Try these last-minute Easter ideas
Easter is almost here and if you feel like it snuck up on you, don’ worry. I am here to share some easy and inexpensive last-minute ideas that are going to make you look like you have been planning and preparing your Easter celebration for weeks.
If you haven’t decorated yet, there is still time to whip up an adorable wreath for your front door. Grab a branch that has fallen from a tree and use hot glue to attach little dollar store chicks. Add a ribbon and you have a sweet Easter wreath to welcome guests to your home. This project takes less than five minutes and requires very little craftiness.
You are also going to want a special treat to serve to your family and friends. You can make a delightful homemade treat with very little effort by baking up a batch of your favourite chocolate chip cookies, but instead of adding chocolate chips, add candy-covered chocolate eggs. Alternatively, you can add Easter candy to your favourite brownie recipe. Adding Easter candy to a tried-and-true recipe is an easy way to create a festive treat.
Spreading joy through baking is one of my favourite ways to celebrate holidays and sharing goodies with my neighbours is something I love to do. Over the past few years, my boys have helped me bake up treats that we use to “egg” our neighbours. We bake Easter cookies and attach tags that say, “You’ve been egged. Happy Easter from neighbours that think you are Eggceptional.” Cute, right?
After spreading Easter joy in the neighbourhood, it’s time to get ready to host family and friends. Get the kids involved
(and keep them out of your hair while you are making dinner) by getting them to craft their own decorations. Children can cut up an empty paper towel roll and decorate the pieces to make napkin rings or they can make a bunny vase centrepiece from an empty jar. Paint a jar white, add a bunny face with a Sharpie, trim the top of the jar with twine and add spring flowers.
While the kids are crafting, you can also spend some time prepping for the Easter bunny’s arrival. I love the idea of making the Easter basket part of the gift. You can fill a hat, bucket, rubber boots or umbrella with Easter treats. You can also get creative by finding unique items to fill those plastic Easter eggs. Some fun ideas are marbles, erasers, cars/ dinkies, hair bows/clips, finger puppets, quarters, stickers, tattoos, chocolate eggs/mini chocolate bars, rubber balls, balloons, gift certificates, Lego pieces or mini figures, Play-doh, bubbles, craft supplies, cookie decorations/ sprinkles and dollar store trinkets.
And after all this prep, if you have a little time leftover, you can create a little Easter magic. Consider leaving bunny prints for your kids to find on Easter morning. You can freehand or use a stencil to paint powdery bunny footprints on the floor. Just mix 1⁄ cup corn
4
starch and 1⁄ cup water, stir to
4
combine completely and paint paw prints using a paint brush. The mixture goes on watery, but when it dries, the prints turn white.
The Easter bunny can also leave magic jelly beans. I have a free printable envelope on my website (www.eastcoastMommy.com), but you can make one, too. Magic jellybeans look like regular jellybeans, but when you plant them in sugar, they grow into lollipops. My boys loved this when they were younger.
Easter might be just around the corner, but there is still enough time to create some special holiday memories for your family and friends. Have fun and have a happy Easter!
Gina Bell is a writer, blogger and busy mom of three boys.she has contributed to several blogs and major publications, including Disney’s Family Fun Magazine, Canadian Living and CBC Kids. Her blog, Eastcoastmommy.com, is full of fantastic ideas for easy and inexpensive family fun.