Lifestyle

3/27/2018 | By Terri L. Jones

Are your grandchildren visiting for Easter this year? All kids—no matter what their age—expect an Easter basket chockful of the traditional stuff, like chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, but here are a few ideas to make those baskets better than ever this year and their time with Grandma and Grandpa even more entertaining!

Rebirth for dyed eggs

Have a few extra colored eggs looking for a new lease on life? Cut some beaks and wings out of construction paper, glue them on the eggs, dot on some eyes with a marker, and you’ve got some adorable baby chicks that you can add to Easter baskets or use as table decorations. For older kids, turn Easter eggs into silly emoji faces.

Mold and stamp

Add Play-Doh Bunny and Chick Stampers to your youngest grandchildren’s Easter baskets. Filled with Play-Doh, these bunnies and chicks also have stamps on the bottoms of their feet so your grandkids can mold and stamp their own Easter masterpieces. Buy now.

Peek-a-boo chick

This craft is super-easy (the instructions promise it takes only about five minutes), but the little surprise at the end makes it worth whatever time it takes! Simply cut an egg out of glitter craft foam, cut in half, and glue the two halves to each side of a clothespin. Then make a chick out of card stock and glue to the back side of one of the prongs of the clothespin. When you squeeze the clothespin and the egg open, the chick hatches. Get more detailed instructions.

Balloon signposts

With little ones, Easter egg hunts can often last for hours and sometimes a hard-boiled egg or two is left to spoil under the deck or in a flower bed. Why not make the hunt easier for the kids and more fun for everyone by tying a bunch of helium balloons to the Easter eggs? A trail of pastel balloons sprinkled throughout your yard is also an attractive touch for Easter gatherings.

Peep trail

Here’s a clever idea that my sister used when her kids were young. On Easter morning, she’d leave a path of Peeps from their bedrooms upstairs to their Easter baskets in the kitchen. The whole family eagerly awaited the appearance of this trail of candies, ostensibly dropped by the Easter Bunny himself, each year.

Share your own clever Easter ideas.

Terri L. Jones

Terri L. Jones has been writing educational and informative topics for the senior industry for over 10 years, and is a frequent and longtime contributor to Seniors Guide.

Terri Jones