Easter is very nearly upon us and hopefully winter will stop sulking about having to leave in time for us to all enjoy the great outdoors and some warm sunshine. However, entertaining the kids and planning days out can be very expensive so here are some fabulously free Easter ideas for you to do with the kids.
Weather Unfriendly
I have noticed that winter tends to be a bit sullen really. And that’s not just the steel gray clouds hanging menacingly in the sky either. He just refuses to give up and go away. So, if the weather is gloomy and chilly over the Easter weekend why not nab some free activities off the net.
Sites like Apples4TheTeacher have tons of free word searches, printable worksheets and colouring pages that you can print off and hand out to the kids. Add some spice to the experience by offering a prize for the best picture, the most inventive creation, or the fastest word searcher to get them really involved.
Not only will these activities keep them happily entertained while you get those annoying household essentials like washing and cleaning done, but they are also excellent for building motor controls and learning skills.
Another great idea for indoor Easter activities is to use free crafting sites like Canon Creative Parkthat has literally thousands of paper and scrapbooking ideas. Choose the Easter card designs you like, print them out and follow the detailed instructions to make stunning Easter cards on a shoestring budget.
You don’t need to have any skills in these areas to make these cards either. The instructions are very straightforward and you and the kids will find it both fun and time consuming. A brilliant way to while away a damp and drizzly afternoon.
If you google for free Easter activities, you will also find some excellent resources for your area. I uncovered libraries with Easter games and fun, shopping malls with free Easter activities and plenty more. Add in your area for a more location-specific search and nab some of those great days out without spending more than the cost of getting there.
A resource that I have become quite fond of is Howopia, we have talked about them before, as they have a ton of free activities and projects for you to create with the kids.
Weather permits!
If the weather finally decides to stay warm and cheerful and sunny there are so many exciting things you can do without spending a single penny. Always pack your own water or juice and lunch before you set off, though, otherwise the money spent on feeding and watering you and the kids can really add up fast.
One of my favourite activities is to ask my child to choose a book she loves and to then act the book out as our very own adventure. For example, if she chooses Bear Hunt, then we pack a lunch (and I sneak a bear into the pack), spend time choosing the things we will need for our hunt, and then we set off. I try to make the location as close to the book as possible so there is more of an adventure.
Another lovely idea is to consider a nature walk early in the morning and for one of you, either you or your partner, to rush on ahead and hide items along the way. I usually go quite early so as to avoid other people coming along and taking the items, and because a scrummy breakfast picnic is just too delicious for words. Anyway, back to the walk, so then you hand the kids a list of the items and offer a prize to the one who can find the most.
Kids absolutely love running ahead and finding different things, and if you rewards for each child – one for the finder of the most items and one for the most enthusiastic and so forth – then you will also avoid fighting and upset at the end.
Drive out and explore somewhere new. They say that a change is as good as a holiday and actually that is pretty true. Pile the family into the car, stab a pin at a map, and drive over there and find out what it is like. Visit new forests, uncover new towns, learn the local history. It’s free, it’s fun and you’ll all feel like you’ve accomplished something.
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