It’s nearly Easter and we’re very much looking forward to enjoying some guilt-free chocolate eggs. We’re also looking forward to taking part in community activities, as well as taking a more homely approach over the long weekend.
We round up several of our team’s suggestions, ranging from arts and crafts to some well-known Easter egg hunts! And please do share your own suggestions, we’d love to add more to our list.
What’s on this Easter?
Here are some of our team’s Top 10 ‘day out’ recommendations ranging in price – to give you an inspiration. If they are too far afield, simply search for something similar closer to home, there will be plenty of activities going on in your local area too.
1. Take part in A-Plan’s FREE Great Easter Bunny Hunt – our branches up and down the country will be popping pictures of bunnies in local shop windows for children to find. Pick up an activity pack from your local branch, find all the bunnies, and return it to the branch to collect an Easter egg! There is also the opportunity to enter a prize draw to win a bigger Easter hamper worth £30! And it’s free to join in! Click here for terms and conditions.
2. Join the Lindt Gold Bunny Hunt at Hampton Court Palace – Enjoy a day at Hampton Court Palace, roaming around the gardens and finding hidden Lindt Gold Bunny Statues to win your chocolate treat! This will be running until 16th April. Tickets from £13.10.
3. Explore nature trails in parks and nature reserves –Take a camera, get back to nature and seek out spring arrivals with the whole family.
4. For the chocoholic grown up – spend a day exploring the ten best chocolate shops in London, and see if you can rise to the challenge of doing all of them! Could any of these tempt you?
5. Easter Eggsplorer at Blenheim Palace – Visit Blenheim Palace and explore the grounds in search of Easter eggs with the help of a map and some clues. Tickets from £20.
6. Visit a local farm – Support your local farm and find out whether they are participating in any seasonal activities, from petting zoos to egg hunts.
7. Enjoy a National Trust Easter Egg hunt – did you know that every year the National Trust organises egg hunts across their locations? Find your closest venue here. Trails are just £3 to enter and most locations provide an activity sheet, pencil and of course, an Easter egg.
8. Castle Easter egg hunts – if you’d prefer an atmospheric castle over a palace, you have plenty of choice, whether it’s Scarborough Castle, Warwick Castle, Oxford Castle or Sudeley Castle. This can be a great day out for all of the family. What’s more, with over 1,500 castles in the UK, there is bound to be one close to you!
9. Head to an Easter market – Like the sound of homemade hot cross buns and artisan chocolate? The BIG Easter Market in Cornwall is well-known for it’s quality, locally-sourced goodies and treats to take away. With over 60 stallholders, visitors can enjoy music and entertainment, street food and even Easter craft demonstrations. The market takes place from 13th to 16th April, from 9am to 4pm each day in Truro’s central plaza.
10. Follow a dragon trail – if your little ones prefer dragons over bunnies, head to Painshill’s Egg-staordinary Dragon Trail in Surrey where magical beasts have come to lay their eggs. Can you help find the missing egg? Search the buggy-friendly 1-mile-long route between 1 – 16th April and see if you can find it.
Staying home this Easter?
Whether you prefer to avoid queues, or are enjoying Easter on a budget, we have some fun activities you (and your neighbours) could take part in at home.
Here are some of our team’s favourite budget-busting Easter activities you can take part in from home:
- Cadbury’s virtual Easter egg hunt – did you know you can now hide virtual eggs anywhere in the world for friends and family for free? Sign up to the Worldwide Hide – hide your egg for free on Google Maps and send your loved ones a link which will help them to find it digitally, using the ‘eggometer’ as a guide! Leave a special message for them when they find it. What’s more, with every real Easter egg purchased on the Worldwide Hide website (via ‘hide an egg and gift a real one’), Cadbury’s are donating another egg to the Trussell Trust!
- Host an Easter Egg hunt in your street – why not get together with the neighbours, chip in together, and agree on who sneaks out to hide the eggs and who helps with the hunt! Aldi came out on top as the UK’s cheapest supermarket, so, if you’re looking for some inexpensive Easter eggs for a simple hunt, it could be a great place to start.
- Easter crafts afternoon – get creative with paper, glue, and paint and make some colourful Easter crafts. We have some great suggestions and templates for you to use from no-sew bunnies to paper chicks and bunny bookmarks!
- Homemade Easter cards – show someone you care with a handmade card. You can buy stencils and stickers to help with pictures or cut and stick some you could print in advance. Ideal for rainy days while nibbling chocolate eggs.
- Plant an Easter Garden – Packets of seeds and small terracotta pots are pretty inexpensive – paint your pot just how you like it and plant your seeds. Alternatively, find some cheap colourful flowers at places like The Range. Tip: Keep you pot covered if you aren’t using waterproof paint!
- Colour-in your own eggs – Get messy and colourful with a classic Easter activity: hard boil eggs and paint them with bright colours and designs. Think friendly faces, flowers and patterns!
- Play ‘egg toss’ – why not get some fresh air (and run of some of that sugar) with a messy ‘egg toss’ competition. Whoever is the cleanest at the ends, wins and yes, we recommend adults join in too! Tip: Always make sure that your eyes are protected from shells as you play!
- Bake Easter treats – whip up some festive Easter treats, such as hot cross buns, Easter cupcakes, bunny-shaped cookies or our own super-easy 3-ingredient Easter egg nests.
If you are heading out over the Easter weekend, we always like to remind our clients that the roads are busier – and it can be the first time many of us take a longer trip.
Make sure you give your car a thorough check over, including windscreen wash and tyre pressures. It’s a good idea to have breakdown cover and pack an emergency kit (to include Easter eggs, of course) to keep you smiling should you break down. If you aren’t sure whether your car insurance includes breakdown cover, your local branch would be more than happy to check your policy for you.
*Easter egg treasure hunt available at select branches. Free Easter egg while stocks last.