Nothing says Easter like Cadbury

Easter will soon be upon us. I love Easter because it means we have yet another excuse to do some fun things together as a family. Every year I plan an elaborate Easter Egg Hunt for the kids (I say kids but most of them are now officially adults - but they still love my hunts with cryptic clues, physical challenges and puzzles to solve!) We have a big vegetarian roast dinner and eat lots of chocolate. Perfect!

I like to stock up on plenty of chocolate treats in the run up to Easter. This year, Cadbury have a great range of  chocolatey goodies, which the Easter Bunny will be proud to deliver. From favourites such as Mini Eggs to the eggscellent Egg Hunt Pack to popping candy chocolate bunnies, there is something for everyone. Large individual Easter Eggs are available in lots of different varieties from Cadbury Buttons to Creme Egg. I love the mini filled eggs that come in a range of flavours including my favourites Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo and Daim. The Cadbury Dairy Milk Spring Edition is a lovely seasonal twist on the classic bar. With prices to suit all budgets and varieties to suit most tastes, Cadbury have Easter covered. 

You can come up with some lovely activities for the family such as a simple Easter Egg hunt for younger children, where you hide the eggs around the garden for them to find and pop in a basket. Or use them as prizes in an Easter quiz or rewards for completing a more complicated challenge! However you celebrate Easter, I hope you have a lot of fun and enjoy indulging in some yummy treats!

Some Fun Easter Facts from Cadbury

• 255,000 Cadbury Easter Eggs are made at the Bournville factory every day
• That is 10,625 Cadbury Easter Eggs made per hour or 177 per minute!
• If you stacked every Cadbury Easter Egg made at Bournville every day on top of each other you’d have a tower of Cadbury Eggs as high as 305 Big Bens!
• Over 83 million Easter Eggs are sold in the UK over the Easter season, with the Cadbury Creme Egg being the most popular.
• Over 300 million Cadbury Creme Eggs are made every year, with about two thirds of that number being enjoyed in the UK – that is 3.5 Cadbury Creme Eggs for every man, woman and child in the country to enjoy!

This year, the Cadbury Easter Bunny is inviting families to come together and take part in some eggsciting egg hunts across the country.  Cadbury is teaming up with the National Trust to offer families the ultimate day out with more than 300 Cadbury Easter Egg hunts being activated across various sites in the lead up to Easter. With over 300 egg hunts to choose from across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, Cadbury will be sure to help families have a fun-filled Easter. 

To find out more and discover a Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt at a National Trust property near you, visit: www.cadbury.co.uk/easter

Breakfast or Tea with the Easter Bunny at Wyevale Garden Centres

This Easter, if you are looking for something wonderfully seasonal to do with the family, check out the Wyevale Garden Centre's Breakfast or Tea with the Easter Bunny event.  

Breakfast and Tea sessions are being held until the 5th April, with breakfast starting at 9 am and tea at 4 pm. Sessions last for approximately 90 minutes.

Suitable for boys and girls aged between 2 and 10, children get to meet the Easter Bunny in the restaurant. They also get to enjoy a meal, decorate an Easter biscuit and receive a cute, cuddly toy and a Lindt chocolate bunny!

We were invited to pop along to enjoy a delicious breakfast and some Easter fun at our local garden centre in Bridgemere. 

We were met in the restaurant and showed to our reserved table, which had been laid out ready for our breakfast.  The kids had an activity sheet and crayons to keep them busy, while Ian and I enjoyed a cup of freshly brewed filter coffee.

We ordered vegetarian breakfasts, which were served to our table with hot buttered toast.  The children had hash browns, scrambled eggs and beans, while we had fried eggs, hash browns, mushrooms, beans, fried bread and tomato.  The food was well cooked and presented, and was lovely.

After they had eaten, the children had to shout for the Easter Bunny who then appeared  at the door much to their delight.  The Easter Bunny went around every table to greet families and pose for photographs. The bunny was very obliging, hugging little ones and doing selfies with the older kids.

Freddy and Kezia were able to pick a cuddly toy from a basket, which was filled with cute, wide eyed farm animal toys.  Freddy fell in love with the yellow duckling, giving him lots of cuddles.

Every child was then given a plate with a yummy, shortbread biscuit along with a tube of icing and a pot containing sprinkles, marshmallows and chocolate buttons. Freddy and Kezia enjoyed decorating their biscuits.

They were also given a box so that the biscuits could be taken home and enjoyed later. I thought this was a very nice touch, keeping their decorated creations safe and secure.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny costs £9.99 per child to include the food, drink, soft toy, chocolate bunny, activity sheet and biscuit decorating.  Adults having a full English breakfast with coffee or tea pay £7.99, or can have a Danish pastry and a coffee for £3.99.

Tea compromises of a hot kids' meal and a drink or a picnic option, along with all the other fun stuff enjoyed at breakfast, for £9.99.  Adults can enjoy a lovely afternoon tea of filled rolls, cake squares, clotted cream and jam scone along with tea or coffee for £7.99, or a slice of cake and a drink for £3.99.

