With Easter fast approaching and many of us with kids at home for their Spring Break, we thought we would round up a few of the essential ingredients for a happy Easter. Whether you celebrate this time as part of your religion, or just enjoy welcoming new birth, growth and Springtime, here's a few ideas to make and do over the Easter period.
1.Egg hunt
Easter isn't Easter without an egg hunt. Gather some little friends (or big ones!) and give each a basket (we love this classy seagrass and silver rope one), then send them off into the garden or around a park in search of hidden chocolate eggs. If you want to make it harder, leave a trail of clues instead of eggs, and lead the hunters to a bounty of eggs once they've solved all of them. You can also hide little chicks as well, to reduce the sugar frenzy.
2.Make some hot cross buns
Ok, so you can buy these as cheap as chips from the baker or supermarket, but if you fancy a baking challenge and want to try something really delicious, try making your own. They really are so much tastier. This recipe is easy to follow and will keep small people happy on a rainy holiday day. Imagine the sweet doughy smells wafting through the house. Serve warm on a large, rustic plate with some gorgeous linen napkins, light a candle and turn it into a special teatime treat.
3.Grow cress people
This is such a fun activity, but you need to get started a few days ahead otherwise the cress won't have grown enough by Easter. Simply wash out some half egg shells and carefully draw on eyes (or use stick-on google ones) and a mouth (you can even add a moustache if you're feeling artistic) - we like to make one for each of the family. Place some damp cotton wool in the bottom. Sprinkle some cress seeds onto the cotton wool, and put the shells into egg cups. Leave them in a sunny spot and watch as their magnificent green hair begins to grow. Soon you will have a row of delightfully loony-looking cress people.
4.Dip-dye some eggs
For a rather more classy craft, how about dip-dying some eggs? Duck eggs are brilliant as they are nice and big, but any eggs will do. Hard boil them for around 5 minutes, then let them cool right down in the pan. Once cool, lift them carefully onto some kitchen paper. Mix 1tsp vinegar with around 20 drops of food colouring of your choice and enough warm water to submerge the eggs. Set up a few bowls with different colours. You can also use onion skins in the water as you boil them to create a deep red base colouring. Using tongs, dip the eggs into the liquid - you can vary the intensity of the colours by leaving them in for different lengths of time (the longer the deeper the colour). Place them in an egg cup to dry.
5.Make a nest
Gather stray twigs, feathers and bits of moss, then weave into a small nest. These look adorable as table centrepieces, filled with delicate quail's eggs or hand-painted hens' eggs. This is a lovely activity to do with children - you can go out for a walk to gather the supplies, then sit down together and make your nests. You can use florists' wire to hold them together but it is usually enough to just weave the sticks, as birds do.
Wishing you all a very happy Easter or Spring Break, however you celebrate. We've got a very exciting collaboration coming up with our table linens creating a beautiful Easter table setting, so watch this space for more information!