Easter is just around the corner! I love this particular time of year, but not necessarily how it has become yet another occasion that parents can feel inadequate for not having the most eggs, the best celebrations, or most deluxe decorations!
The thing I love most about Easter is that it heralds the true start of spring for me, when things finally start to really brighten up, days start getting longer and there is a change in colour palette from the soft brown hues of autumn and winter to the light pinks and cheery yellows of spring.
With two young children and another on the way, a part time job, house renovation and a business to run – I am not over here about to set up elaborate egg hunts or huge feasts for everyone to enjoy – not that those things aren’t wonderful, if you can manage them, but just because time is of the essence in this household, and we are all about minimal effort for maximum gains – so I am going to share a bit of that in this blog for you.
Here's a few ideas for a fun filled Easter holiday with minimal effort that will keep little hands happy and hopefully allow for a little feet up time amongst the chaos
Since we introduced Cotton Twist to the shop last year, they have been a huge hit, with their bracelet and craft kits being particularly popular for birthday gifts and other special occasions. This Easter Garden kit gives me strong nostalgia for my childhood growing up in the 80s and early 90s, making ‘tray gardens’ for the village fete every year. It was literally my favourite thing to do, arranging the bits of gravel and soil that I had collected from the garden with flowers and decorations I had made, and then proudly displaying my efforts on the table in the village hall for the competition.
Now we have a modern version, with the added joy that children can sprinkle their own wheatgrass seeds (all provided within the tin) and watch their little garden grow over the Easter holidays. I love this little set, and I think your little ones will too. A great alternative idea for something to do that doesn’t involve chocolate.
- Easy Easter egg hunt
No, I am not talking about beautifully decorated Peter Rabbit sticks poking up out of the garden or lengthy clues and stories you’ve sat up all night making and hiding. I mean, buy a bundle of small eggs, or a multipack of chocolate bars, or hide some Grapat Nins or Coins at random around the garden – and set the children out to hunt! They do not need any more than that.
The thrill of the seeking is all they need, and the reward of the treasure is enough to make them deliriously happy for the rest of the day. I recommend using Grapat bits and bobs (or other toys you can find) with a chocolate treat at the end when they provide the goods (or one of our craft kits perhaps) if you want to avoid the sugar overload that often comes with these sorts of activities.
I think one of my most genius parenting moments was choosing a huge pub garden in the village, getting some pals out for a roast dinner, and hiding a bundle of eggs out in the garden for the children to find. Cue parents happily enjoying a drink in the sunshine whilst children giddily searched for the goods. Bring enough to keep some spare in case anyone feels hard done by at the end though! Happy memories.
Another cute craft idea from Cotton Twist with their little pom-pom chick. With a couple of watercolour pencils provided to colour in, and some wool to make a cute little fluffy pom-pom belly, this happy little dude will provide a moment of peace and quiet so you can at least spend some time gobbling easter eggs in secret behind the fridge door.
- Go lambing!
We are lucky enough to live in a rural part of Dorset, and we are able to visit some of the local farms to see lambing in process, locally we have Dewflock Farm who are hosting a lambing event allowing people young and old to spend some time in the lambing sheds and see what happens on the farm during their busiest time of year.
If you don’t have an open farm like this nearby, see if you can travel to some fields to see sheep and lambs out and about, or perhaps try one of the many fantastic city farms to get an idea of how important springtime is in the farming calendar. There is nothing much better for the soul than seeing little spring lambs bounding around the fields like little happy clouds – it is bound to get you in the spirit of things ☺️
- Make your own Easter decoration with Cotton Twist
Last one from Cotton Twist and this one is a classic. With pencils and decoration provided, and a little tin that can be used for treasures and keepsakes after, this really takes the faff out of crafting at home. If, like me, the thought of opening paint pots and leaving them to it makes you break out in a cold sweat, then this pretty much mess free and convenient activity is just the ticket. It is also the perfect little homemade Easter gift for aunties and grandparents who might like to have something made by the little cherubs!
- Make some easter crispy cakes
OK so this one is probably the most effort inducing one I have on the list but I do enjoy it, and it is about the level of bakery skills I can deal with so I have to include it. Making some simple cornflake crispy cakes can be fun and if you can get the kids to spend some time cutting out little cardboard chicks from the cereal box, to stick on the top, then wahey – you have made some nests!
Simple recipe for cornflake crispy cakes (though I am sure you could totally wing it without a recipe as long as you have some chocolate to melt and something sticky to bind them with):
- 50g butter
- 100g milk or dark chocolate
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
- 100g cornflakes
- Cupcake cases
First weigh out the ingredients and break the chocolate into chunks. Add the butter, chocolate and syrup into a pan or a microwave proof bowl. Pop the cornflakes into another bowl.
Melt the butter, chocolate and syrup in the pan or with a brief blast in the mircrowave. Once it has cooled down a bit add it to the cornflakes. Lick the spoon.
Stir it all together, maybe with a new spoon (?) and arrange into cupcake cases. Leave them in the fridge for as long as you can bear it to allow them to set.
Et Voila! You are now Mary Berry. Well done! (Recipe from bbcgoodfood.com)
You could even go super fancy and use some of our delicious chocolate from The Chocolate Society to elevate your crispy cakes to Bake Off level...
Seriously though, whatever you do this Easter holiday, whether its frolicking in the wildflower meadows or curling up indoors – I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy each other’s company – that is after all, the very best thing, about any time of year.
Happy Easter folks 🌸🐥💕
