By 9am on Easter Sunday, the eggs are gone. You know this. You've lived it. One child has chocolate on their face, their hands, and somehow the back of their neck, and the other is already asking what's for lunch. You've got four days, no school, and a house that looks like a confectionery warehouse exploded in it.
The good news is that Easter is genuinely one of the better holidays for keeping kids busy at home, because the theme does a lot of the heavy lifting. Eggs, rabbits, chicks, colour: there's a lot to work with. The activities below don't require a special trip to the craft shop, don't need a laminator, and most of them can be done in pyjamas.
1. Dye your own Easter eggs (with things already in your kitchen)
Skip the commercial egg dye kits. Natural dyeing produces colours that are genuinely beautiful (think deep golden yellow from turmeric, dusty pink from beetroot, blue-grey from red cabbage) and the process is slow enough to keep kids occupied for a proper stretch of time.
How to do it
- Hard boil your eggs first and let them cool completely.
- Make your dyes by simmering each ingredient in water for about 20 minutes, then straining the liquid and adding a tablespoon of white vinegar.
- Lower the eggs in and leave them for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. The longer they sit, the deeper the colour.
Hot tip: Turmeric will stain everything it touches, so cover the bench and dress accordingly.
Older kids can experiment with layering colours or using rubber bands to create patterns before dyeing. Toddlers can do the dunking under supervision and feel very important about it.
2. Run an Easter hunt with clues, not just hidden eggs
A standard Easter egg hunt lasts about four minutes. A clue-based hunt, where each egg contains a handwritten riddle that leads to the next location, can last considerably longer and works particularly well for five to ten year olds who are starting to find the straight hunt a bit easy.
Write the clues the night before once the kids are in bed. Keep them simple. (for e.g. “the Easter Bunny loves a cold drink… check the fridge)” and hide ten to twelve across the house and garden. The eggs at the end of each clue don't have to be chocolate. Small toys, coins, or even IOUs for screen time work just as well and avoid the sugar situation entirely, or at least spread it out.
3. Make salt dough Easter decorations
Salt dough is one of those things that seems like a lot of effort until you realise the recipe is just one cup of flour, half a cup of salt, and half a cup of water mixed together until it forms a dough. That's it. No special equipment, no oven preheating required beyond 100 degrees for a couple of hours to dry them out.
How to do it
- Roll it out, cut egg and bunny shapes using cookie cutters or the rim of a glass.
- Poke a hole in the top with a skewer before baking.
- Leave them to dry completely.
- Once they're cool, paint them with whatever you have: watercolours, poster paints, nail polish if you're feeling adventurous.
- Thread ribbon through the hole and hang them somewhere.
These salt dough Easter decorations can last for years if they're kept dry. Note: they will not last for years if a toddler gets hold of them, but that's a separate issue.
4. Set up an Easter sensory bin for toddlers
If your child is under three, they don't need a project. They need something to dig in, pour out, and redistribute across the floor. An Easter sensory bin takes five minutes to set up and buys a genuinely disproportionate amount of time.
How to do it
- Fill a plastic storage tub or baking dish with dried rice or lentils dyed in Easter colours
- Seal them in a zip-lock bag with a few drops of food colouring and a splash of vinegar, shake, and spread on a tray to dry.
- Bury a handful of plastic Easter eggs, small toy chicks, or pom poms in the mix.
- Add a spoon and a muffin tin for sorting and you're done.
Put a sheet under it if you're doing this inside. You will still find rice in unexpected places for weeks, but it'll be worth it.
5. Make a collaborative Easter mural
This one scales well across ages and can absorb an entire afternoon if you set it up properly.
How to do it
- Tape a long sheet of butcher's paper or several pieces of A3 joined together to a low wall or the back of a door.
- Give everyone a section and a loose brief ("draw your ideal Easter, or fill the paper with every Easter thing you can think of") and leave them to it.
The collaborative element matters. Younger kids feel included without needing to match what older siblings are doing, and the finished product is something genuinely worth keeping, or at least photographing before it ends up in the bin.
6. Do a blind chocolate taste test
This one uses the chocolate you already have and turns it into an activity.
How to do it
- Unwrap several different chocolates, number small pieces on a plate, and have everyone taste and rate them without knowing which brand is which.
- Set up a simple scorecard — taste, texture, how long it lasts — and compare results at the end.
It sounds simple because it is, but children between about six and 12 take it very seriously, and it naturally slows down the rate at which chocolate is consumed, which is a genuine side benefit.
The long weekend is, well, long. But it's also one of the few times of year when slowing down, making a mess in the kitchen, and spending four hours on something that will end up in the recycling is exactly the right thing to do. Lean into it.
