Every Easter, my family has gone to church in the morning and ate a big family dinner afterwards. Sometimes, we were dressed up and ate off the fancy china, or sometimes it was a laid back barbecue by the pool. Either way, the one thing that the day always included was people. A lot of people.
This Easter, COVID-19 has changed everyone’s plans. We are no longer on campus with all of our close friends, and if you were planning to return home for Easter break, chances are you were not expecting this much time with your family without leaving your home. We have to distance ourselves, for our protection and others’. When taking everyone’s safety into consideration, the best way to celebrate this national holiday is at home— but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be enjoyable.
These are 4 ideas that you can do to get you, and anyone quarantined with you, in the Easter spirit.
- Easter-Themed Baking
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There are so many interesting recipes you can find online for any season. I find that Easter is an especially fun one. A lot of recipes are all about pastel colors, chocolate, and bunnies— some of my all time favorite things. You’ll find lots of ornate cakes and detailed pretzel flowers, but some of my favorite (and easy) ideas included a Peeps S’mores Dip and Bunny Cinnamon Rolls.
- Games & Activities
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Even though the resources for activities may be limited, there are still some fun and basic Easter traditions that you can adapt to fit the circumstances. An Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt is great for anyone quarantining with 2 or more people: each person gets to hide 10 eggs with clues in them around the house, each clue leading to the next egg, and at the end is a prize of your choice. Another way to switch up a classic craft is decorating plastic easter eggs. Since stores are low on edible eggs, and if you do buy them you probably want to be able to eat them, coloring affordable plastic Easter eggs could be a beneficial way to maximize resources.
- Watch some TV
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One of my all time favorite ways to enjoy the season is by watching movies and shows inspired by it. If you still have cable, Hallmark has seasonal movies year round that, while painfully cheesy, are still somehow extremely addicting. For the majority, though, Netflix or Hulu are our main streaming services. In this case, going back and watching an Easter episode from one of your favorite shows is always a good choice (Gilmore Girls- Season 4 Episode 18 for reference).
- Faith
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Although you may not be able to attend the annual Easter Sunday church service in person, there are lots of other options to honor what the day stands for. You can take some time out of the day to read your sacred text, listen to a sermon, religious podcast, or find out if your place of worship is holding an online service.
Easter is all about a fresh start. How do you want to incorporate that into your day— how’s your closet looking? Spring Cleaning, decorating, journaling, writing letters, volunteering (look for local community outreaches incorporating social-distancing), donating, or treating yourself to some flowers are even more ways to bring the spirit of the season to you.
Take this time to start fresh and tap into your imagination. We have the most time we’ve ever had, use it to get to know your loved ones and yourself better. There’s time to do things you love and try new things that may become another favorite outlet for your creativity.