Fun can be had with both chocolate eggs and the real thing.
Funny Egg Faces
Need something brilliant to do with the loads and loads of Easter eggs you've been given (before you eat them, that is)? Have a funny family faces competition...
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Easter Acrostics
A good fun pencil and paper game to kick off the Easter festivities.
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Easter Egg Tree
This Easter, we had the family over and everyone from the age of three to three score and ten painted a blown egg to go on the Easter tree. I sprayed the decorated eggs with gloss varnish which looks better than last year's unvarnished ones.
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Egg Camouflage
We did our Easter Egg Hunt this morning using tiny, sparkly foil-wrapped eggs so the ants didn't get to the chocolate before the children did.
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Eiffel Eggs
You can successfully smash eggs indoors, though it takes more brainpower than brawn.
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Family Skipping
A Good Friday tradition in Sussex and Cambridge, where families skipped on the green at Parker's Piece, the men turning the ropes while the women and children skipped and chanted rhymes.
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Shooting Marbles
Marbles was a traditional Easter game in granny's day: the skill is in the way you hold and flick your taw (the throwing marble), pinging the others out of the way. Luckily, flicking a taw uses the same thumb muscles as a Game Boy, so today's kids have a real advantage.
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Parachute Egg Game
A creative challenge to make your egg fly.
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Runny Relay
Team up in three or fours - the more teams the merrier – for this egg and spoon race.
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Egg Tangle
Set a wool trail for your kids round the house to hunt out their chocolate Easter eggs – so much more fun than just handing them over!
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Egg Catapult
The best catapults use strong elastic rope (you can make one by stitching a canvas pouch on to two lengths of thick stretch rope, available from sailing shops).
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Yolk Rugby
This can be beautifully mucky - or not, depending on your catching skills!
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Egg Boules
An Easter variation on an old favourite.
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Easter Egg Hunt
On Sunday or Monday morning the elusive Easter Bunny visits, hiding chocolate eggs around the garden in nests and secret places (having first thoughtfully placed unwrapped eggs in paper cake cases to deter ants).
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Egg Bashing
A traditional English game rather like conkers: everyone takes a hard-boiled egg and pairs up with another player. One person holds her egg in the palm of her hand, while the other 'taps' it.
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Egg Rolling
We do this on Easter Sunday or Monday - it probably should be the Sunday since it's thought to symbolise the stone rolling away from Christ's tomb.
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Kids' Keepsake Eggs
A great gift from the kids to the adults (or vice versa) – an Easter egg covered with your family photos, stuffed full of yummy chocolate eggs then tied with a big bow.
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Easter Tree
This takes five minutes, looks fabulous and instantly puts everyone in the Easter mood.
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Dye-ing Eggs
Many craft shops sell specially produced dyes for eggs that give good, rich colours. You can also use food dyes - add 20 drops food colouring to 1 cup hot water and 1 tsp vinegar, and hard-boil the eggs in the liquid.
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Blowing Eggs
These beautiful ornaments look fantastic on the Easter Tree and will keep for years and years – just like your old Christmas tree baubles.
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Decorating Eggs
It's fun to get everyone together for a decorating and dye-ing session (allow two to five hard-boiled eggs per person). You can draw anything – bugs, faces, aliens or just pretty patterns. Acrylic paints work well though any paints will do and felt pens are easiest for young kids. The finished eggs look lovely in a bowl in the middle of the table.
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Barley-Brake
After the traditional egg hunt or weekend walk, get family and friends together to play Barley-Brake, a popular 17th-century Easter game that's definitely due for a revival.
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