Celebrating your First Easter as a family

It’s that time of the year again: Easter, with its promise of chocolate and long weekends to spend time with family. Last year, you may have been focused on your pregnancy and all that it entailed, so you couldn’t celebrate Easter as fully as you would have wanted. Even if you don’t celebrate the religious aspects of the holiday, you may still appreciate the chance to gather with your loved ones and spend some quality time with them – especially since it’s your baby’s first Easter with the family.

How do you get started? Although your baby is too young to help you with celebration ideas and preparations, they would surely enjoy a few small things you could do or make for them as part of the festivities. It is an excellent idea to try some fun-filled activities and Easter decorations to make it a memorable event for your family.

Here are some fun ideas to celebrate your baby’s first Easter. You can adjust them according to your budget, you and your child’s likes, as well as their age.

Getting baby ready

Babies do look very cute in almost every outfit, but for this special event, why not dress bub up for the occasion? A pink, light blue, white or yellow three-piece suit with little bunny ears on a hat or a headband, or if you can find it, bilby ears, would really match the theme, and would be a fun costume.

But remember that baby’s clothing choice should be easy and comfy, as they love to move around to grab anything around to play with. Your baby may find little discomfort with a headband, but you can tolerate it for some time. Don’t forget to grab some photos and videos before taking off the costume before it gets too uncomfortable!

To be little more creative, you could also use egg- or bunny-shaped hats and accessories to dress up in, as well as stuffed toys and Easter gift baskets for props.

Your baby could easily grab anything within reach and pop it into their mouth to chew and possible swallow it, and keep an eye on anything small that you use as a prop during your impromptu photoshoot.

Easter decorations

Decorations are important to creating the perfect ambiance for your event. Bring in a basket full of colourful chocolate eggs and few chocolate bunnies of assorted sizes.

If you’re feeling crafty, and your child is a little older, you can try painting or dying hard-boiled chicken eggs ahead of the day.

Cut out different Easter-related shapes with paper, cardboard or sponge, such as eggs, bunnies, bilbies, or chickens, and colour them. If you like you can also use your baby’s hand and foot prints for decoration purpose later you can keep them as your memory. Lightly dip your baby’s hands and feet into pastel paints and then press them against a white paper. Once dry, either cut to shape, or leave as a full-page print.

Remember to clean up your baby’s hands and feet immediately, as your baby can lick any paint stuck on their hands and feet. Ingesting paint can be dangerous to your baby’s health.

Easter gifts for bub

Your baby is a precious gift for you, and now you can start gifting your child with a present for Easter, as well. A lot of ideas can work in this situation but simplest is typically the best. Prepare a simple gift basket for your baby, with useful items such as clothes, stuffed toys and baths accessories. Tie the basket with a fancy ribbon and decorate it with Easter ornaments.

Inviting the family and friends

Easter is the perfect time to invite your family and friends over to spend quality time together and – if they haven’t already – meet your little one. Your child would also enjoy the company of lots of people, and start learning how to socialise. They would also learn new tools, such as new words and eating manners while watching family members chatting while enjoying their meal. It is also good for the baby if you invite other families with children or babies.

Your baby would love to see other kids their age or little bigger than them.

Fun activities

When your child is quite young, they won’t be able to move around on their own, and so won’t be able to partake in an age-old Easter tradition: the Easter Egg Hunt. However, they would be able to enjoy the fun, colour and movement of watching everyone else participate, and if you keep talking to bub all the way through, you’ll be able to keep them involved throughout the process. Show chocolate eggs to your child, and tell them that you are going to hide them and how everyone is going to find the eggs.

You could also play peek-a-boo with the chocolate eggs and your baby. Just hide an egg under your hand or arm and ask your baby to find it. Wait for baby’s response, and then show the egg to the baby as if they found it. Do this two-three times, and your baby will begin to understand the process of the game. It’s the ultimate happiness to see your baby smiling at you.

Your baby would probably love to grab and throw those colourful chocolate eggs. If your baby is very young, then extra caution is necessary. Your baby could swallow pieces of chocolate, which they may not be able to chew and can choke on.

Helpful Tips(s)

Try not to make the Easter family lunch too large, as your baby may get confused and wouldn’t be able to enjoy it as much.

Try to buy enough chocolate eggs/bunnies for your guests’ children, or the children of your neighbours.