Fun ways for the family to celebrate Easter during lockdown

Easter eggs have moved into a space of non-denominational holiday food – and even during lockdown, Easter eggs are available in stores nearly everywhere.

Easter weekend is one of the few events untarnished by fear and uncertainty during the national lockdown because if you have an Easter tradition, it can live on even during this pandemic and regardless of budget.

Under R50

A box of 24 marshmallow eggs won’t set you back much (R50 to be exact). These eggs are South African to their core and even as stores start to clear Christmas decorations, boxes of these eggs start to pop up.

With good reason. They are cost-effective, the most popular brand (Beacon) is made locally – and they have so many uses, from cake decorations to prizes in an Easter Egg hunt.

Picture: iStock

Some ideas

Since these eggs are individually wrapped and a little more hardy to weather conditions, they are the perfect items to use in an Easter Egg hunt. Hide some around the house and garden, but be sneaky.

Use the different coloured wrappers as a point system, say red wrappers are worth one point while blue ones are worth five. Let the kids loose and see how many points they can accumulate.

Have them trade their points for a variety of prizes, from picking a movie for movie night to allowing top scorers to pick a family game. Make the egg hunt as interactive as possible.

Also, allow your children to trade eggs between themselves so they can see the value of points.

Another tip is to put half an egg on a Marie Biscuit, microwave for 30 seconds and smash it with a second biscuit for the ultimate Easter s’more.

Since the extended family won’t be around, have your kids document their Easter egg hunt for their grandparents with your phone or with a sports cam. If they are in WiFi range you can also allow grandparents to enjoy the hunt with apps like Zoom.

Picture: iStock

Under R100

Forget just Easter eggs and a hunt, why not build your own pinata filled with Easter goodies? The whole family can have a go smashing the pinata for a real Easter treat.

Pinatas are so easy to make. Use thin cardboard boxes, like cereal boxes, to create a shape, then cut strips of coloured paper to decorate. Snip each strip horizontally and then stick them on the box.

Once covered to your liking, fill the boxes with a variety of treats. Here even smaller candy like wrapped toffees work well.

Tie the pinata to a piece of string and hang it somewhere where you can bash it with a stick. Cover someone’s eyes and twirl them around a few times and have them at it.

Picture: iStock

Some ideas

Fill a number of pinatas with treats and some with booby treats, like packets of raisins or tubes of toothpaste. Let kids pick their pinata and see if they picked the right one. For adults use packets of biltong.

Under R250

You can include your dogs in your Easter festivities. Get your kids to hide treats for your pets around a room or the house and see how long it takes your pooches to find them.

It will have them walking and sniffing around the house for a while so it’s a means of exercise. You should be able to easily suss out where to hide treats for them.

You might have to leash them in to encourage them to move from space to space – but most will quickly catch on.

Picture: iStock

For your pets

Look for new treats your dogs aren’t used to. For instance, Probono creates iced dog biscuits that really seems to resonate with four-legged friends.

Or, see if your canines like fruit and vegetables. There are many fruits and vegetables that are completely safe (and healthy) for dogs – and they actually like the sweetness of fruit like apples. Try hiding slices of these as well.

Make it a really memorable Easter and rig a sports cam on your dog’s back as it looks for snacks. This is a great memento to send other members of the family in lockdown, and an alternative celebration of the holiday – from a pet’s perspective.

Some good tips

Give your pup a taste test a lá YouTuber Jenna Marbles to see if your furry friend likes naturally grown products. It will kill time for you and your pets and you might get some interesting results.

If you have more than one dog, now is the time for tug-of-war toys. If you don’t have a storebought one, get a thick piece of rope and tie a few tight knots in it. They might love playing together, and it’s good exercise.

Now is also a good time for obedience training (but perhaps stick to healthy snacks and nibbles).

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