Easter's just round the corner, with all the joys of the season: birdsong, spring lambs & Mother Nature doing her wonderful re-birthing thing. But, if the weather’s doing its normal British bank holiday thing, there may be some rainy days in. And that means finding alternatives to those outdoor Easter Egg hunts and activities. But have no fear, there's a whole basket-load of ideas here:

pom pom chicks

Who can resist a pom-pom bunny or chick?

1. Make pom pom bunnies & chicks

Jump on the pom pom trend bandwagon and create Easter memories by making these cool little pom pom dudes. When they’re done, let them pretend play farms. Double duty!

2. Plant some people

So this excellent grass-head TikTok just got 3 million views! If you're feeling green fingered in a fun sort of way, introduce them to gardening by making some plant people. All you need is a pair of old tights, a little bit of soil and some grass seed. Your kid will love watching their characterful creations' grassy barnets growing a little more each day. Equally fun to do in the house or garden - just make sure you cover the table with bin bags.

3. Visit a social garden or city farm

boy looking at gineau pig being fed

Would you like to learn to build a rocket stove? Hand-feed a lamb? Eat clay-oven baked pizzas using ingredients picked nearby? Wassail round an apple orchard? Cheer on the competitors in The Goat Race? Heading down to your local social garden or city farm to get up-close-and-personal with nature makes for a wonderful (and educational) day out, and a great antidote to city life, or that feeling of having been cooped up with kids too long. They're also great for educating children about the food we enjoy and understanding how it’s produced. (Did you know, a 2017 study covered by FarmingUK revealed a third of British 4-8-year-olds don't know that dairy milk comes from cows and nearly one in five believe it comes straight from the fridge or supermarket!)

Heading down to your local social garden or city farm to get up-close-and-personal with nature makes for a wonderful (and educational) day out.

4. Make jelly bunnies

The only possible downside of Easter is that there's chocolate everywhere. So, an alternative sweet treat may just be what you need. Jelly is pretty fool-proof to make - so long as you don't over-water it! Just grab some cute cupcake moulds to make an adorable line-up of sweet seasonal treats.

5. Decorate some bakes

Easter bakes

Alternatively, bake a batch of biccies in the shape of bunnies, chicks and carrots - these would make lovely gifts for friends, family members or neighbours. Or make the most of this year’s chocolate explosion and use it up baking. Whether it’s simple Rice Krispie cakes or a full on chocolate cake, they’ll have hours of fun.

6. Have a non-chocolate egg hunt

Not into chocolate? Or looking for a way to keep them busy before the big event? Get them to write down a list of treats or rewards they’d like, for example, stay up for an extra 15 minutes, or plan a special day out with Mum or Dad. Then you can hide these around the house. The more they find, the more rewards they get.

7. Get arty

Keep them occupied and help them understand the changing of the seasons by getting them painting bright Easter pics, then pop the finished masterpieces in a frame. These Wee Gallery printables of woodland friend finger puppets and Easter egg designs are also a great for half an hour's crafty concentration.

Wee Gallery woodland friend finger puppets

We love these printable woodland friend finger puppets by Wee Gallery.

8. Dye some eggs

This is probably the most fun that you can have with an egg - well, when you’re a kid anyway. When your masterpieces gave dried, grab those sticky googly eyes, felt and pipe cleaners and make them into bunnies. Awesome.

Dyed eggs

Dyed eggs are a classic Easter craft.

9. Feed the birds (and bathe them too!)

OK, so maybe the birds could really do with a nice feast in the winter, but making fat balls to hang in the trees is a lovely thing to do any time of the year and kids just love stirring and shaping the mixture.

DIY fat balls for birds

To make your own fat balls, melt one part suet or lard in a saucepan to two parts dry ingredients (wild bird seed, currants, sultanas, oats, bread and cake crumbs, grated cheese and peanuts). Roll into balls, place on a tray in the fridge overnight, then pop in a feeder or you could, thread a piece of string through a hole in the bottom of a mini yogurt container, pack the mixture into the pots, put in the fridge overnight, then cut the container sides off to have hanging feed balls. Put out a shallow tray or bowl filled with water and they can enjoy a bath while they're at it!

10. Make an Easter Bunny Carrot Toss game:

A really fun project that could take up the whole day - first you make it and then you can stage your own Carrot Toss Olympics.

Bunny Carrot Toss

You will need a few craft supplies and then just follow the instructions here.

  • Cardboard
  • Paint & paintbrush
  • Scissors
  • Marker Pen
  • Eraser
  • Orange & green felt
  • Dried beans or lentils
  • A glue gun (cheap to buy & soooooo useful for 1001 other projects!)
  • Funnel

11. Dress Up

girl in Meri Meri bunny ears

Get into the spirit of spring with some bunny ears or flower garlands. Our dress-up selection for Easter will get worn all year round, we guarantee!

12. Strut your Easter Bonnet

A superstition dating from the Middle Ages said that wearing new clothes at Easter was lucky for the rest of the year. By the 1800s, posh New Yorkers were in the habit of promenading in their new Easter outfits and it's thought that's why we have Easter Parades: New Yorkers still have a (now much wackier) Fifth Avenue Easter Parade. Your kid's pre-school could well be having a less flash version of their own, so if you need some inspo, head over to Pinterest. But remember, you don't have to push the boat out. Just sewing some pompom chicks or paper flowers to their favourite sun hat, can give a very cute result!

An old superstition dating from the Middle Ages said that wearing new clothes at Easter was lucky...and it's thought that's why we have Easter Parades.

So there it is, Easter bunnies. And don't forget, there's lots of inspo for crafting, dress-ups and seasonal treats in our Easter Shop. Plus if you need any advice on books, dress-up, or any help at all, our Live Chat Team is always here to help, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (but not bank holidays). Just hit that purple button, bottom right.

Picture credits:
Pompom chicks: Sebastian Staines on Unsplash
Easter bakes: Jennifer Burk on Unsplash
Fat ball for birds: GardenersWorld.com
Child & guineau pig: Dawn on Unsplash
Dyed eggs: Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash