With the thought of better weather (fingers crossed) and lots of chocolate just around the corner, you’d think everyone would be super excited for the Easter holidays, but it can often become a hectic time for parents with lots to plan. Don’t fret though, we’re here to help with some Easter tips for parents to help the day run smoothly and keep the whole family entertained. So without further hesitation, let’s hop into our top four tips to enjoy Easter with your kids:
When chocolate is up for grabs, the big kids can trample over the younger kids before they even take two steps on their Easter egg hunt. If you’ve got a few kids, make it fair by separating them into groups, or even give the younger ones a two min head start. That way the younger kids can feel that they’ve done some hunting before the bigger kids snap everything up in record time.
If they’re quite a bit older, they may feel silly hunting after Easter eggs, so hand over some responsibility and let them help set up the Easter egg hunt. Give them a set budget and let them plan exactly how many eggs are needed for the hunt before they go shopping for items. When they’re in control of their own budget they’ll be able to build good money habits by prioritising where the money is best spent. They’ll quickly realise that spending money on all the big chocolate brands might not be the best idea, especially if there are lots of siblings to buy for. Help them out by suggesting other brand alternatives or steering them to the multipacks which usually come in a bit cheaper.
Once they’ve taken care of all the organisation, they can then sit back and watch the fun as the younger kids search for the chocolatey prizes. Hand over as much responsibility as you’re comfortable with and stick to a budget that works best for your family.
Rather than spend loads of money on lots of different chocolate Easter eggs for the hunt, you can save some money by switching in other items instead. You could turn it into a treasure hunt and hide a few different coins around the place – 10p, 20p, 50p and a £1 usually do the trick. You could even start a new Easter tradition by hiding ‘The Grand Prize’, which could be £5 hidden in a secret location to keep the hunt interesting for the older kids. Don’t feel like you need to break the bank here, just stick to an amount that works with your budget.
Another idea is hiding secret notes with some of the kids’ favourite activities written on them. These could be an afternoon making cookies with Mum, a trip to the beach with the grandparents or a kick about in their favourite park. These low cost adventures are super easy to do and will surely put a smile on your kids’ faces.
While the Easter egg hunting is the main event, it usually doesn’t take long for the kids to race around and collect them all. To keep the fun going, it helps to have a few games and activities up your sleeve. To get the whole family involved, why not try an egg toss, and egg painting competition, or some other egg-related activity? Nothing quite beats Grandpa going up against the kids in the egg and spoon race in the garden – first place takes home the biggest chocolate egg.
If you’re stuck for ideas, CBBC have pulled together a fun list of Easter related quizzes and activities to keep the whole family entertained.
Let’s be honest, no matter how much we prep for these things, there is the potential for broken eggs, the odd tantrum and a few tears when they can’t find all the eggs in the garden. Kids will be kids, so embrace the chaos and enjoy the time with your family. Things might not always go to plan, but no matter what goes wrong keep smiling and laugh it all off.
So there you have it, that wraps up our top Easter tips for parents to enjoy Easter with the kids. Enjoy the chocolate, enjoy the games, but most of all enjoy the time spent with your family over the Easter break. If you’re looking for some inspiration for Easter holiday activities with the kids, check out this handy guide for some fun-filled ideas. If the kids are looking to earn some more pocket money ahead of Easter, read our Pocket Money chores list which is packed with loads of tips to help you decide how much pocket money to give to your kids.