All of a sudden it’s April, and that means that Easter and Passover are fast approaching! Where’d the time go?! If you’re like us, it probably flew by while you were adjusting to home schooling (still adjusting, for the record), working from home at the same time, and all the while keeping that local news tab ever-refreshed on your browser. So before you start stress-Googling how to tackle this month’s holidays in the midst of quarantine and social distancing, here are some family-friendly suggestions. The key, we feel, is to strike that balance between maintaining some of your favorite family traditions, while also introducing some fun new celebrations into the mix.

Children’s Easter Activities

To your kids’ delight, these are all easily adaptable for COVID-19 times!

• • Easter Egg Dying: DIY works beautifully if you can’t buy the kits from the store. Here’s a ton of creative ideas! 
  • Easter Egg Hunts: you can stay in your own backyard for this, or hide the eggs throughout the house. Some families have also arranged hunts for friends in their neighborhood, visiting and hiding eggs or painted rocks in their yard. (If you choose this option, be careful to keep the “eggs” as clean as possible.) Some neighborhoods are also creating hunts by placing paintings of eggs in their windows.
  • Easter Egg Scavenger Hunts: it’s easy to do this inside the home if you need, or again, stay in your own backyard. Use fillable plastic eggs with clues inside leading from one egg location to the next.

Worship Services

Many churches and synagogues will be live streaming their holiday services this year, so you can continue this tradition. If your local place of worship doesn’t have live streaming as an option, many bigger churches have it available right now, such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Once you decide on where you’ll be tuning in, one fun idea is to dress up as you normally would for the service! If your daughter has had a special Easter dress that she’s been looking forward to wearing, there’s no reason she can’t wear it at home while you all attend the service virtually (you can even do her hair up!). You could coordinate with other family members, too, so that many of you could all watch the same service, even if you’re not in the same city. Think of that as a silver lining to this situation, as it’s something that wouldn’t have been possible in previous years.

Family Dinner

You can still pull out all the stops for your holiday meals, and make this year’s extra special by adding in a few new components. First, if you’ve got our Dream Dinners Easter menu items in your freezer, then you’re all set! If you haven’t ordered one, check with your local store to see if they have some of those menu items available still. Or, if you have to opt for another plan and want to support a small business at the same time, many local restaurants are now making Easter feasts and Passover Seder meals, packaged up for takeaway, or as delivery. For example, in Sacramento, there’s a local cafe, Ettore’s, offering Easter brunch and dinner options (including adorable, festive cookies!), for takeout. And in Seattle, “Shmaltzy’s Delicatessen” has a full Passover Meal for takeout and delivery, which looks absolutely drool-worthy. To add an element of newness to the celebration, include loved ones that you aren’t able to dine with in person like you normally would, or even relatives that haven’t been a part of your celebrations previously. Give them a video call before or after the meal so you can chat and hear what everyone is doing to celebrate, or even during the meal, in which case you can pass the phone around so everyone can say hello. If you have a laptop you can set up for a video call (using Zoom or Skype), you could even set it on the end of the table during the meal, so everyone can see each other. Find what works for you and your family at home, and be sure to include your larger family in the mix. 

Supporting Your Neighborhood

If your family typically does a lot of activities with other neighborhood families this time of year, there are still safe ways to include them and let them know they’re on your mind. For starters, have your kids draw holiday pictures and messages, to put up in your windows for others to see. When your neighbors do venture out for a safe, socially distant stroll, seeing the festive images in your window will definitely make them smile. Also, you and your kids could bake Easter goodies to leave for your neighbors! As long as you’re maintaining proper hygiene and taking the necessary precautions while you cook, bringing your neighbors holiday treats is a great way to spread some cheer right now. 

We hope these suggestions have helped inspire you for this year’s celebrations. If you have other ideas that we didn’t mention, we’d love to hear them! Visit us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and share your thoughts (and photos!) with us. Wishing you and yours a very happy and safe holiday, from all of us at Dream Dinners!