Happy Easter! The following post is from my brand new Guest Poster the fabulous Paige! Please take a moment to learn a little bit about her and welcome her to our little corner of the Suburbs!
For most families, Easter is a time for family brunches, lunches, and hunts. This means a family of all different ages coming together to celebrate at the same time and it can be a struggle for Moms to find things that interest both the little kids and the older set. The only way to survive? Have a plan of attack!
In our house, our kids are 8 & 10 years old and we’re determined to hang on to the Easter Bunny magic for at least one more year. Here are a few activities that our family will be doing this Easter weekend to help hang on to that magic and to keep all the kids engaged and happy:
Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs. We made these last year and everyone loved them so much, we will be making them again. They are pickled eggs and one of the best things about them is their amazing taste. Find the “how to” here.
Egg Hunt. If you have little kids this part is easy, hide a few eggs and sit back and watch them squeal with joy as they find them. When your kids get a bit older you have to get a bit more creative. For our family, there is an egg hunt the “Easter Bunny” leaves for them as they wake up and another in the afternoon we do for the friends/cousins.
The morning hunt is driven by clues that send the kids all over the house searching. We use handwritten messages hidden inside plastic eggs. Here are some examples:
Off you go! Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! Search around the Dining Room.
Your getting closer to the Treasure for Sure! Make sure you look closely behind the bathroom door!
Be quick and on guard!
Make sure you check all the trees in the yard!
To be honest with all the sugar they will consume that day, I am leaning towards changing the morning hunt to an Exercise Egg Hunt with clues like these:
Do 10 pushups, can you do more?
Look for the next clue, on the front door.
Jump in place for a minute, then a smidge.
If you aren’t too tired, look in the fridge.
Do a little dance, you’re almost done
The kitchen table is where we have so much fun.
The afternoon will be a scavenger hunt for the entire family. Everyone will be handed a list with a certain amount of colored eggs, patterned eggs, and specific items they need to find hidden throughout the yard. If you have kids of different ages this is a great way to ensure the bigger kids don’t steal all the eggs.
Non-Candy Easter Egg Fillers. Our kids already get SOOO much candy, we try to limit what chocolates they get at Easter to those from grandparents and family. We usually try to give goldfish crackers, sugar-free gummies, change and small things that can fit within the egg. In the past, we have done it where they get certain tokens/points inside eggs and could cash them in for chocolates/candy, but that requires more work from parents.
Although it drives my husband crazy, I dig into the bottom of their drawers/bins and haul out things they have forgotten they own and put those in the eggs!
Family Games. Having cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all together is a great time to play a few fun games. We’ll spend a good part of the afternoon playing Minute-to-Win-It style games. Here are a few my kids really like.
*Blow up 3 balloons and see if you can keep them all in the air for 1 minute.
*Take the plastic egg halves from the hunt and see who can make the highest tower.
*Another plastic egg game – how many can you match in a minute?
*Grab kitchen tongs and oven mitts and see how many eggs you transfer from one basket to another in a minute. If it seems too easy try doing it blindfolded.
For the Boys. Since so much of Easter is pastel and fuzzy bunnies, and my son doesn’t really have a sweet tooth, I try to find something he will enjoy. He loves STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineer, and Math), so this year we will be having a peep house building competition.
Above all remember to enjoy the holiday and cherish your loves ones. Now tell us, how do you celebrate Easter at your house?
Paige McEachren spent over 20 years working in corporate communications for world-leading technology, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies. In 2015, she decided to leave the professional workplace to stay home and help her young kids navigate life with ADHD and dyslexia. When not taking care of her kids (3 including her husband), she loves to plan family vacations, struggles with the love of baking and wanting to be healthy, challenges herself to try new things and if lucky, finds a bit of quiet time. She shares her tales of a disordered life on her blog www.pieceofpie.ca You can also find her here on Twitter!
I think your idea of the natural dyed eggs and egg hunt is a great way to have a fun Easter
I love your ideas especially the Non-Candy Easter Egg Fillers
Non-Candy Easter Egg Fillers will be my choice next season,so much better than sugary candy
Love the non-candy Easter eggs!
These are great Easter ideas. Thanks for providing some variations on the Easter egg hunt.
We do puzzles every Easter. It’s a great way to get the kids to sit and chat!
Fun ideas! We’ll be trying that natural dye for the eggs – looks great!
We do a big family brunch. And our son loves a good scavenger hunt so we do a simple one at home first!
I like the peep house building competition, my kids would love this!
Awww welcome to your new writer. I love the family games idea. We do this too – it’s the best way to get our older kids to unplug.
Some really great ideas, love the Peep House Building contest idea!