Fun Easter Activities for the Whole Family

Easter may be a little different again this year, and you may not be able to spend too much time with your loved ones as usual but that does not mean you can’t enjoy the festivities and have some fun at home (plus indulge your way through a bucket load of chocolate mini eggs).

If you are worried about the kids being bored over the break and cooped up indoors, don’t panic! There are lots of family-friendly activities you can enjoy together from making the most of the great outdoors to getting crafty and baking. Check out our ten tips to keep the whole family entertained over the Easter holidays.

Easter Egg Hunt

It simply wouldn’t be Easter without an egg hunt. Set-up the ultimate treasure hunt around the house and garden, leaving a trail of clues for the kids to find. Try adding in little edible treats along the way like mini chocolate Easter bunnies or perhaps use those plastic egg shells you can fill with clues, toys and both sweet and healthy treats like grapes or strawberries. The key is too keep it simple, asking kids to work in teams, don’t over do the number of clues or treats and opt for one large prize at the end and just a few treats along the way – to avoid a sugar meltdown!

Quiz Night

Create and set-up a kids only or family friendly quiz. Make it a Friday night social event and truly interactive using Kahoot, Zoom, WhatApp Call, HouseParty or FaceTime to name few – an easy and sure-fire way to catch-up with friends and family and have some fun. Pick your own topics to allow you to cater for all ages such as school topics, family TV shows and celebrity trivia.

Baking

Satisfy your sweet tooth and rustle up something moreish for Easter. Super fun to make and something the whole family can do together.

Mini Egg Brownies

These brownies will have you wishing mini eggs were available all year round. Ideal to make with the kids.

Ingredients

• 130g butter
• 85g milk chocolate, chopped
• 65g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 160g granulated sugar
• 32g whole milk Greek yogurt
• 65g all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 190g chopped milk chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs

Method

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch square baking tin with baking paper, extending it up two sides. Spray the paper with a non-stick cooking spray (just a little).

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the milk chocolate and butter together. Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, stir until smooth. Set aside and let cool slightly.  

3. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Next add the vanilla and salt. Add the chocolate/butter mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the in flour.  Next, fold in Greek yogurt and a quarter of the mini eggs. Pour the batter into the baking tin and spread until even. Sprinkle remaining mini eggs on the top of the brownie batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool before cutting into squares.

Recipe adapted from Bakeaholic Mama

Apple Crumble Custard Tart

All the taste of an apple crumble with a custard filling too! This recipe will become your best go-to dessert for any occasion.

Ingredients

For the Pasty...

• 140g butter, chilled
• 200g plain flour
• 50g rolled oats
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g demerara sugar
• 1 egg, beaten

For the Filling...

• 250ml milk
• 250ml double cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 100g caster sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• 3 pink apples

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Rub the butter and the flour together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the oats, sugars and egg and bring together to form a dough. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry and line a 20cm tart tin. Prick the base and leave to chill for 30 minutes.

2. Line the case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans then bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and the paper and cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 120 degrees.

3. In a saucepan heat the milk and cream then add the vanilla. In a large bowl beat together the egg yolks and sugar until pale, then slowly add the hot milk mixture, beating continuously. Strain the mixture through a sieve and into a large measuring jug. Skim off any froth then carefully put into the pastry case (to the top). Bake for 45 minutes then remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Turn the oven back up to 180 degrees.

4. Meanwhile quarter the apples and finely slice. Drop straight into water with the juice of 1 lemon squeezed into it. When the tart has cooled slightly, dry each apple slice and arrange on top of the tart. Brush sparingly with melted butter and sprinkle over some more demerara sugar. Return to the oven for a final 10 minutes then remove and leave to cool.

Cream Egg Rocky Road

This no fail recipe for Easter is a must, super easy and no actual baking required just some assembling and you’re done. All you need is unsalted butter, chocolate, golden syrup, digestive biscuits, mini eggs, marshmallows, yellow food colouring and the star of the show, cream eggs. Get the recipe at Taming Twins. 

Salted Caramel Easter Popcorn

Salty popcorn topped with sweet M&Ms, what could be better! Swap out the M&Ms for Reece’s Pieces or Rolos, the possibilities are endless. To add a little extra magic add a splash of food colouring to the popcorn. Get the recipe at Two Peas and Their Pod.

Hot Cross Buns

Easter would not be complete without a hot cross bun or two. Sweet, sticky, toasted with butter, ummm delicious! Try the foolproof Mary Berry recipe. Get the recipe at BBC Food.

Arts & Crafts

You are never too old to be creative, and everything is better with a little glitter, right?! Collages, models, painting – the possibilities are endless. Try egg painting, making Easter cards or baskets for your loved ones or even Easter bonnet making (an oldie, but a goodie). All you need are some colouring pencils, paint, scrap card, paper and few accessories little tissue paper, cotton wool, gems and you’re all set. Think outside the box!

Home Disco

Turn up the music and put on your dancing shoes! Create a family playlist, put up some fairy lights and get dancing around the living room with the kids. Or why not pull up YouTube on the TV, and sing-along in your home-made karaoke. Who said staying home has to be boring!

Make a Den or Go Camping

Enjoy a staycation over the Easter break and camp out in the garden. All you need is a sturdy tent and a few sleeping bags. Tell ghost stories, play board games and toast marshmallows. Add some solar lights to the garden for the perfect evening lighting.

Or if the weather doesn’t allow then create a den indoors. Grab your pillows, blankets and sheets, a string of fairy lights and voila, you have a den! Then cosy up and watch a movie and enjoy some popcorn. Kids will love it.

Gardening Projects

Gardening is a great way to get the kids outside for some fresh air and away from the television. Potting and growing sunflowers is a super simple low maintenance option. All you need are a few plant pots and some sunflower seeds:

1. Add some compost
2. Add a few seeds per pot
3. Cover with compost and water

Place them on a windowsill, in a greenhouse or outside and watch them grow. Remember to water them a little every day and the seedlings should appear in about a week or so.

Or to add a spot of colour to the garden, why not get the kids to upcycle your old plant pots? Let them loose with some paint and accessories like twine or old wallpaper scraps and let them get creative.

Get Active

Instead of binge-watching TV, get out and explore the local area by foot or on bike. Challenge your family to do at least 30 minutes a day and plan a different route daily. Anything goes from a simple woodland walk, a day in the park or a bike ride.

Why not stop and feed the ducks, take some seeds to feed the birds or take a picnic and stop to soak up the views and fresh air! Plus let the kids burn off some of that stored up energy – as the saying goes “tire them out!”. So, grab your walking shoes and get set to rack up some steps.

Make Some Memories - Create Funny Videos

Tik Tok is all the rage right now, so why not create some funny videos or dance routines with your family and upload or simply add to the collection on your phone. It’s not about being the best dancer or actor the world has ever seen, it’s all about making memories you can cherish and replay time and time again. A few minutes of silliness which everyone will love!

These are just some of our ideas to see you through Easter, but the possibilities are endless. Who said lockdown has to be boring!