We were really impressed with the quality and the value of the event.  The atmosphere was relaxed, the staff were all very friendly and efficient and the food was great.  The toys and the Lindt chocolate bunnies were lovely gifts to take home.

Book events online on the Wyevale website.

Times and dates may vary by centre.

What Fred Said About Jesus and the Crucifixion

So Freddy just said to his dad:

"Did you know that Jesus drowned on the cross?" 

Sadly, this was not a case of my child getting the wrong end of the stick.

No.

He was able to go into graphic detail about how crucifixion kills you, including the fact that your lungs fill with fluid because you are unable to breathe properly, which causes drowning from the inside. He also explained how whipping someone with a rope whip, made with shards of bones attached, rips flesh and skin from the bones and that this is a very painful way to die.

It was the local reverend who explained the graphic horrors of crucifixion to my 5 year old during the annual Easter church service. I thought they'd be hearing a child friendly version of the Easter story, not a certificate 18 one.

I had hoped that the words would wash over him, in one ear and out the other, but Freddy, with his sponge-like thirst for knowledge, had taken in every detail of what was said. He just loves facts! He'll happily tell you about it in the same way he will tell you about magnets or the water cycle or whatever else he has just learned from Nina and the Neurons.

Even though he doesn't seem upset by what he heard, I am trying to counteract it with stories of Easter bunnies, fluffy chicks, chocolate eggs and bright yellow daffodils. After all, I don't want him thinking about executions while tucking into his Creme Eggs this year.

How To Make A Easter Bunny Mask

With the weather being more akin to winter than spring, we have kept ourselves cosy by staying indoors!  Thankfully, we have had lots to keep us entertained and busy including doing some Easter arts and crafts projects. 3M Scotch set us a challenge to create some Everyday Magic at Easter with the kids by working on an Easter craft challenge using the Scotch Brand products. We were sent a bundle of Scotch goodies including their Magic Tape to use, which was perfectly timed to tie in with our own Easter craft activities.

For the challenge we decided to make an Easter Bunny Mask and Kizzy took charge!

What You Need

A4 foam sheet

Scotch scissors

Scotch Magic Tape

Scotch Double Sided Tape

Scotch Expressions Tape

Felt

Cotton wool

Cardboard

Feathers

Pipe Cleaners

Elastic

Hole Punch

What You Need to Do

Simply draw a mask shape onto card and use it as a template to draw the shape onto a piece of craft foam.

Cut out carefully (including eye holes - that are the right size and position for your child to see through!)

Using Scotch double sided tape, stick cotton wool onto his ears to make them fluffy.

Cut out cheeks from felt and teeth from white card and stick onto the mask with the tape.

Twist 3 pipe cleaners in the middle to make whiskers and stick with Scotch double sided tape.

Use Scotch Magic tape to secure the whiskers and then stick a felt nose on the top using a loop of tape.

Cut thin strips of Scotch Illusions tape and stick down as eyelashes.

Add a few finishing touches using feathers, felt shapes, glitter etc. to personalise your Bunny!

Carefully punch a hole on either side of your finished mask, thread elastic through and secure ends.

Here is Kizzy's video tutorial on How To Make an Easter Bunny Mask!

It was a fun activity allowing Kizzy to use her creativity to create a rather spangly and funky Easter Bunny.  I think she did brilliantly well!   Why don't you challenge your little ones to make some Easter crafts this year? From bonnets, to painted eggs, to decorated sweet jars to pompom chicks, Easter is a great inspiration for craft activities.  We are having a lot of fun getting arty this year (especially as we can't go outside!)

Check out Scotch's Facebook Page  for hints, tips, chat and competitions!

We were sponsored by Scotch 3M to take part in this challenge and were given a selection of tapes to use in our Easter arts and crafts activities.

Find Me An Easter Gift!!

Easter is rapidly approaching and if you want to find a gift that is a bit different to the normal generic chocolate eggs found in supermarkets then look no further than findmeagift.co.uk for unique, unusual ideas for men, women and children alike.

We were lucky to be sent an adorable Easter Bunny soft toy personalised with Freddy's name.  The cute cream coloured bunny sits 21cm tall when sitting.  He has detailed stitching to his paws, glassy eyes and a furry pink nose.

He wears a knitted cream jumper that can be personalised with four lines of text, each up to 16 characters long.  He also wears a smart bow tie.

The stitching is available in blue or pink.

Anyone would be delighted to receive their own bunny this Easter.  He costs £16.19 (which is a 10% saving on the RRP).

If cuddly toys aren't your thing how about a personalised Easter candle for just £6.29.

If you prefer a chocolate gift you could get something more unusual than a traditional egg.  How about this Modelling Chocolate to create your own edible models!  This magical, flexible chocolate dough can be shaped, squished, modelled and then eaten!  For just £3.99 this starter pack will provide hours of fun over Easter!

Or say it with chocolate with this Happy Easter Choccie Pizza consisting of eight slices of Belgian Chocolate decorated with rainbow drops, chocolate curls and Easter bunnies for £11.95.

Whatever you are looking for this Easter to treat your loved ones, take a peek at Find Me A Gift!