How will you keep the kids busy during Easter whilst on lockdown? Easter egg painting!

EASTER is coming, and although the majority of us will be stuck in the house during isolation, it can give us hours of fun to enjoy with the children.

Painting Easter eggs is fun and easy to do, lots of people buy egg decorating kits, but you can make beautiful Easter eggs with supplies out of your own cupboard.

Once your eggs are hard-boiled place them in cups filled halfway with hot water, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar and one teaspoon of food colouring.

Now simply place the egg in the colour you want, leave it for 5 minutes and when you lift it out you will have a perfectly dyed egg. Before you start dipping, there are lots of different ways to create different patterns on your eggs.

Using a white crayon, write a message or draw a design on the egg before you dip it – when it comes out of the dye the wax will remain white, highlighting the design. Or you can create stripey designs on your egg by placing rubber bands or tape around your egg before dipping when you raise it from the dye and remove the bands your egg will have stripes where the bands were.

Once you’ve lifted your eggs from the dye, place them gently in the empty egg carton to dry. Once they’re dry you can keep the fun going by hiding them around the house for a hunt.

Can supermarkets sell Easter eggs? Rules cleared up amid reports they are now ‘non-essential’ items

Shoppers will be allowed to buy Easter eggs from shops and supermarkets despite reports they had been branded ‘non-essential’ items.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that shop owners had complained that council officers had told them they couldn’t sell certain Easter treats, including eggs and hot cross buns, during the coronavirus crisis.

However, the Manchester Evening News reports that the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has now cleared things up, and has told members to continue selling Easter goodies as normal.

That means if you want to buy an Easter egg for a loved one or for yourself, there’s no rules preventing you from doing so.

However, if possible you should aim to purchase Easter eggs as part of your ‘essential’ shop, as this will prevent the need for an extra trip out of the house that could potentially put yourself, others, and the NHS at risk.

Some websites such as Cadbury and Amazon are still selling eggs, though these are now considered ‘non-essential’ items and have been de-prioritised for delivery, so there’s no guarantee you’ll receive them in time for Easter (which falls on Sunday 12 Aprilthis year).

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The government have defined which stores can remain open, and that includes convenience stores including newsagents and off licences.

“There is no government definition of which products can be sold within those stores.