Easter

• Remind children what their allergens are and explain what they should look for.
• Ask children not to eat treats their friends give them without you checking the label first.
• Have safe sweets, snacks or fruit ready at home that can be swapped for any unsuitable treats so that no one feels left out.
• Make friends and family aware of the allergy and what to do in an emergency.
• Remember that Easter eggs made by food manufacturers may not have the same ingredients, and subsequently the same allergen profile, as other chocolate bars from the same manufacturer – so always check the label.
• Watch out for multipack items that may have been separated from the main packaging.
• Keep your adrenaline auto-injectors and medication with you at all times.

Members can also check our ‘Tried and Trusted’ area to find out which restaurants have been approved by other allergic people. Not a member? Click here to find out more.

For more information, contact our helpline on 01252 542029 or email [email protected]

A Chick Hunt is fun and active; you will all be worn out in no time!

You will need:

• Fluffy chicks
• Places to hide!

Instead of hiding Easter eggs why not hide ornamental fluffy chicks? You can buy them cheaply from most supermarkets, pound shops and card shops. Hide them around your house and let your children have fun trying to find them all. You can even create little clues and hints to help them on their way. And, why limit it to the house? You could take them to the park, in your garden, anywhere!

Pin the Tail on the Rabbit is sure to get everyone enjoying the season!

You will need:

• Coloured paper
• White paper
• Scissors
• Sticky tac, sticky tape or Velcro
• Pencil
• Cotton wool
• Sleeping mask or scarf for a blindfold

Making your rabbit:

• Cut a rabbit template out of coloured paper (if you’re not an arty person search for an image to cut out online).
• Lightly draw on where the tail should go.
• Make a fluffy rabbit tail out of white paper or cotton wool.
• Add sticky tac, sticky tape or Velcro to the back of the white tail.
• Stick your rabbit carefully to a wall with sticky tac.

How to play:

• Blindfold your players and spin them around.
• Give players one attempt to stick the tail on the rabbit.
• Put a mark on the paper to show how close each person has got to the target.
• Closest to the original tail mark wins!

Making an Easter Bunny Mask is fun for the whole family and easy to do.

You will need:

• Paper plates
• Pipe cleaners or black paper
• White paper
• Wooden lollipop sticks
• Pink colouring pencil
• Stapler or glue

How to make:

• Cut out the centre of the paper plate, big enough to see your face through.
• Cut up 6 strips of black paper or get 6 pipe cleaners and stick it on the cheek area of the paper plate mask.
• Then cut out two bunny ear shapes, and stick/staple them to the top of the mask.
• Colour in the middle of the ears with the pink pencil.
• Stick the wooden lollipop stick to the bottom of the mask and use to hold in front of your face.
• Voila, your own easy to make bunny mask!

If Easter for you really is all about the eggs and chocolate, many supermarkets sell Free-From versions of chocolate eggs making the good old Easter Egg Hunt possible.

You will need:

• Free-From Easter Eggs
• Places to hide!

Hide your eggs around your house and let your children have fun trying to find them all. You can even create little clues and hints to help them on their way. And, why limit it to the house? You could take them to the park, in your garden, anywhere!

You can check out manufacturers avoidance and Free-From lists online or by giving them a call. Here are the lists available from Nestle.

(Please note some ideas may not be suitable for those with an egg or latex allergy)

• Egg Painting – Great for kids and adults alike. All you need is some eggs, paint brushes, poster paints or alternatively you can use sharpies instead of paint. If you want to get elaborate you can buy googly eyes and wool too to make a face with hair on your egg.
• Egg Shell Potted Plants – If you have a green thumb you can use egg shells to create pots for plants and moss. All you need are flowers and moss, egg shells, and some soil. You can even use the old egg cartoon to keep them in.  You can also use the egg shells to grow cress too!
• Easter Egg String Basket – If you want to make a nice chocolate-free Easter gift for someone a string egg basket is great. You can buy toys, or Free-From food, and place it inside the string egg. Blow up a balloon, it will need to be big, and using a strong glue or a paper mache mix get some string, ribbon or other material strips, and coat it in the glue/mixture, then stick strips down the balloon. Criss-cross the pieces of string down and around the balloon. Remember to leave a large hole that you can use to put the treats inside.  Leave it to dry and when dry pop the balloon and fill with the treats. You can also make mini versions by popping a small treat inside the balloon, which will be released when you pop the balloon (or they can!)  Remember if you’re making mini ones, don’t leave the gap, cover the whole balloon in string.
• Super Easy Chicks in a Tree – All you need is a long piece of ribbon, some fluffy ornamental chicks (the type you can get in big packs at supermarkets, pound shops and card stores), glue and a large stick. Take your ribbon and tie it around the ends of your stick so that it can hang. Then put some glue on the feet of your chicks and glue them onto your stick. Find somewhere to hang.
• Finger painting – You can make carrots, rabbits, chicks, lambs, eggs, flowers, or a sunny spring day scene. Or use your feet and make carrots, using strips of green paper for the top.
• Easter egg colouring – You can find lots of templates online for Easter egg colouring in.
• Egg and Spoon Race/water balloon and wooden spoon race/ornamental chick and spoon race.
• Potato Stamping – Easter egg pattern.