Easter is an exciting time of year for families. The kids wait all year long for the Easter bunny to visit their house and leave delicious chocolates and other sugary treats for them to find. And, if you practice western religious traditions, your friends and family may also sit down to an Easter dinner decorated with hot cross buns and succulent honey ham.
Are you hosting this holiday? Do you have people coming over to sit outside for dinner and watch the children run around as they scavenge for eggs? Check out our Easter dinner checklist to help you prepare and make it through the busy day in one piece.
Create a Guest List
First things first: who’s coming to dinner? While the world continues to navigate the COVID-19 virus, you must be careful about how many people you invite. Unless you’re able to dine outside, you may have to conduct Easter over Zoom, unfortunately. But if it’s your immediate family and the weather is nice enough to sit in the background, make a guest list a few weeks in advance. Knowing how many people are attending will help you create the grocery list. You’ll figure out how much to get and if there are any dietary restrictions to prepare for when food shopping.
Decide on a Menu
Depending on your cultural traditions, Easter dinner includes items such as ham, roast lamb, and boiled eggs. And, of course, you can’t forget the chocolate eggs and bunnies! Just like any other holiday dinner, the cost of this particular feast adds up. Did you know that you could win a Sobeys gift card by entering online contests? You can discover giveaways every day online. You just need to know how to find all the best giveaways. Keep your eye out for incredible prizes to win from your favourite grocery stores.
Decorate in Pastels
If you’re the type of person who loves to go all out when it comes to holidays, then you’ll want to decorate in an Easter-appropriate theme of pastels and soft colours. Focus on colours such as lavender, pale yellow, robin egg blue, and soft pink. Find table cloths, napkins, and bunting in such soft shades. For the kids in the family, find bunny and little chick imagery to hang and put up around the house.
Paint Easter Eggs
You can’t have Easter without painting and decorating some eggs. Growing up, you may have had a favourite method — perhaps dyeing eggs with food colouring or painting them individually — and like to continue the tradition. However you decorate your eggs, always ensure you’ve got enough of them, along with all the necessary supplies. Take an afternoon with the kids (or yourself) to make them beautiful for the big day.
Plan the Easter Egg Hunt
Children love scavenger hunts, particularly when there’s chocolate involved. You want the game to be simple enough for the kids to find the treasures but not without some effort — it’s a good exercise for their cognitive functioning to execute problem-solving skills.
With a little planning, you could have a relaxing and enjoyable Easter. Keep it simple and remember: you can never have enough chocolate!