Easter is one annual event many families look forward to. Adults have the chance to get together with family and friends for a slap up roast (and, lets face it, a sneaky bit of Easter egg when the kids aren’t looking!) and for children, the weekend has the potential to be filled with fun activities and treats.

As your children get older, you can all delight in the joys of a classic Easter Egg Hunt and chocolate gorging. But if you’re a parent with babies and/or toddlers, you’ll know that these traditional Easter pastimes are a little too ‘grown up’ for the time being. Luckily, there is a wide variety of other, wonderful Easter themed fun to be had for the littlens to get into the spirit!

The Alt. Easter Basket

As with all the best holidays, there is always the niggling concern mums and dads have about all these treats wreaking havoc on little mouths! Not to mention having to handle to ensuing sugar-rush. But this doesn’t have to mean that children can’t delight in the joy of an Easter basket, it just means that you might have to get a bit creative to avoid packing it with chocolate!

Babycup First Cup

First on our list is our very own Babycup First Cups. These make the perfect, brightly coloured addition to a happy little Easter basket! Fill yours with crayons, chocolate buttons, raisins or fluffy toy chicks. Once they’ve served their purpose as a cute container, they’re the ideal cup for your baby or toddler to sip a drink with whatever tasty treats you do decide to give them. And they’ll last you years!

Better yet, unlike your average Easter gift Babycup First Cup will actually benefit your child’s oral development. Read more about why and how, here.

Carrot Seeds

If you have a toddler to entertain, this is a great time to introduce them to the wonders of planting their own food in the garden. And what better choice than the Easter bunny’s favourite – carrots! You’ll all have fun getting out into the garden to sow the seeds.

Story Time

A new book never goes amiss, so pop one into your toddler’s Easter basket for some cosy reading time. Peter Rabbit, Rosie’s Walk and Spot’s Easter Surprise are firm favourites.

Easter Activities for Toddlers

Painting Eggs

All little ones love arts and crafts and Easter is a great time of year to embrace this. Not only is enjoying a creative activity good fun, it’s also excellent for brain development and honing in those fine motor skills (just like using a Babycup First Cup does too!).

Painting or dying Easter eggs is an age old tradition still revelled in by young and old, so this is the perfect place to start. You could even dye the egg shells with natural food dyes to introduce your toddler to a whole world of wonder!

Here’s how to do it:

You’ll need…

A Large pot

A Sieve

Bottle of White Vinegar

Salt

Plastic gloves 

Cups or Bowls (that you don’t mind getting stained)

Instructions:

Bring 1 litre of water to the boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of your chosen fruit, vegetable, spice or tea for colour.

Simmer the concoction for half an hour before removing the pot from the stove. Strain the mixture (now your dye!) and leave it to cool to room temperature.

Now it’s time to get messy! Dip your (hardboiled) eggs and watch them transform.

Follow the same process to create your different dyes – just substitute the colour ingredient!

For extra-special eggs, try sticking a leaf, flower or fern the the side of the shell to create beautiful patterns.