leave them blank for an actually quite stylish addition to your Easter decoration. Watch this YouTube tutorial for a step-by-step.
DIY Daffodils
Raid the baking drawer and stick simple bun cases to a piece of card cut to look like the shape of daffodil petals. Stick these to green-painted lolly sticks and create a little bunch to display in a vase or lay them flat and encourage your child to fill the trumpet with some of their easter eggs treats.
Bunny loo rolls
Such a simple shape to cut out, but once decorated with paints or felt pens, they look so effective! Make a few to line your child’s windowsill or shelf or use them as part of your Easter table decorations. Kids love it when they think they’re contributing to the party prep!
Pom-pom branches
Speaking of which, another effective table decoration and equally fun easter activity…pom-poms! Teach your child how to make mini ones using a fork (tutorial here) and once they have a little pile, stick them with glue to some branches gathered from the garden or from a recent walk and place in a vase for a super effective and colourful arrangement! This can be speeded up for little fingers with ready-made poms too.
BAKING
Not another nest!
We all love a good chocolate rice krispie cake, but if this is the extent of your repertoire and your kids seem unenthused, try these alternative easter bake ideas including Easter bark and lamb cupcakes.
As always, we’d love to see what your children are getting up to, so if you try any of the above ideas, please tag us in any photos @practicallyfamily. Except for the bakes…we’re happy to sample those in real life!
If you’d like to find out more about the practical magic we can bring to your family please get in touch.
Call 07581 156684 or email sophie@practicallyfamily.co.uk
