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A family Easter at home: egg hunts, baking and spring fun

Easter is a joyful, low-pressure family occasion — a long weekend of spring, chocolate and simple traditions. Here's how to make a lovely one at home without spending a fortune or a frantic week preparing.

The all-important egg hunt

The egg hunt is the centrepiece of a family Easter, and it's wonderfully easy to do well. Hide chocolate eggs (or, for a less sugary version, plastic eggs with small toys or clues inside) around the house or garden, and scale the difficulty to the children's ages — simple spots for toddlers, trickier hiding places and written clues for older ones. Our free egg hunt clues and hunt map add an extra layer of fun, and an Easter basket checklist helps you put together baskets. A tip for mixed ages: give younger ones a head start or a designated area so they don't get trampled by the big kids.

Baking, crafts and quiet fun

Beyond the hunt, Easter is made for hands-on activities. Simple baking is a hit — decorating biscuits, making chocolate nests, or hot cross buns (our free recipe and baking menu help). Crafts like decorating eggs, making an Easter bonnet, or card-making keep little hands busy, and our free colouring sheets, word search and activity pack are perfect for quieter moments or a rainy spell. Mixing active and calm activities keeps the long weekend balanced and everyone happy.

Bringing everyone to the table

Many families mark Easter with a special lunch — often a roast — bringing relatives together over the long weekend. Make the table feel spring-like with fresh flowers, pastel touches and our free place cards and decor signs, and let children help decorate it. Whether your Easter is religious, cultural or simply a happy family get-together, the heart of it is the same: spring, time together, a bit of chocolate and some gentle fun. Keep it relaxed — Easter is one of the least demanding celebrations to host, so the goal is enjoying the long weekend, not a production.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you run an Easter egg hunt for different ages?
The trick to a hunt that works for mixed ages is to level the playing field so little ones aren't outpaced by older children. Options include giving younger children a head start, setting aside a separate easy zone just for toddlers (with eggs in obvious, low spots), or colour-coding eggs so each child collects only their colour and ends up with a fair share. For older children, ramp up the challenge with trickier hiding places and written clues that lead from one spot to the next. Set a few ground rules first (a collecting area each, no grabbing from others), count the eggs you've hidden so none are left to find months later, and consider plastic eggs with toys or clues inside if you'd rather not have melting chocolate hidden around the house.
What are some non-chocolate Easter ideas for children?
If you'd rather not pile on the chocolate, there's plenty of Easter fun that doesn't revolve around it. Fill a hunt with plastic eggs containing small toys, stickers, coins or clues instead of sweets. Lean into spring activities: planting seeds, nature walks and spotting, and crafts like decorating real or wooden eggs and making Easter bonnets. Baking together (even if some gets eaten!) is hands-on fun, and quiet activities like colouring and word searches suit calmer moments. A small gift like a book, craft kit or spring-themed toy makes a lovely chocolate-free Easter present. Children mostly love the activity and excitement of Easter — the hunt, the making, the time together — as much as the chocolate itself.