Celebrate Easter with these fun family activities

Easter is right around the corner, which means a bit of extra free time for the kiddos. If the thought of the dreaded words, "What are we going to do today?" are haunting your dreams, don't worry; we've got you covered! Click on to discover a huge list of crafts and activities the whole family can enjoy!

Bring nature closer to your home by creating your own birdhouse! The options are limitless; you can purchase a premade wooden birdhouse, build your own, or craft one out of a recycled milk carton; it is up to you! The kids can help make and decorate the birdhouse; then, they will enjoy seeing their new feathered friends visit and make a home in it.

This is an activity nearly all kids love! All you'll need are some eggs, vinegar, food coloring, and water. You can choose to either hard boil the eggs first and then dye them or use a sharp knife to make small holes on each end of the egg so you can blow the yolk out. If you choose the latter, you will be able to keep your colored eggs for years.

Photo: Sharon McCutcheon / Unsplash

Once the eggs are prepped for dying, mix one tablespoon of vinegar with one cup of hot water in a small bowl. Add the food coloring of your choice and mix. If you want to add extra details, a white crayon can be used before dying to create a design on the egg which will be visible once the egg is dyed. Use the egg carton to place the eggs to dry when finished.

Sprouts are delicious in salads, sandwiches, and wraps. You can easily grow your own, so you may as well get the kids in on the fun. Purchase some cress or alfalfa seeds, or whichever seeds you prefer to sprout. Break the top off an egg, let the kids decorate it; if you give it a face, it will look like hair when the sprouts grow.

Then add a few cotton balls, the seeds, and spray with water. Place in a sunny window and water frequently. When the sprouts have grown enough, the kids can enjoy giving their egg person a "hair-cut" and try eating the sprouts they've grown.

To make your own homemade bubble solution, you will need a large container, dish soap, and glycerin. Mix 6 cups of water with 1 cup of dish soap. Make sure to stir it slowly so that foam and bubbles aren't created.

Then add one tablespoon of glycerin and stir again. Store in a large container, and you can pour it into plastic cups when the kids want to use it. You can also make your own bubble wands out of pipe cleaners or from the top of a plastic water bottle. You will have hours of fun for just pennies!

An Easter egg tree is a fun way to bring a bit of nature indoors! You will need a vase, some fresh twigs without leaves, some thread or yarn, and dyed, hollow Easter eggs.

Place the twigs in the vase and arrange as you wish. You can also add little homemade bugs or butterflies to the tree as well. Then, use a long needle to pass the yarn or thread through the eggs. Make a loop and tie it off so you can hang them on the tree.
Easy-peasy, you have an adorable Easter egg tree!

Most children love baking, so why not make some Easter-themed sugar cookies with the kids? No, they won't look as perfect and beautiful as the ones pictured here, but that doesn't matter; the most important thing is to get the kids cooking and having fun.

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There are loads of great sugar cookie recipes on the internet, from gluten-free to vegan to full fat decadent. Choose a recipe, pick up a few cute themed cookie cutters, and make some icing in cute spring colors. Let the kids help every step of the way, and yes, you will have a mess, but you will also have some proud and happy kids!

This is a silly and sweet activity that the whole family will enjoy. You will need a bag or two of marshmallows, it doesn't matter what kind, and to record the hilarious moments, the video camera on your cell phone.

Image: Jill Wellington / Pixabay

Each person stuffs their mouth as full as they can with marshmallows, and without chewing them, you must attempt to say "Chubby bunny." The result is hilarious, and since everyone gets to eat marshmallows, everyone is a winner!

A little competition with the family can be a lot of fun! Hard boil an egg for each person in the family. Then together, decorate and personalize your egg. You can give them faces, use markers or paint, it is up to you. You can even name your egg if you want!

Then find an area either in your yard or close to home with a small hill. Have everyone line up, and let those eggs roll! To keep everyone happy, you can have different prize categories: the winner of the race, the egg that stayed the most intact, the egg that rolled the farthest, etc. Let your imagination fly and have fun!

This is a classic party game that all ages can enjoy. You will need a tablespoon and an egg for each person participating. If you are doing it with friends, you can turn it into a relay race.

