Friday, March 29, 2024

Easter treats

-

Egg

After a particularly cold winter, Easter is the time when it really feels as if spring is here – with it being late this year we’ve had longer to wait, but perhaps that means the weather should be better when the holiday finally arrives!

There is certainly plenty going on in the area whether or not the sun puts in an appearance, so there’s no excuse to sit at home for the whole of the long weekend…

Museums and stately homes are great places to take the family at this time of year because they often incorporate both indoor and outdoor activities, with the option to view the permanent exhibits as well as taking part in special Easter activities.

Avoncroft Museum of Buildings (01527 831363) is a classic example, and on Bank Holiday weekend one of the best-loved exhibits, the Danzey Green windmill, is back in action. 

Hanbury Hall (01527 821214) offers traditional Easter activities from April 14-17, with an Easter egg trail, face-painting and crafts for kids, while the Black Country Living Museum (0121 557 9643) runs events throughout the school holidays including an egg hunt, egg painting, an egg rolling competition and a family quiz.

An Easter Eggstravaganza takes place at Shugborough Hall and Estate (01889 881388) from April 14-17, featuring more egg hunting, flower displays and a chance for kids to meet the new spring lambs and chicks.

Ragley Hall (01789 762090) has a Family Fun Day on Easter Sunday, promising an egg hunt with a difference, creative workshops and competitions, puppet shows, face painting and magic – and there’s also a Treasure Hunt on Easter Monday.

Croome Park near Pershore (01905 371006 runs a family Easter Trail on April 16-17, while the Birmingham and Midland Museum of Transport (01564 826471) at Wythall opens for the summer on Easter Sunday, featuring special events alongside the classic transport memorabilia.

The Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses in Birmingham (0121 454 1860) offers a special egg hunt on Easter Day – from 10am-4pm kids can follow a mystery Rainbow Trail for coloured eggs and clues to win a Cadbury’s Creme Egg while their parents browse the gardens. And don’t forget Cadbury World (0845 450 3599) itself – booking is essential during school holidays. 

Warwick Castle (0870 442 2000) is always a popular day out, its exhibitions and costumed actors getting kids really interested in history. Youngsters will love to attend ‘Knight School’ during the holidays. Birds of prey displays now operate twice daily, and a full-scale battle re-enactment called Siege! takes place over Easter weekend.

If your family enjoys spending time outdoors, why not visit Lickey Hills Country Park (0121 447 7106) for a walk or a picnic? The park is running special Easter events on the day itself – kids can enter a decorated egg competition and take part in a Easter trail, with tasty rewards for everyone!

Sports fans have several options over the holiday weekend. In football, the Midlands’ three Premiership Clubs are in action, with the Birmingham derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham City taking place at Villa Park on Easter Sunday and West Bromwich Albion hosting Bolton Wanderers the next day.

More locally, Bromsgrove Rovers entertain Stourport Swifts on April 15 and travel to Solihull Borough on April 17, while Barnt Green Spartak have two away games on those dates against Nuneaton Griff and Brocton. Alvechurch FC go to Cradley Town on April 15, and host Racing Club Warwick in the local derby on Easter Monday.

In motor sport, Silverstone (08704 588290) hosts the British Racing & Sports Car Club’s Clubmans Raceday on April 15, featuring Club F3, the Alfa Romeo Championship and the TVR Challenge, amongst other races. On Easter Sunday the Vintage Champion-ship Motorcycle races take place at Mallory Park near Leicester (01455 842931).

For horsepower of a different kind, what about a day out at one of the region’s race courses? There’s National Hunt Racing at Towcester (01327 353414) on April 16, while Stratford (01789 267949) has an event meeting on April 23.

This date also happens to be Shakespeare’s birthday, so Stratford will be celebrating in style over that weekend. Entertainment is due to include street theatre, music, dance displays and a procession.

Of course, April 23 is St George’s Day as well, and many venues are holding special events, including Warwick Castle, Hanbury Hall and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (0121 303 2834).

Should the weather prove less than ideal, there are plenty of Easter activities to do at home, such as egg decorating – painting a hard-boiled egg is easiest, and if you use food colouring as paint, you can even eat it later!

Easter bonnets can be made by decorating an existing hat or creating one yourself. Make a cone or crown from stiff card, or attach an upturned paper or polystyrene bowl to a paper plate to make a hat shape, then decorate using crepe or tissue paper, flowers and ribbons.

Making bonnets and decorating eggs are also good themes for a children’s Easter party if it’s not nice enough to go outdoors, and an indoor egg hunt is a possibility if you have a reasonably large playroom or living room.

Cute party treats include creating a ‘nest’ of chocolate-covered cornflakes and filling it with Mini Eggs, or decorating iced cupcakes to look like bunnies or chicks.

Finally, if you fancy doing something a bit different with all that Easter chocolate, why not melt some of it down to make a fondue and invite some friends over to share it?

Kids love a chance to eat with their fingers, and you can at least pretend you’re being healthy by dipping fruit pieces into the chocolate! SO

 

Previous article
Next article