The coronavirus might prevent you from doing a lot of things this Easter, but it doesn’t have to ‘eggs-empt’ you from having fun. For families who celebrate this holiday, the show must go on. There are lots of ways to plan an Easter to remember despite all the social distancing, curbed celebrations and cancelled events. The crafts, egg hunts, food and fun can all still be on your itinerary. We’ve curated a few ideas you may want to include when planning for this weekend:  

1. Make arts and crafts 

Who doesn’t love a good craft? Decorating Easter eggs is one of the easiest ways to have fun during this holiday. You can boil eggs from your fridge and use edible food colouring to make coloured eggs. You can even make your own dye from beets, turmeric or onion skins, if you really want to get hippie. Afterwards, get out the craft supplies. It only takes a few sheets of paper and some markers to hold a drawing competition. See who can create the best Easter bunny. Or, add scissors into the mix and make paper flowers. These are great for decorating walls or mailing to a family member. Easter arts and crafts projects make the holiday so much more fun and festive.  

2. Get creative with your Easter egg hunt 

Anyone who has celebrated Easter knows that an egg hunt is at the top of the list for kids. With lots of community Easter egg hunts postponed until next year, now's the time to get creative. Plan for some safe indoor excitement. Dedicate a specific place in your house for this activity. Place Easter eggs in easy-to-access, well-sanitized areas and rethink placing Easter surprises on the ground or surfaces you might be second-guessing later. Create paths to Easter eggs by crafting a few paper footsteps or arrows directing kids to the treats. And, feel free to switch up the prizes too! If you’re concerned about purchasing chocolate eggs from the store, consider hiding cards or notes around the house with the promise of a few dollars. You can send them the money from your Simply Free Account® to theirs with Interac e-Transfer®. From clucks to bucks, the older kids will especially love this. 

3. Give fun, frugal gifts  

If you’re tightening the purse strings, this one’s for you. Seasonal gifts don’t need to come at an expense. Use what’s available to you. Explore the MySelect Rewards Catalog and shop with your Mastercard credit card rewards points. Best Buy, Chapters, Foot Locker and Roots gift cards are just some of the items you can redeem your points for. Best of all, these gift cards can be printed at home and used to purchase goods online. Most of these retailers even offer shipping directly to your home. That means your gifts will arrive without you having to break quarantine. If you’re thinking about Easter brunch or dinner, look for local restaurants in your community that may still be offering take-out options, or consider redeeming your points for gift cards from Boston Pizza, Olive Garden or Tim Hortons. They offer free delivery and take-out options too. You've earned them – it's time to reward yourself. Use your points.  

4. Invite your family to a virtual dinner

This Easter, restaurants can't offer sit-down service and your guests won’t likely be coming over. If you’re one of the many Canadian’s who is working from home, you’ve likely become a whiz at running Skype or Zoom. You’ve probably even spent enough time on setting yourself up with video conferencing that you could teach your own parents or grandparents how to do it. So, go for it! Talk them through it over the phone and then you can have dinner with family members in attendance on your laptop or tablet screen. It’s a fun way to open the table to more guests without having to open the door. Feel free to even invite distant relatives or family abroad. Likely it will brighten their day knowing that they’ve been invited. Who knows – it could even become a new tradition.  

5. Watch an Easter movie or film starring bunnies 

Make some popcorn, grab a handful of candy and settle into a movie. There are plenty of great films set around Easter or featuring bunnies. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus are just some of the streaming services you can find them on. Some of our favourites are: It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown – a family classic, Hop – full of live-action animation, and Space Jam – one of the best Bugs Bunny flicks of all time. Other good choices include Zootopia, Peter Rabbit, Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade, Easter with Max & Ruby, Curious George: Egg Hunting, and Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo. There's bound to be something on our list for you to enjoy.  

​Easter may be a little different this year, but it can still be great. Try out some of these ideas and ask around. Hop on the phone with a friend and see how they’re planning to celebrate Easter. They will love the call and you can exchange ideas on how to make the most out of your mostly indoor plans this year. Share your ideas with everyone practicing social distancing this Easter by commenting on our Facebook post or Instagram post. We would love to know all the creative and unique activities you have planned.