You can customize your race and make it as easy or difficult as you wish, as well as customizing the rules to fit the difficulty level needed for your family.

It is really easy to make masks out of construction paper. You can search the internet for patterns or printouts, or you can get creative and come up with your own designs.

Add details with markers and stickers, then use a hole punch and attach a string or a rubber band to keep the mask on. Maybe when you finish, the whole family can put on a little skit.

There is nothing quite as fun as a good old-fashioned sack race! You can use old pillowcases for little kids or even old reusable shopping bags.

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For the adults, ask your local bakery if they have any leftover flour sacks. With a little planning, you have a free and enjoyable activity to burn off some of that extra energy and keep the kids from bouncing off the walls!

A nice wreath on the front door is a great way to celebrate spring! This project can be as simple or complex as you wish.

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You can purchase or make a simple wreath base out of construction paper. Then craft away, adding whichever spring elements you wish. You could also collect elements from nature to add an eco-friendly element to it.

If you haven't joined the Perler bead craze yet, now is the time. Perler beads are available at most craft stores, and the list of things you can make with them is endless!

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From fridge magnets to coasters to friendship bracelets, your imagination is the limit. You can find plenty of patterns for free online, or you can come up with your own designs. Use a hot iron and some parchment paper to fuse the beads together, and you are done. There are hours of fun and creativity to be had with these beads.

Sidewalk chalk is fun, cheap, and creative! Get outside with the kids, open up a few boxes of sidewalk chalk, get down on the ground with them, and get to work.

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You can choose to have each person come up with their own picture or work as a family on a massive, colorful mural.

Kids love to express themselves with paint, so why not up the ante with some potato stamps? Grab a few potatoes and a sharp knife and ask your kids what kind of stamps they would like.

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Cut the potatoes in half, and then do your best to cut out the chosen designs. Don't let the kids try this part as potatoes are slippery and difficult to cut. Then, pour some paint out onto some trays, let the kids dip the potatoes in it, and stamp away! This technique works great for making your own personalized wrapping paper.

Homemade play-dough is cheap, and the kids can help to make it. There are loads of recipes online, even for scented play-dough.

Most call simply for flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, food coloring, and hot water. Have the kids help with the measuring and mixing, and then enjoy playing with your creations together.

There are hundreds of ways to make your own finger puppets. For the youngest in the family, pipe cleaners work great, as they can be twisted around fingers, and faces can be added by gluing on felt.

Photo: Hans / Pixabay

For older kids, you can introduce them to hand sewing and use scraps of fabric and felt to create your own little finger puppets. This creative activity is great for acquiring practical skills and developing fine motor skills too.

After making those finger puppets, you will probably need a little theatre for all the performances the kids are going to put on!

Grab an old cardboard box, cut out a theatre, and then let the kids paint and decorate until their hearts are content. Then sit back and enjoy all those wacky plays they'll put on!

A hike in the forest or at the beach is great for the whole family. You can create or download a nature scavenger hunt list.

Customize it to the age and ability of your children. Have them search for different types of plants, flowers, insects, and animals. It really helps to keep them motivated and walking on longer hikes.

Children often love to bring little bits of nature back home with them. If your little ones constantly bringing back rocks and stones, why not use them for a craft?

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Some acrylic paint and some paintbrushes can turn those stones into just about anything. Make sure to use an acrylic sealer when finished so the paint doesn't wash away. You can even use the finished product to decorate your flower gardens or as markers for the vegetable patch!

You can make art out of nature while out on a nature walk or even in your own backyard. Have the children collect a supply of leaves, twigs, flower petals, rocks, etc.

Then show them how they can use these elements to create nearly anything! Take pictures to remember what their creations looked like as they won't be able to keep them.

Board games are a wonderful and educational way to spend family time. It is very easy to make your own board game, and you can even have each member of the family contribute an element to it. Decide as a group what kind of game you would like to make, the format, and the rules.

Then all you need is some construction paper, markers, stickers, scissors, glue and a lot of imagination. This may take some time to make, and the project may need to be completed over several days. However, once it is done, your family will have their very own unique board game!