We all love the Easter holidays, right?! It’s the perfect time to relax and take some downtime, maybe indulge in some chocolate (no judgement here), and spend time with the kids. However, there’s also the pressure of making sure they are entertained. If they aren’t, the Easter break could turn into complete carnage.
Don’t panic, with a bit of creativity and a fair few cups of coffee, you can turn the Easter break into something you’ll all look back on with a smile. Here are some tips on how to keep them happily busy during the dreaded Easter holiday.
Create some Easter-themed crafts
If there’s one thing that all kids love, it’s any excuse to get their hands (and everything else) messy by creating something fun. And, Easter is the perfect time to dive into a DIY project. You don’t need much to have a really fun day full of creative activities:
- An assortment of paper and cards
- Markers
- Glue
- Glitter (if you dare)
- Googly eyes
- Paint
- Crayons
- Pipe cleaners
Once you’ve kitted them out with the craft supplies, they can then go ahead and make fun things like Easter cards, bunny masks, decorate hard-boiled eggs, and even make Easter decorations to hang around the house. Aside from the fun that comes with creative play, your kids will also be working on their fine motor skills without even realizing it! Plus, you might get five minutes to sit and enjoy a hot coffee to refuel for the next activity.
Take the fun outside
Fresh air is every parents’ best friend. And, the Easter break is a perfect time to get them outside and run around. The weather is warming up, and your kids can make memories of springtime fun that will last a lifetime. Even if you don’t have a large outdoor space, you can still have plenty of fun. If you’re able to, why not set up an Easter egg hunt?
But here’s the trick – don’t just hide the eggs, make it more of an adventure! You could create a scavenger hunt for them to follow clues. Not only does it help keep their brains active, but it will make it even more satisfying when they find their eggs.
If you don’t have much or any outside space, why not take them to the local park? It’s basically a free play date that might just give you a few minutes to sit and enjoy the fresh air. You could pack some sandwiches, a frisbee or a football and let the kids run around for the afternoon. Fresh air plus energy expulsion is going to really help get them into bed for a good night of sleep.
Sneak in some learning
While the Easter holidays should absolutely be about fun, there’s nothing wrong with sneaking in a bit of learning, right?! Not only is learning always a good thing, but it will make it much easier for their brains to settle back into school once the holidays are over. The great thing is, they don’t even have to know they’re learning. You can find fun kindergarten math activities online that will make learning feel like play.
It’s literally a win-win situation for everyone. You’re happy because they’re doing something fun that benefits their learning, and they’re happy because they get to do something they’re enjoying.
You can incorporate learning into so many daily things, too. Grab some dice and some colourful buttons, and turn every day tasks into learning. For example, you could challenge your kids to count how many chocolate eggs they found during the scavenger hunt or count up how many items are on your shopping list.
Bake something delicious
Easter is always about delicious treats, so you’d be mad not to cram some baking time into the Easter holidays. Whether you choose to make bunny-shaped cookies or Mini Egg themed cupcakes, your kids will love another creative activity and getting involved in the kitchen. Let them learn how to mix the ingredients, decorate their own creations and of course, licking the spoon. The best part? Everyone will have had fun and at the end of it all, you get some delicious treats to enjoy.
Play some Easter-themed games
Your kids are going to have a lot of built up energy that needs to be put to productive use. After all, Easter is a holiday filled with lots of candy, cakes, chocolate and all things sweet. And, if you have a few kids that need to be entertained, things could go south very quickly if you’re not on top of things. Easter-themed games are the perfect way to channel that energy into something less chaotic for everyone. You could consider all kinds of games like an egg hunt, egg and spoon race, egg toss, or bunny hop sack race, along with other themed games like Easter bingo or pin the tail on the bunny.
If you want to encourage some friendly competition, why not add a prize in there for the overall winner of the games? It could be anything from not being on duty to clean up after dinner right through to being able to stay up a little later than normal. Either way, some friendly competition is always healthy.
Have a family movie night
While you’ll want to expel as much energy from your kids as possible, it’s also important to have time to wind down too. Why not make a night of it and watch movies all night? You could keep it Easter-themed with things like “Peter Rabbit”, or you could opt for other family favourites like Shrek, Finding Nemo, Toy Story and so on.
Make sure to stock up on some delicious food for your movie night too. Things like pizza slices, sandwiches, cucumber and carrot sticks, popcorn and chips are all great examples of foods you can easily throw together. And let’s not forget drinks either! Grab some sugar free cans of soda or some juice for everyone to enjoy. It’s the perfect chance to snuggle up with your family for a movie marathon – so take it!
Throw a dance party
If your kids are bouncing off the walls after all of their Easter treats, it’s definitely time to shake things up. Why not throw a dance party? You could make it really feel like a disco by shutting the curtains, grabbing some flashing LED lights and turning their favourite tunes up. You could leave them to freestyle their dances or you could even turn it into a silly dance off.
It’s a great way to burn off the sugar and have fun together as a family. Spend some time putting together a playlist of songs that everyone likes and enjoys so that you don’t have anyone feeling left out or annoyed that they don’t like the song. Why not encourage your kids to put on their favourite outfit before the dance party and serve their favourite soft drinks and (low sugar) treats to make it really feel like a disco?
Go on a picnic
Finally, if there’s one activity that’s always going to be a winner, it’s going on a family picnic. Pack up some sandwiches, snacks and all of the goodies you’ve baked and head out for the day. You don’t even have to go anywhere if you don’t want to! A picnic in the backyard is just as fun as a picnic anywhere else. However, going on a family hike with a picnic rewards sounds like a great way to round off the Easter break.