Homespun Happy Easter Ideas

Just because mall bunnies and public Easter events are canceled this year doesn't mean Peter Cottontail isn't hoppin' down the bunny trail. Here are some fun ideas for keeping the magic alive at home this year:

BUNNY IN THE WINDOWS

A lot of neighborhood communities have banded together in recent weeks to do "Teddy Bear in the Window." It's a scavenger hunt of sorts for kids while families are out on a walk together on their local streets for fresh air. The idea is for everyone involved to place a Teddy Bear in a front window of their house for kids to spot. Change it up for Easter and swap that bear for a stuffed bunny or even create a festive Easter egg display. It's a great way for your neighborhood to have fun together while social distancing.

CREATE AN EASTER TREE!

The egg is an ancient symbol of life all over the world — what a wonderful reason for decorating a tree! Since Easter Trees are a thing, why not get out your artificial Christmas tree and get crafty. Use plastic eggs, colorful ribbon and a hot-glue gun (supervise the hot gluing, of course). Use supplies on hand to cut out egg shapes from construction paper and decorate them with glitter, googly eyes, etc. Go crazy with it! Get a box of Fruit Loops and a bundle of yarn so the kids can create garland. Of course, for thousands of ideas, head to Pinterest and search Easter Tree Decorating ideas.

EASTER MORNING SCAVENGER HUNT

Get festive and make the Easter Bunny a bit more fun this year by turning him into a bunny Santa. Have one special Easter egg in your child’s basket that contains a clue to go find another one … then another … then another, etc., until the final clue leads your child to a wrapped package with an awesome gift inside!

BEST DYE OF EASTER EGGS: KOOL-AID!

As the giant Kool-Aid pitcher spokesman says, “Oh, Yeah!” Dip into an old-school drink powder for the BEST Easter eggs yet. You don’t need anything else but the Kool-Aid powder and water. Simply pour each envelope of the powder into a cup that’s one-half full of water, then stir to dissolve. Submerge your egg into the cup until it comes out the hue you want. The best shades come from Berry Blue, Strawberry and Lemon-Lime. Go crazy and mix ‘em up to create new colors.

Your kids can also have fun creating tie-dye Easter eggs with Kool-Aid. Kraft’s “Twist That Dish” has all the info. Get it at myfoodandfamily.com.

HOP TO IT: 8 FUN EASTER GAMES

Engage your little bunnies with fun activities like:

• Egg Hop Relay Race
• Match the Eggs
• Capture the Egg
• Easter Egg Treasure Hunt
• Easter Egg Decorating Stations
• Easter Egg Lawn Bowling
• The Fox and the Eggs
• Easter Egg Rolling Race

Get game details at beau-coup.com.

MORE ACTIVITIES

Discover fun ways to get crafty with Peeps, find recipes for Easter egg cookies, make special jelly bean treats, turn marshmallows into little Easter bunnies and more. Check out these sites for great ideas:

tasteofhome.com
countryliving.com
mykidstime.com
marthastewart.com