Indoor Easter fun: How to make the long next weekend special during lockdown

For the first time a four-day weekend is not something to look forward to or make plans for as we know exactly where we will be spending it – indoors.

To make it worse most of us are separated from loved ones and friends at a time when we would all normally be getting together to do something fun.

Easter is one of the most important holidays in the Christian calendar and marked around the globe.

But this year celebrations are likely to be very different as we stay at home in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.

So what can we do to make the Easter weekend different to every other one during the lockdown and ensure those who want to celebrate its true meaning can do so?

Food and drink

From boiled eggs and roast lamb to hot cross buns and simnel cake – why not embrace all of Easter’s traditional fare? It is customary to have a hard or soft boiled egg for breakfast on the Easter weekend.

A long-standing symbol of fertility and new life, eggs represent the tomb in which Jesus was buried after his crucifixion.

For your Sunday roast, lamb is an obvious choice and has become linked with Easter due to the reference of Jesus being the sacrificial Lamb of God.

Hot cross buns are said to date back as far as the 12th century when an Anglican monk baked the buns and marked them with a cross in honour of Good Friday.

Simnel cake is a tasty treat that goes back to medieval times. The fruit cake has two layers of almond paste or marzipan, one in the middle and one on top that is toasted.

It is then topped with 11 marzipan balls to represent the 11 apostles of Christ, minus Judas.

And, of course, if you’ve still got room, there are chocolate eggs which first appeared in the 19th century.

The most popular egg remains the Cadbury’s Creme Egg, which has been on sale for more than 40 years.

If none of that takes your fancy, then why not indulge in a weekend of your favourite food? Treat yourself to all of those guilty pleasures.

When it comes to quenching your thirst it seems anything that features the fresh flavours of spring or chocolate is a winner. If you’re a fan of cocktails then try a cherry blossomtini which puts a sake twist on the cosmopolitan, while retaining the famous drink’s Cointreau and cranberry juice, or satisfy your chocolate cravings with a mini-egg martini.

If you want something non-alcoholic then light and fruity is the way to go such as a homemade flavoured lemonade.

Films

If you’ve already run out of boxsets and Netflix originals, why not sit down as a family to watch a movie?

Now we must admit, the selection of films set in or around Easter isn’t as vast as it is for Christmas, but there are still some gems linked to the time of year for all ages to enjoy.

Jesus Christ Superstar is the 1973 film version of the successful rock opera presenting the last few weeks of Christ’s life told in an anachronistic manner.

Based on a concept album project written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and the subsequent long-running Broadway performance, this film tells the story of the final six days in the life of Jesus Christ through the troubled eyes of Judas Iscariot. There are no spoken lines, everything is sung.

Featuring the winning combination of Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, Easter Parade is a lavish musical that has delighted generations.

When Broadway star Don Hewes’ dancing partner goes solo, he declares that he can make a hit performer out of the next dancer he sees.

This turns out to be the inexperienced Hannah, who bristles as Don tries to make her into his old partner. But as he realises that he is falling in love with Hannah, Don knows that he must let her grow into her own kind of dancer if he wants her to reach her full potential.

For younger members of the family, there is Peter Rabbit – although not set around Easter it does feature a cotton-tailed symbol of the season.

In this contemporary comedy, Peter’s feud with Mr McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door.

James Corden voices the character of Peter with Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki and Daisy Ridley performing the voice roles of the triplets, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail.

And to find out about cheeky character Peter, there is Miss Potter starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. It is based on the life of children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, and combines stories from her own life with animated sequences featuring characters from her stories.

Another children’s favourite, blending state-of-the-art animation with live action, is Hop. E.B.

The Easter Bunny’s teenage son heads to Hollywood, determined to become a drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll band. In LA, he’s taken in by Fred after the out-of-work slacker hits E.B. with his car.

As Fred struggles with the world’s worst house guest, both will learn what it takes to finally grow up.

Games

Easter, like Christmas, is a good time to pull out your favourite board games. But if you’ve already had too many games of Monopoly during lock down then it’s time to try something new.

Easter egg hunts are a fun family tradition and it’s one that can easily be replicated indoors or in the garden. Hide eggs or lots of clues and one egg at the end in different locations around your home.

To make it more of a competition, try an egg hunt relay. Hide eggs in different rooms around the house making sure there are enough eggs hidden for each player playing. Line each team up in a straight line. The first player on each team must run to the designated area, find an egg and return to their team.

The next player must do the same, continuing until every person on the team has found an egg. The first team to have every player find an egg – or the first team to find a certain number of eggs if team numbers aren’t even – wins.

An egg and spoon race may keep younger family members entertained –just make sure they are plastic or boiled to avoid a messy carpet.

Church

When Boris Johnson announced the country’s lockdown measures, all church buildings were closed for public worship, private prayer and all other meetings and activities except for vital community services, such as food banks, until further notice.

This means churches have been forced to embrace new ways of worshipping and many have been rapidly shifting or expanding services online in time for Easter.

Events such as services, Bible studies and prayer meetings are now being streamed live to keep congregations and communities connected during this period of social distancing.

If you would normally attend services over the weekend then AChurchNearYou.com now lists hundreds of churches offering livestreams of services from across the country.

Meanwhile Lichfield Cathedral has launched a virtual prayer wall to help people express their faith during these uncertain times.

On the online page, people can write any type of prayer they choose, which is then sent to staff at the Cathedral and posted on the wall.

They can also request to light a candle to mark their prayer, which will appear in the form of a flickering candle for 48 hours next to their prayer.

The candle will even visibly burn down through the course of the 48 hours it appears on the prayer wall.