Making Easter Fun While Maintaining Social Distancing

Our Easter tradition is to host my husband’s family and my family all under one roof. We are talking 45-50 people in our home. I know it sounds crazy, but I love it. My parents are divorced, and even before we got married, I have always had to choose which event to attend and feel like I’m missing out. When the virus started circling, I was hopeful Easter would still be a go, but clearly was very wrong. I refuse to let this temporary normal ruin a holiday so have created some ideas to still make Easter 2020 a good one. 

Easter Egg Hunt

My dad’s side of the family has had this tradition since the first grandkids were able to walk. My aunts would spend an hour hiding eggs and the cousins would go to town once they let us loose. Now that I host Easter, I have proudly kept this tradition going. This year may not entail seven kiddos running around the backyard, but my 22 month old is going to love it. Top tip is to fill the eggs with age appropriate treats! Last year, we placed puffs in the eggs and this year I am going to throw in goldfish crackers. Even without our big family, it will still be so much fun to see the excitement of finding colorful treasures in the yard through the eyes of our little one. 

You can also check out our Lansing Mom Neighborhood Egg Hunt here. We’ve got eggs to color and hang at home for a neighborhood hunt!

Decorate Eggs

The kits in the stores are always a hit and make it pretty easy to decorate eggs! If you have a toddler who isn’t quite ready for that, check out this awesome Easter egg idea from Pinterest.

Materials:

  • Six sandwich bags filled with one cup of rice
  • Six hard boiled eggs
  • Six food coloring options

Directions:

  • Place seven drops of food coloring in each bag.
  • Mix the bag so the color disperses.
  • Place an egg in a bag and move the rice around.
  • For more color, one egg can go into multiple bags.
  • Place egg in a carton or container and allow to dry and cool in the fridge.

Creative Easter Baskets

I don’t think the typical Easter baskets are going to fly this year. You and your kiddos have been cooped up for weeks by now and cabin fever is setting in strong. Finding items that will give the kids something to do and last awhile is crucial. Maybe instead of a basket, there is a new toy for outside. For kids who love to pretend, try finding something like dress-up clothes. Is your child active? There are a ton of play sets with multi-sport uses such as soccer, basketball, and football. Do you have older ones who can be tricky to entertain? Try coupons for activities they get to choose from throughout the week. As you have learned in the past few weeks, now is the time to get creative. 

Favorite Easter Meal

Whether it’s the delicious ham or that potato salad your mom makes, we all have those meals we look forward to at family gatherings. Your group may be smaller this year, but still make Easter mealtime exciting! This year we are going to have each of our favorite dishes. I am making French toast casserole for myself, an egg bake for my husband, and pizza for my toddler. It’s a crazy concoction, but we are very much looking forward to it.

Sunday Best

Two weeks before the Stay Home Stay Safe order was placed in Michigan, I found the cutest green dress I was going to wear for Easter. There is no reason why that dress has to go to waste. Part of being a parent means dressing your family up, even when your little one hates it. There are too many adorable suspenders and hats for Easter to just ignore. We are going to get our “fancy” clothes on, take a family photo, and act like it’s a typical Easter holiday. After wearing leggings for three weeks now, I am actually looking forward to putting myself somewhat together. 

Most of these ideas are what I came up with for my family. You can decide to do one of them, all of them, or decide these are nuts and in no way going to work. My only ask is that you do what you can to make this a fun Easter. Who knows, it may be the best one yet and one that starts new, fun traditions for your family.

What creative ways are you celebrating this year? Share with us!

Jessica Walter
I am a working mom who left the education world after 7 years to pursue my business career. I work as a product developer at a local insurance company and love it. My husband and sons are my world. We struggled for 3 years with fertility prior to adopting our first son. Later, we really wanted him to have a sibling so pursued IVF using donor embryos (because we firmly believe love makes a family) and were then blessed with our second son. When I’m not working or playing the wife/mom role, I love to run, read, bake, write, and tinker with photography. We all have a story to share and I hope some of my experiences will help others.

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