A few weeks ago in what actually turned out to be my children's last week of school my eldest daughter turned to me and said ‘What happens if we go into lockdown, will the Easter Bunny still come?’ I looked at her and said ‘Don’t worry all will be ok’ before I promptly went into meltdown mode as Easter hadn’t even featured on my radar yet. I mean it was over a month away.
[Read more: My Kids are Asking About CoronaVirus, What Do I Do?]
Needless to say Easter preparations this year have been very different to previous years. Previously I would have had time to browse the shops, look for deals and plan out a whole heap of Easter-related activities for us to do together. As a family we have an Easter tradition of riding an Easter train and every year we book the train in advance and take part in all their Easter games. After this we head over to my parents house for an Easter lunch.
School would be sending out a letter to remind us of the Easter parade, asking us to be creative with making Easter bonnets or Easter egg scenes. We would be emptying the craft draws and coming up with ideas. Planning them and creating them. I would have set lots of reminders to turn up to school early to watch the children show what they had made. I would have seen the excited faces of my girls as they ran out of school holding a chocolate egg ready for the Easter holidays and two weeks at home.
Not this year.
Preparing for Easter this year has been very different for us indeed. After I dropped the girls off at school I made a mad dash to the nearest supermarket. I spent over an hour simply queuing as people were out in force panic buying everything except Easter eggs. The lady at the checkout said ‘Glad to see you are not panic buying’, I kindly replied with ‘But I am, I have three kids who expect Easter’ It is a good job I did because the next day my son was classed as high risk and we have been in the house ever since.
Preparing for Easter varies massively depending on your religious belief too. Those who would normally attend an Easter service may still be able to do so. I know the churches near me are all running virtual services and are sending out zoom links to allow members to join in celebrating. It is worth checking to see if the church near you has a social media page as it may be listed on here.
If you are like us and are in isolation and are therefore unable to get out to buy food, you might be wondering how to find food in preparation for Easter lunch. The majority of supermarkets have no delivery slots left. I have found that by ringing local shops such as the local butcher I have managed to find local companies who will deliver food items. Shopping local also means you support the local community and smaller businesses who are really relying on trade at the moment.
Your questions answered live by senior midwife Louise Broadbridge. A workshop covering what to expect in the early days, coping with morning sickness and planning for your first antenatal appointment.
Our Easter this year will be very different from the previous years. We haven’t done any Easter bonnets for a parade and we will not be visiting any people or places this year. Instead, we will be at home, the Easter bunny will still come and our Easter egg hunts will take place in the garden. We might have to prepare for Easter in a way we haven’t done before but I will do my best to make it as special as I can.
