Easter Activities for Children

Now the Easter Holidays are here and the weather is looking less than inviting I thought I would do some activities to entertain your children or Grandchildren indoors.


Most children love ‘helping’ bake so I have found two simple recpies with an Easter theme, Easter Rocky Road and Easter Chick Cupcakes. Both recipe’s are from the Good Food Channel and both are easy enough for children to get involved with.

Easter Rocky Road

Prep time: 15 min, plus setting time

Cook time: 5 min

Serves: Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients
• 300 g milk chocolate, (min 30% cocoa solids)

• 100 g butter, softened

• 100 g digestive biscuits

• 100 g rich tea biscuits

• 100 g mini marshmallows

• 200 g chocolate mini eggs



Method

1. Break the chocolate into pieces, place in a bowl and melt gently - you can do this either in a microwave or on the hob in a heatproof bowl over simmering water.



2. Add the butter and stir until it is melted and fully mixed with the chocolate.



3. Place all the biscuits in a food bag and bash with a rolling pin, but stop before they all turn to dust.



4. Add the biscuits and the mini marshmallows to the warm buttery chocolate and stir well.



5. Pour the mixture onto a buttered baking tray and top liberally with the mini eggs.



6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and then cut into pieces. Store in a cool place and eat within 3 days.



Easter Chick Cupcakes

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 18 min

Serves: Makes 12

Ingredients
For the cupcakes

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened

• 125 g caster sugar

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 125 g self-raising flour

To decorate

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened

• 250 g icing sugar

• 2 tbsp milk

• 100 g moist shredded coconut

• yellow food colouring

• 24 chocolate chips

• 12 orange jelly diamond sugar decorations



Method

1. For the cupcakes: heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Once this is pale and fluffy, add 2 eggs one at a time.



2. Add the flour and once this has become a nice fluffy cake batter spoon into cupcake cases in a muffin tray and bake for 18 minutes. Once they are firm but springy to the touch, remove from the oven and allow to cool.



3. To decorate: Put the shredded coconut in a bag and drop in some yellow food colouring. Give it a good shake until the white strands have turned a cheerful yellow colour. Turn it out onto a large plate.



4. In a bowl, combine the butter with the icing sugar. If your buttercream frosting is a bit stiff, add the milk to soften it.



5. Once this has mixed well and become fluffy, dollop 1 heaped teaspoon on each cupcake and spread to form an even layer with a palette knife.



6. Scatter the top of each iced cake with the yellow coconut flakes to give an even coating. Finish each cake with 2 chocolate chip eyes and a jelly beak.



Easter Crafts

There are so many Easter crafts that you can do with children including:

Making Easter cards – coloured card, cotton wool, tissue paper, poster paints, brushes, felt tips, Pritstick

Easter bonnets – plain straw hat ( a card hat can be made instead using a large sheet of card, double sided sticky tape and staples), PVA glue, coloured card, glitter, little Easter chicks (available from most card shops and supermarkets), tissue paper, silk flowers, feathers, ribbons and buttons.

Painted/coloured hard boiled eggs – Hard boiled eggs (eggs boiled for 12 minutes then cooled), felt tip pens, Poster paints, brushes, tissue paper, glitter, wool strands for hair, googly eyes, pritstick.

Homemade Christmas Gift Tags

here is a lovely PDF for you to print off, showing you how to make some festive tags https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2N4DYZB7_H_VXAtbV9xWlNDMEk

Children in Need

Children in Need has just been broadcast but did you know that it first began in 1927? It was first a broadcast appeal for children that constituted a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day in 1927. The response was phenomenal and it raised £1,143 18s 3d which was split between 4 prominent children's charities. The first televised appeal was the 1955 'Children's Hour Christmas Appeal', presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. The Christmas Day Appeals continued on TV and radio right up until 1979, raising a total of £625,836. In 1980 the appeal was broadcast on BBC One in a new telethon format, hosted by Terry with Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen for the first time. It has continued up to this day and has so far raised in excess of £600 million.

Pudsey has been the mascot since 1985 but he first appeared as a cuddly brown bear, he took on his more familiar appearance in 1986 when he became yellow with a spotted bandage and he stayed like that until he was revamped again in 2007 this was to made him brighter and more appealing.

Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a childhood which is:

· Safe
· Happy and Secure
· Allows them the chance to reach their potential

They provide grants to projects in the UK which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged. They operate all throughout the UK and give grants to both small and large organisations four times a year. They help such a wide range of children and on their website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/ there are so many wonderful and tear jerking stories of how people’s money has gone to help those really in need.

So this year try and spare what you can or get involved in any way you are able to raise money for this fantastic Charity that does so much to help those who otherwise would be living without the things most of us take for granted.