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Easter is a great time of year!  

Normally families love nothing more than a celebration and plenty of food, drink and chocolate.

However, this year will be different, with most of us in isolation and observing the government’s social distancing guidelines due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We must stay at home to save lives, but this doesn’t mean a weekend of boredom and staying inside.

Here are some ways to keep the mind & body active and have fun as a family.

If you were planning on seeing loved ones over Easter, why not show them how much you care and send them a card (maybe homemade) or gift in the post, what a lovely surprise…and probably a well needed pick me up.

Arrange a virtual family or friends gathering using technology so you can all share some time together, chatting and catching up. Or one of the group could prepare a short quiz….a really fun way of staying connected

Get creative with the kids. Arts and crafts can be an engaging and fun experience for both parents and children.

– Decorate eggs. Hard boil eggs and wait for them or cool down and then decorate. Try splattering them by flicking a paintbrush, use glitter paints to add some sparkle and draw zig zags and polka dots…just get creative. You can also buy fake eggs so you don’t have to worry about using real eggs and hard boiling.

– Easter egg hunt. I think we can all agree, young and old that the perfect Easter Sunday would be hunting down and eating chocolate. With a traditional easter egg hunt taking place in the garden you may want to make it longer by including hiding in the house. This would mean a lot of chocolate eggs to hide so why not swap some chocolate eggs to hide with little egg or bunny cards.

– Chocolate Nests. If you have children old enough to help you in the kitchen, an afternoon of baking is on the cards. An easy no bake recipe that is fun to make and delicious to enjoy – for adults too! Ingredients are simple and most can be found in your cupboards at home already, so there’s no need to venture out to Supermarkets. Let the kids read the recipe and understand for themselves what needs to be done, illuminate their senses of smell and taste and make good practice of washing your hands and personal hygiene.

– Easter active games. Set up a mini assault course in your garden (if the weather’s good!) and get really active with the kids.  Or how about fun Easter-themed games, such as an egg and spoon race.  These are all forms of exercise and will help you to offset some of the calories consumed by the chocolate! 

Get inspired by the Easter bunny himself and do some bouncy exercises as part of your workout.  So why not grab a skipping rope and get jumping in the garden!  The speed of the rope is crucial, so jump low but get your arms moving quickly.  Star jumps are another stalwart and popular as warm ups or quick-fire calorie burners.  And finally, why not give ‘jump lunges’ a go.  A similar technique to the usual lunge, so start as you would normally.  However, jump back up and while you’re in mid-air swing your right leg to the front and your left leg to the back. Now aim to land on both legs simultaneously, with your knees bent to absorb the impact.

Whatever you do this easter weekend, try and include some exercise in or around your own home and stay safe, healthy and positive.

Happy Easter from Abbeycroft!