Fourteen cheap Easter activities for kids

Worried about how to entertain the kids over the Easter break? Find out how to decorate eggs, make hot cross buns, create a scavenger hunt and best of all, how to turn one egg into 150!

The two week Easter break is looming, meaning many parents (and grandparents) will be looking for inexpensive ways to entertain their young charges.

Of course, for many children just having time at home is fun in itself, and if the weather is nice the garden (or local park) is the perfect place to be. But if you do need a few ideas to keep your kids (and their friends) occupied over the Easter break, here are a few ideas for every budget.

1. Get Creative 

Don't worry if it it should rain: be creative - get the kids decorating eggs and making Easter bonnets, cards, baskets or bunny ears. Or print out some Easter pictures for little ones to colour in.

2. Free Treasure Hunt

If you're near Dobbie's Garden World (near Preston), check out its free Easter Bunny Treasure Hunt.

3. Ride on Thomas the Tank Engine

If you've a larger budget, Thomas the Tank Engine will be at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre between Good Friday (10 April) and Easter Monday (13 April). Adult tickets cost £10, and children aged 2-15 pay £8, so you could pack a picnic and ride all day. Other attractions included in the price are a Punch & Judy show, a Magic show and a miniature railway. But note: you can't use Tesco vouchers on "Thomas" day.

4. Get cooking

Kids love cooking and homemade pizzas are easy and relatively quick to make - plus that's lunch/dinner sorted out! Or why not help them make some delicious hot cross buns?

5. Don't forget the library

Most libraries have a number of free activities planned (here's what's on in Birmingham) - check out your local library's website or pop in for a listing. And even if there's nothing on, a pleasant morning can be spent choosing a few books, using the computers and borrowing a DVD.

6. Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is holding an Easter egg hunt and offers free face painting during the Easter weekend. And Birdworld is also holding an Easter egg hunt on Thursday 9 April between 11am and 4pm. And most National Trust properties are holding Easter activities of some description.

7. Melt down those eggs

If you do find yourself struggling to know what to do with the vast number of Easter eggs your kids receive, here are a few recipe ideas!

8. Create a Treasure Hunt

Liven up a dull afternoon by creating your own treasure hunt. Secrete a few items around the garden (little toys, chocolate eggs, etc.) around the garden for younger children to find (if you're really keen you could put them inside homemade treasure balls). Older kids could be given a treasure map, or clues/riddles to solve to find their prize, but don't make it too tough -- as a rule, the number of clues set should equal the child's age.

9. Or a Scavenger Hunt

Alternatively, set up a scavenger hunt. List 10 items for the kids to collect in order to claim a prize (a feather, a holly leaf, an oak leaf, a plant pot etc). Easy - and free.

10. Photographic Scavenger Hunt

If you need to entertain a few older kids, arm two teams with cheap digital cameras/camera phones and list ten things they need to photograph (someone in uniform, an unusual animal, ten people in a phone box, a statue, the team in "catalogue" poses/acting out a scene from a movie, etc.). You can make it more interesting by demanding that every member of the team has to (somehow) be in every picture.

11. What's on in London

If you're in London, Hamleys has a number of Easter activities with appearances by Bob the Builder, Dora the Explorer, and Scooby Doo scheduled. And here are more Easter activities planned in London.

12. Peter Rabbit

Help Peter Rabbit find his Easter eggs and you could win a prize.

13. Give your Easter egg to charity

And finally, here's a great idea from World Emergency Relief (WER). Instead of buying yet another chocolate egg for your kids, why not let them turn that money into 150 eggs for a hungry family in Africa? Donate just £6 (the price of a couple of Easter eggs) and WER will fund the purchase of a laying hen for an impoverished family, providing them with around 150 eggs each year to eat or sell.

14. Raise some cash!

Better still, order your free "Be a good egg" fundraising pack and come up with some activities to raise some more money for the cause!

So there you have it - no reason to be bored.

Frugal Friday | Your guide to Child Trust Funds