Non-Chocolate Easter Gifts and Easter Activities for Kids!
The coming of Easter is the light at the end of a long, dark, wintry tunnel, as we find ourselves moving into Spring. I don’t know about you, but I just love the colours and symbols around Easter: daffodils, lambs, bunnies, and, most importantly…chocolate eggs!
If you’re like me, you’ve been rolling your eyes at the supermarkets bringing out the chocolate eggs as soon as Valentine’s was over, while at the same time wondering if it’s reasonable to buy one to eat right now (the answer is yes, by the way), but it wasn’t always the way.
Eggs, according to Food Historian Sam Bilton, are an important symbol of rebirth and new life, and while it was an ancient custom to gift eggs to one another at the changing of the seasons, it seems that this tradition was picked up by early Christians, as a symbol of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As a chocolate lover, this blog hits hard for me. Give me all the Easter Eggs I can fit in the boot of my car, please! For those cutting back on the sugar, vegan, or just fancying something different, we at OohBox have you covered!
A Baking Day
Easter starts with Shrove Tuesday, and if you’ve given up anything for Lent, that’s 40 days (not including Sundays) of patiently waiting for something tasty. Why not celebrate with a day in the kitchen? There are a number of traditional foods that are synonymous with Easter. One of them is lamb, to symbolise Jesus as ‘the lamb of God’, or in the earlier Pagan traditions, as a symbol of Spring. Another is the hot cross bun, related due to the cross on the top of the bun, and that they are made of bread, a popular sacrificial food from many different ancient cultures. Or you can scrap the whole symbology and bake a massive Victoria Sponge made easy with the farmhouse kitchen styled Baking Gift Box, it's totally up to you.
Pace Eggs
How to celebrate Easter without cracking a few eggs? Pace eggs are another ancient tradition that we’re just about clinging on to in the UK! They are dyed hard boiled eggs that were given as presents at Easter, and they’re very easy to make! While the Victorian Sponge above is cooking, boil a (preferably) white shelled egg for around 10-15 minutes. Once that’s done, place the egg in 250ml of water, with one teaspoon of white wine vinegar, and either:
2-3 teaspoons of turmeric (if you want a yellow egg)
½ a teaspoon of food colouring paste (for either blue or green)
The skin of 3 large brown onions (if you want orange)
2-3 teaspoons of cochineal (if you want a red egg)
When the egg has cooled, wipe it over with some oil on some kitchen paper, and voila! Your lovely pace egg. It’s tradition to race your pace eggs by rolling them along the ground to see which one gets the furthest. Good luck!
The Sponge is cooling on the rack, you’ve won the pace egg rolling race, and you notice that the sun is out, ready for a gorgeous day of gardening! Treat yourself to a brew and plant some beautiful and planet saving wild flowers, to attract bees and other pollinating insects to your garden. Our Spring Seed Gift Box and Nature Seed Gardener Gift are the perfect gift for a green fingered friend or relative this Easter.
And when the bees come, they’re going to want a little home! Enjoy a bar of delicious chocolate and watch the honeybees getting comfortable in your Bee hotel. The Bee-Loved contains a huge selection of gifts and is a lovely addition to any garden, just in time for Spring!
Chocolate-free Easter Egg Hunts!
Beginning in Germany waaaaay back in the 16th Century, Easter Egg hunts were staged by men, in order for women and children to search for them, as a symbol for the women who found Christ’s tomb empty (lots of symbology around Easter, understandably!). Since then, the Easter Egg hunt has evolved into a fun activity for children to play. But who says you need to use chocolate eggs? Pace eggs were originally used, so you can reuse yours from your race, or you could perhaps hide small gifts around the garden. A plush toy or a storybook, perhaps even musical instruments! And who says the kids get to have all the fun? A boozy ‘egg’ hunt is the perfect way to liven up a Spring Garden Party! Just swap the eggs for a small bottle of fizz, and you’re having the time of your life!
We hope these suggestions inspire you to mix it up this Easter, and bring the old traditions up to speed with the new!
