What To Do With The Children Over Easter

What To Do With The Children Over Easter

Looking to fill the Easter holidays with a few fun activities? From an extra-special egg hunt to nature trails and cooking classes, we’ve rounded up some suggestions to keep the children entertained this year.
Photography: NOT ON THE HIGH STREET
Photography: NOT ON THE HIGH STREET

The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Kew Gardens

This Easter, The Very Hungry Caterpillar lands at Kew Gardens as part of a nature trail. Guests will embark on the transformational journey to becoming a beautiful butterfly, based on Eric Carle’s ever-popular book, winding through sculptures of juicy fruits and even a cosy chrysalis along the way. Children will also learn facts about the wonder of nature and the close connections between plant and insect life on Earth, exploring seasonal plants in the gardens, with tulips, bluebells, magnolias, and cherry blossom all coming to life.

Visit Kew.org

Easter Activities with Not On The High Street

Not On The High Street has a huge selection of Easter activity sets on offer to help keep children entertained over the holidays. We love the look of Fred & Robin’s personalised, wicker basket – a lovely way for little ones to collect their Easter goodies. Each basket comes with a personalised plaque as well as a decorative wooden rabbit. For those wanting to get hands on, Craft & Crumb’s Easter egg biscuit baking kit comes with everything needed to bake and decorate a batch of Easter egg-shaped biscuits, plus a craft kit to make your own egg hunt in the garden.

Visit NotOnTheHighStreet.com

Easter Duck Trail at London Wetland Centre

The London Wetland Centre is home to a wide variety of duck species, from the brightly coloured Mandarin to whistling ducks. Now, the team has created an Easter duck trail, where kids will need to put their detective hats on to crack clues and hunt down bright yellow ducks hiding in the wetlands. Children will also be able to see the real male ducks displaying their bright breeding feathers. Other activities on offer include taking part in an otter feed, visiting the indoor and outdoor play areas, and taking on the ‘Wild Walk’ course.

Visit WWT.org.uk

Hot Cross Bun Classes at Bread Ahead

Older children and teens can learn how to make the ultimate hot cross buns from home during this live workshop – which is taking place on three different dates during the holidays. Bakers will learn how to make hot cross buns filled with mixed peel, fruits and spices, and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The recipes are designed for bakers of all abilities and will be mixed by hand, using domestic kitchen utensils, so there’s no specialist equipment required. Easter workbooks include a complete shopping and equipment list, which will be sent over in advance. The workshop will last approximately 2-2.5 hours.

Visit BreadAhead.com

Easter Egg Hunts at National Trust

The National Trust has announced a series of Easter egg hunts at some of the historic properties it looks after this spring. However, there will also be plenty of family friendly activities and ideas on offer for you to try with your family at home. Three activity packs are available, each inspired by springtime animals – the house martin, thick-legged flower beetle and painted lady butterfly. Children can get to know each of the species and be inspired by the great outdoors as they discover interesting facts about these creatures, get creative with crafts or do something beneficial for the natural world.

Visit NationalTrust.org.uk

Doctor Who: Time Fracture at Immersive LDN 

Doctor Who: Time Fracture is a new immersive adventure which plunges fans into the universe of Doctor Who. For decades, in a quiet corner of Mayfair, a dangerous rift in time and space has been monitored by a group of loyal members of the long-thought-disbanded Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Until now they have managed to protect the people of Earth from the threat the rift poses, but they’re now close to defeat. With 43 live actors and 17 different worlds to explore, guests will take an epic journey across space and time, travel to exciting new places, confront menacing monsters and encounter ancient aliens. While all shows feature the same content, there’s a range of matinee performances that are particularly good for families. The show is suitable for ages 8+.

Visit ImmersiveDoctorWho.com

Adventure Quests at English Heritage

English Heritage needs adventurers to discover hidden treasure this Easter. Children can get involved with hands-on crafts and activities that will take them on a journey into the past. ‘Easter Adventure Quests’ on offer include making dragons out of clay, crafting a personalised shield, plus videos for making a cardboard sword and improving swordsmanship. Looking for something a little more Easter themed? There’s also a guide to decorating eggs with colourful dyes.

Visit EnglishHeritage.org.uk

DIY Easter Trees with Biscuiteers

Biscuiteers has put together a selection of Easter activities for families. There’s a DIY Easter Tree kit, filled with everything needed to create a themed tree – including pre-baked eggs, piping bags, icing sugar, ribbon and plenty of sprinkles and decorations. Then in the group’s three shops – in Clapham, Begravi and Notting Hill – children can head in for a hands-on icing experience. Finally, the team has shared its own tips for creating DIY bunny bunting and fun Easter party ideas at home.

Visit Biscuiteers.com

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the newest adventure created by J.K. Rowling. Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines.

Visit Odeon.co.uk

Terrible Thames

Last year, Terrible Thames was highly commended at the London Tourism Awards – and more than 60,000 people took to the river to experience it. Now, it’s returning for a second season this April. Departing from Tower Bridge Quay, the journey incorporates immersive theatre with facts and history as the team delivers its own take on London – designed for both children and adults. A one-off entertaining and exhilarating attraction provided by the Horrible Histories team, it’s the history of the Thames – with the nasty bits left in.

Visit TerribleThames.cSeeTickets.com

Tower Bridge’s New Cat Trail

To celebrate the launch of Tower Bridge’s third instalment in its award-winning children’s book series, The Tower Bridge Cat, the London landmark has launched a new Cat Trail activity this Easter. Kids can join Bella the Tower Bridge Cat and the characters from the books as they make their way through Tower Bridge. Through pop-up graphic installations, children will meet The Bridge Master and Bella’s team – Hannah the Cook, Poppy the Painter and Stan the Stoker, along with the identical twins, Eddie the Engineer and Olly the Oiler, who will all help answer key questions about how and when Tower Bridge lifts. Kids can stamp their answers in their training record, pass an apprenticeship and become part of Bella’s Tower Bridge team. 

Visit TowerBridge.org.uk

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