An Easter For All The Family

Whether you spend Easter Sunday celebrating at church, catching up with friends, or chasing a child around an elaborately orchestrated egg hunt, you’re likely to see the upcoming long weekend as a chance to see family and friends and spend some time relaxing away from work.

Easter is fast becoming another excuse to indulge those we love as we enjoy a few extra days together, so Belle About Town has come up with a few ideas that should keep every member of the family happy.

For kids:

If a plain old Easter egg isn’t enough any more, why not give a little one something else they really want this year, and save their teeth in the process!  We love the SmartGames Bunny Boo for little ones. Young children can explore the fascinating world of three dimensions with this cute wooden box. Solve all 60 challenges (from easy to hard) or just play with it as a toy to learn about concepts such as above/below, left/right, inside/outside, visible/hidden – buy from  Amazon for £22.99Or if you’d rather older kids pick a gift for themselves, head along to Hamleys in Regent Street which has hours of free fun activities for kids throughout the school holidays including art and craft workshops and an Easter hunt. 

It’s great to dress kids up to suit the occasion, and organic clothing range Frugi have some gorgeous clothes for kids aged 0-10 with a nice Easter angle. This gorgeous Little Lola dress for girls is £26 and the cute bunny motif makes it seasonal without being tacky! There’s loads more to see at welovefrugi.com and something to suit all tastes.

But if it’s still all about the sweets, Haribo do a great selection of Easter sweets in cute chick packaging. A nice alternative to eggs.

For You:

When it comes to Easter eggs, nothing sounds more appealing to us than one with champagne in it. So we’re hoping for a box of Paxton egg-shaped champagne truffles comes April 16th. Handmade and filled with delicious dark chocolate or white chocolate Champagne ganache, these hand-decorated eggs are a luxury treat for the lady with impeccable taste. Available here at £30 for 24 or 12 for £18. If you prefer to sip your champagne, try Tesco’s finest Premier Cru Champagne, a delicious full bodied dry champagne. Infused with citrus notes, this delightful drink achieves a fresh and crisp taste that is sure to impress. Priced at £19.

For the Parents:

For those with a penchant for cheese over chocolate, look no further than the Cheaster Egg on sale in Iceland stores. Made from Wensleydale cheese blended with raspberry and chocolate curls, the 300g egg is a little gift with a twist. Priced at £3. Or if you’re looking for something a bit more stylish for their home, check out Dutch designers HEMA’s website – full of cute and quirky gifts for the whole family, there’s a great range of Easter themed items including tableware, candles and crafts.

For the Beau:

Buy a boy a box of chocolates and he’s happy for five minutes, but buy him a grooming kit and he’ll look good all year round. The new Braun Multi Grooming Kit is the ultimate all-in-one face, hair and body grooming kit. Regardless of his style it can help create defined looks that are unique to him. Available at Boots  for £52.49. But if all he wants is his cocoa fix, you can’t beat a box of egg-shaped Guylian chocolates – just make sure he shares!

For the Best Friend:

Nothing says Easter better than sitting down in the sunshine with your best friend and enjoying a chat and some vino (well, maybe other things do say Easter better, but you can see where we’re going with this…). So why not treat the BFF to a bottle of Barefoot Wine’s beautiful Pink Pinot Grigio? Deliciously dry and fruity, this is a rosé with class, and a snip at £6.99. Or invest in AA Skincare’s Helping Hands Kit – the perfect aromatic Spring treat for everyone from office workers to dog walkers who want to soothe and nourish their hands. Featuring the aromatherapy brand’s award-winning Almond & Sandalwood Moisturising Hand Cream and Peppermint & Ginger Uplifting Liquid Soap, the Easter bundle costs £13.50.  

Where to go:

The National Trust is hosting its annual Easter Egg Hunts with Cadburys at over 250 locations again this year. Follow the clues through manicured grounds and round mystical lakes to find the ultimate Easter bunny gift. A great way to get outdoors, have a bit of fun and support some of the country’s most treasured stately homes and gardens.

For families visiting the Capital, The Arch London’s Easter menu will feature a variety of delightful dishes including Chicken terrine with girolles, leeks and truffle dressing; Roast leg of lamb; Asparagus, broad bean, pea and mint risotto; and Blood orange with orange flower water, toasted almonds and mascarpone sorbet. Served in the family-friendly Hunter 486 restaurant, it’s a great destination for a bite to eat before catching a show, where you don’t have to worry that the kids are creating a nuisance for other guests. The Arch’s family package starts at £390 per night and during their stay, young children dine free. Each morning the whole family can also enjoy a complimentary English breakfast.

Easter eggs a bit small fry for you? Then how about some dinosaur eggs to really get the little ones excited? Head to Osterley Park in west London and take a walk around the Jurassic Kingdom . Open throughout the Easter holidays. the exhibition boats over 30 true-to-life dinosaur models and installations ready to roar, spit and snarl at those brave enough to get up close and personal. Having enjoyed it ourselves we can vouch that this is a fun day out for all the family in the most beautiful and historic of settings.

Celebrities including Dynamo and Blur legend Dave Rowntree will Tweet clues for the ultimate Easter Treasure Hunt of art pieces worth over £42k, which will be hidden around London this Easter. Celebrated Zebra One Gallery artist Dom Pattinson will be hiding pieces of his art across London from Good Friday until Easter Monday in the run-up to his forthcoming exhibition The Last Tango. Each piece is worth £3,000 and a pair makes up the whole image worth £7,000 – pairs will always be hidden near each other in the most unexpected places, from changing rooms of department stores to trains, alleyways and famous landmarks. And to raise money for humanitarian charity the International Rescue Committee (IRC) 50% of sales from pieces at the exhibition, which runs for a month from Easter Monday, will go directly to the charity.

And if you fancy travelling further afield, the Mercure Warwickshire Walton Hall Hotel & Spa will be hosting a 3-course Easter carvery lunch in the beautiful Orangery Restaurant, to fill everyone up after an energetic egg hunt around the gardens. Priced at £29.95 for adults and £14.95 for children (Under 5’s are free). To book, call 01789842424.

Emily Cleary

After almost a decade chasing ambulances, and celebrities, for Fleet Street’s finest, Emily has taken it down a gear and settled for a (slightly!) slower pace of life in the suburbs. With a love of cheese and fine wine, Emily is more likely to be found chasing her toddlers round Kew Gardens than sipping champagne at a showbiz launch nowadays, or grabbing an hour out of her hectic freelancer’s life to chill out in a spa while hubby holds the babies. If only!