12 smart ways parents can prepare for the Easter school holidays
Parenting experts share their tips for planning the break in advance. By Lisa Salmon.
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Your support makes all the difference.Easter might be full of chocolate, eggs and bunnies, but it’s also bursting with excited kids who need entertaining while they’re off school or nursery.
And like most things in life, a little preparation can go a long way to helping parents feel much less frazzled over the Easter break.
“Once the children break up for the holidays, it can be challenging to keep them entertained, particularly during the Easter break when the weather is so unpredictable,” says parenting influencer, YouTuber and mum-of-three, Emily Norris, author of the new book, Things I Wish I’d Known (Vermilion, £16.99).
“But a little bit of planning before the holidays can really make life easier for parents,” she promises.
And Lucy Shrimpton, parenting expert at The Baby Show and founder of The Sleep Nanny, stresses: “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make lifelong memories. Nothing beats a cuddle on the sofa and a Disney film on a rainy day.”
Here are Norris and Shrimpton’s planning tips to help make Easter with the kids eggcellent.
1. Buy Easter eggs now
Buy the kids’ Easter goodies now – before the shops run out of the best eggs – and store them away, advises Norris. “Before the children break up for Easter, I like to ensure all Easter eggs and gifts are bought and stored away because it’s much harder to do once the kids are around – not to mention all the good chocolate eggs get snapped up!”
2. Book the kids in holiday camps
Have a look on the internet or in the local media to see what’s going on locally that the kids will enjoy, suggests Norris. “Are there any fun camps the children would be interested in – football camps are always a winner for my boys. I like to get them booked up in advance – this way they get to spend time with their friends doing something they enjoy, and it also gets them off screens and us parents know when we have days free to catch up on work.”
3. Plan a daily walk
Getting outside with the kids will allow them to burn off some energy, and everyone will benefit from being out in nature – rain or shine. Shrimpton advises: “Get out every day, whatever the weather, for a quick walk, even if it’s only 10 minutes.”
4. Book some time off work
If possible, take at least a few days off work to spend some quality time with the kids. “Again, this takes preparation,” says Norris. “I always look for any local fun Easter activities, but it doesn’t have to be days out, which can end up costing a fortune – I like to find inexpensive things to do with them.”
5. Make meals in advance
You’re not going to feel like cooking after long days out with the kids, so be sure to batch cook some healthy meals the kids enjoy and shove them in the freezer. “Prep some meals beforehand so any long or tiring days you have something you can defrost,” suggests Shrimpton.
6. Don’t rule out screen-based activities
You’ll need to plan ahead to make sure you have the ingredients for baking Easter-themed biscuits and cakes, but as well as the traditional domestic activities kids might enjoy, don’t be frightened to turn to screen-based activities, too.
Norris says: “My kids absolutely love a drawing tutorial, so sometimes I like to leave it to YouTube to parent for a while – some Easter-themed drawing tutorials can keep them busy for ages, or you can find free Easter-themed printables to print out for colouring in. These are always a big hit in our house.”
She says taping the sides of the paper to the table so they don’t slip around is a particularly good tip for young children.
7. Arrange play dates
Young children love play dates, so arrange a few at your house, and a few at their friends’ houses, advises Shrimpton.
8. Plan an obstacle course Easter egg hunt
If the weather on Easter Sunday isn’t too great and you need to get the Easter Bunny to hide those eggs indoors, then a great way to up your game is to use painter’s tape, says Norris. “I like to make obstacle courses by sticking the tape at various angles from left to right across the hallway to create an elaborate web for the kids to climb through, and because it’s painter’s tape, it doesn’t damage the walls. It just adds another dimension to the fun of the egg hunt!”
9. Buy seeds
Get some seeds from a garden centre and get the kids to plant them in the garden or in window boxes. “Plant seeds for seasonal flowers and also some cress for quick results for younger children or those with a shorter attention span,” says Shrimpton.
10. Try egg dyeing
If getting messy doesn’t bother you, then egg dyeing is an excellent activity that children love, says Norris. Firstly hard-boil some eggs, then fill a muffin tin with shaving foam, using a couple of drops of different coloured food colouring in each of the holes and then popping the eggs in them, making sure they’re fully covered. “Leave them for around 10 minutes and then wipe the foam off, and there you have it – dyed eggs,” she says. “The shaving foam gives them a mottled effect, which looks great.”
11. Get grandparents’ help
You may need a spot of respite from the children, particularly if they’re very young, so ask grandparents to lend a hand. Shrimpton says: “Ask grandparents to help out however you see fit – taking the kids for a couple of hours or even coming to help with housework.”
12. Prepare for the return to school
Begin getting the kids back into the school ‘rhythm’ by creating a routine chart. Norris says: “Our school routine chart simply lays out the tasks they need to get done in the morning before school, as well as the tasks they must do when they get back home. If you leave this out a few days before the children return, they’re well-prepared for what’s expected once life returns to normal.”