Don’t take the fun out of Easter… but maybe some of the additives.
Get creative and think of a few simple substitutes to gift your little ones and their friends. Chocolate doesn’t need to take centre stage, Easter can still be enjoyable with a balanced approach. Here are 5 creative ideas to dilute the chocolate frenzy of Easter egg hunts:
1. Egg Rewards
Fillable Plastic Easter Eggs are readily available and are something that can be used year after year with a little imagination. One way to reduce the shear amount of chocolate found on an egg hunt is to fill these with rewards your kids will cherish. These could be bending the rules, for example 30 mins later bedtime, or an experience they enjoy. Experiences like movie nights, baking with mum, or an hour to play outside with dad can be cashed in when you are ready. Simply write these rewards on pieces of paper and pop them in the eggs. Your kids can then enjoy trading the rewards and redeeming them with you for the following weeks.
2. The challenge check list
Provide your kids with a checklist for their Easter Eggs hunt to make it more diverse. This way you can make it less about the volume of chocolate they find, and more about the sense of achievement they will get my completing their challenge.
This can include elements of scavenger hunt by collecting different items you have hidden (it also helps to ensure they are found!). Other fun challenges include sensory tasks like ‘smelling a flower’, ‘seeing a butterfly’ or ‘hopping along some bunny tracks’. All of these tasks help your little one enjoy their time playing outside and take the main focus away from chocolate and lollies. We know lots of Mum’s who like to gift Whole Kids snacks for Easter, so we have come up with this super fun Easter Egg hunt checklist of our own – download here.
3. Pace eggs
Pace Eggs is a very old British tradition and involves decoratively dying eggs to be boiled and eaten throughout the Easter weekend. The name pace is derived from Latin pascha (‘Easter’). Nowadays, eggs can be dyed with artificial dye, but the traditional method using brown onion skins and flowers produces the most natural and effective results. This is a great activity to do with your kids as they can each make their own design and wait to see how it turns out. Add these to your egg hunt goodies and your little ones can search for the egg they made.
Over the weekend the whole family can enjoy a game of ‘egg dunking’ where you knock your competitors egg with yours. Whichever one doesn’t break stays on as the champion for the next day. Find out how to make the decorative Pace Eggs here.
4. Bunny snacks
The Easter bunny may have left behind some carrots during their delivery.
Leave a few real carrots out for you little ones to find and then fill some easy to make crepe paper carrot packages with an additive-free chocolate alternative. Whole Kids Cocoa Barefoot Bars are perfect for this but you can also incorporate antioxidant rich dark chocolate into dipped fruits or even dipped grissini sticks.
5. DIY Surprise egg toys
For a non-edible alternative, fill your own empty plastic egg shells with low cost toys, crafts or even a gold coin. Some great example include hair ties, farm animals, play-doh, chalks and finger puppets.
