Thank you to Heart Shaped Spoon for sharing top tips on how to minimise the inevitable sugar rush over Easter!
Easter is nearly upon us and it seems obligatory now that our children will be plied with vast quantities of sugar which if you had it your way would last them until Christmas, but in reality it never does!
If excessive sugar consumption is something that as a parent is playing on your mind, read on to discover great alternatives to try this year.
1. Take matters into your own hands, there is a wealth of lower sugar recipes/products online that would be just as exciting and tasty for your little ones without all the sugar. You can get the children involved in making some of them and leave these out for the Easter bunny to hide. You can find a link to receive my 10 guilt free chocolate treats recipe book at the bottom of this post.
2. If you are inundated by well-meaning gifts of chocolate eggs, try letting people know that you are looking at alternative options this year, small gifts of Easter toys or colouring/story books are a perfect option, there are many easily available non-food based Easter treats for the equivalent cost of an egg.
3. If Easter egg hunts get out of hand with the sugar content try creating an Easter hunt with ‘treasures’ instead of eggs. This can be modified or any age range, small gifts work well, it does not have to cost the earth, your children will love discovering prizes and the variety will keep them entertained.
Below is a list of ideas:
Hair accessories, jewellery, stationery, special healthier Easter-themed treats: homemade if you have time to pre-make these – wrapping them up in something beautiful, Easter themed trinkets/toys, stickers, temporary tattoos, plastic gold coins, little cars or figures, marbles and so on, really any little toys that would work well as party favours.
Plastic eggs are available easily, or you could create an arts and crafts activity for children who enjoy that, making your own eggs to leave for the Easter bunny to fill or treasure boxes to keep their goodies in after the hunt. For older children, a checklist of treasures works well, especially if you have a lot of children for the hunt. Colour coding the eggs is helpful too so that children find age-appropriate treasures and avoid finding duplicates.
4. For younger children create a special Easter activity such as purchasing an Easter-themed/ farmyard themed floor puzzle and hide the pieces. This is a lovely activity and will hold their attention well, they may need some clues to help to find the pieces, it is a great activity to do together.
5. An Easter mystery can be a great alternative to chocolate egg hunts, this works particularly well for older children, but again could be modified for any age group. This could work as a family activity or if you are throwing an Easter party as children can work together.
Make up your mystery, for example, where did the Easter bunny leave the egg? This means you can choose how much chocolate your child receives, as you would be hunting for one egg. You could do a small present or a letter from the Easter Bunny instead, the possibilities are vast.
Write clues to help to solve the mystery and to find subsequent clues. This can be made to suit your child’s ability. These can be mini problems to solve or directional hints to the location of the next clue.
Easter is a wonderful time to make memories with your children, to go on hunts and to eat some eggs… but it doesn’t have to mean they consume their body weight in chocolate!
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