A Faux Easter

My children are usually with their dad over Easter, so I like to celebrate with them the weekend before. I let them have one Easter egg – chocolate nazi that I am – and buy for them an otherwise special treat that we can play with together. We dress up nicely, have a glass of wine (me, not them) and feast on spring treats like lamb and strawberries. It’s like Christmas, just slightly warmer.

I had grand plans for our own little Faux Easter this time around: Saturday spent at our Health Club’s activities, with a big roast ham and dauphinois for dinner, and Sunday visiting a working farm to see chicks and lambing. Very Easter, very spring time.

Of course I didn’t factor in the tummy bug that hit the house last Thursday and left everyone incapacitated for four days.

Kiddy germs, eh? *shakes fist*

And so, outdoorsy plans cancelled, we bunked down at home. We were all better (ish) by Sunday so we could enjoy the day together playing games, but the feasting and dressing up will have to wait another week or two.

Luckily, the marvellous people at Debenhams have been chatting to us about what makes Easter special in our house, so we were well-prepared for lots of fun and games. I always like to keep a couple of special toys aside for this fun weekend, and we had a great afternoon playing together while the sun streamed in.

Have your pick of the Easter bunch here:

As much as I’m not a pink for girl/blue for boys kind of mum, you can’t argue with a girl who loves pink and flowers and a boy who loves blue. Where did I go wrong?! ;) Hux will be wearing this OH YEAH T-shirt from BlueZoo (from £6), accompanied by J by Jasper Conran jeans (£18), a BlueZoo quilted jacket (£26) and his very first pair of deck shoes, from Baker by Ted Baker (£26 and ADORABLE).

Elfie, the girliest girl who ever girled, will don a Baker by Ted Baker jumpsuit (£32), a lovely pink waterfall jacket from BlueZoo (£8) and, as a concession to her tomboy mother, a pair of Converse All Stars (though of course they must be pink – £30).

Elfie got intricate with a brilliant photo painting Doh Vinci set from PlayDoh (£10), that kind of reminds me of icing cakes. Check out her little bedhead after 3 days lying down, the poor monkey.

Hux’s treat was the best thing I’ve played with in in AGES: Quixels Fuse Blaster (£13). Think Hama beads, but instead of having to iron to set the creation you spray it with a water gun. Which then got confiscated for obvious reasons ;) I don’t know how it works, but it’s COOL. We had loads of fun making this plane together.

And because I’m not a complete monster, I’ll also be surprising them with a couple of Easter Egg treats, too. I’ve gone for the Mini Egg and Cadbury’s Caramel versions, because they are my favourites… and they’re half price! Now begins the struggle not to eat them before giving them to the children ;).

What are you up to this Easter?

Thank you to the lovely people at Debenhams for working with us this Easter.