Making Easter special for adults including elderly relative

[RockingMyFiftiesNot]

Our household is 4 adults and we will have an elderly relative with us for Easter (support bubble).
We're usually abroad for Easter, so other than the children having Easter Eggs when they were younger, we've never done much special.
Last year, lockdown was quite new, so apart from a few Easter table decors didn't do much. Support bubbles didn't exist so didn't have elderly relative with us.
This year for obvious reasons I would like to make it a bit more special. I have a few ideas but would appreciate a few more.

Easter bonnet and Easter egg decorating wouldn't work with this group, although perhaps an Easter Egg hunt in the garden might. And I could make some Easter Egg shaped biscuits for blind-folded decorating with writing icing.

Long walks are out of the question but will have short stroll around local parks.

A jigsaw will be on the go for relative, bidding on an Easter themed one.

We're not churchgoers but relative enjoys Songs of Praise/similar.

Food:
Fish dinner Good Friday
Turkey Dinner Easter Sunday

Simnel cake, hot cross buns, mini-egg decorated cup cakes across the weekend

Decorations:
'Eggs' hanging from twigs; daffodils on table;

The above might be enough but I know how brilliant MN is for ideas! So would welcome Easter food, decoration, & activity suggestions.

Thanks!

That sounds lovely and thoughtful! You could boil eggs, paint them and roll them down hills for an egg race?!

I’d have lamb instead of turkey on Easter, but that’s personal taste.

Thank you @ServeTheServants

Egg race a great idea, just need to think of where there's a hill nearby where we can either park at the top (relative couldn't manage a walk up) or where we could park at the bottom and send the kids up with the eggs. Love the idea tho.

Yes I was thinking lamb too but a butcher friend offers us a cut price turkey after Christmas so it's been in the freezer and it needs using. Plus I could do with the space back!

Games? Card games maybe

See if they’ve got this hot cross bun gin liqueur in your nearest Home Bargains www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/lifestyle/home-bargains-launches-hot-cross-bun-flavoured-gin-and-its-the-best-thing-youll-ever-drink/

@DavidsSchitt thank you - we do play cards so that is a good reminder that not everything has to be Easter themed to make a lovely weekend.

That said, I would welcome more Easter related ideas too.

[quote Fivemoreminutes1]See if they’ve got this hot cross bun gin liqueur in your nearest Home Bargains www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/lifestyle/home-bargains-launches-hot-cross-bun-flavoured-gin-and-its-the-best-thing-youll-ever-drink/[/quote]
Oh definitely will check that out, thank you!

Do you really need to do anything to make it 'special'? Other than a nice meal, won't imposed fun feel rather artificial for adults?

In my experience Christian believers take Easter rather seriously ... It's not like Christmas which is as much a pagan celebration as a Christian one.

Maybe I'm a grouch, but if I were visiting relatives for Easter I wouldn't want more than good food, good drink and a calm, peaceful, welcoming atmosphere. (Plus a long walk.)

@PursuingProxemicExactitude fair point and I don't want to over engineer it. But I do want to make it different to a normal weekend. Even if that's subtly through food and a small number of decorations/activities. A very good chance it will be relative's last Easter with us so I want it to be special. Long walks are out for them but we will have a couple of shorter ones.

One of the Christian traditions of Lent is Stations of the Cross (sometimes called Way of the Cross). There are virtual versions of this available and you could probably mark Good Friday by a version around your house and garden. One of you could be Jesus, one Mary, and the other three of you could be the other people (Roman Soldiers, Simon of Cyrene etc). A reason to dress up and in a way act.

Will blindfolded biscuit decorating really go down well though? If my mum started forcing that on us all I'd be wondering about her. Same with egg rolling, sounds pretty boring for the elderly relative as well as probably quite tiring.

Your company, nice food, watching a film together and some nice Spring decorations will be all they want and need I'm sure.

Garden egg hunt. Does relative have arthritic hands, fading eyesight? Egg painting might prove tricky.

Jigsaw great idea.
Table afternoon tea in the garden, take your lovely cakes outside? Weather permitting.

That would be sufficient I am sure.

I got Easter crackers for last year. They were a daft fun extra with my elderly parents.

Also those little cake decoration chickens. You can buy them in tubs of 20 or 30. I put them up all over and then moved a few each day. It was a talking point, then they joined in moving them to surprise me.
Even if you are not religious, an Easter garden is a traditional thing to make.

Easter crackers, what a great idea!

Things to do with spring -

-flower arranging?

• drawing /painting flowers or birds?

-feeding the birds

• making bird food
• doing a bird count

-id- ing bird calls

• sowing seeds, eg sweet peas are big and can be sown now

More hot cross buns? All the different flavours-taste test?
Making buns into bread and butter pudding

@DavidsSchitt

Will blindfolded biscuit decorating really go down well though? If my mum started forcing that on us all I'd be wondering about her. Same with egg rolling, sounds pretty boring for the elderly relative as well as probably quite tiring.

Your company, nice food, watching a film together and some nice Spring decorations will be all they want and need I'm sure.

Not with everyone, but I know what my family would/wouldn't do and I'd never force them to do something that wouldn't be enjoyed - hence discounting some of the suggestions on here. But they might be useful for someone else's family.

@TheSpottedZebra

Things to do with spring -

-flower arranging?

• drawing /painting flowers or birds?

-feeding the birds

• making bird food
• doing a bird count

-id- ing bird calls

• sowing seeds, eg sweet peas are big and can be sown now

Thank you. Relative is ace at flower arranging. I was planning on having some spring flowers in the house, I will just plonk them in water and ask her to arrange, will make her feel useful too. Thanks!

@FlibbertyGiblets

Garden egg hunt. Does relative have arthritic hands, fading eyesight? Egg painting might prove tricky.

Jigsaw great idea.
Table afternoon tea in the garden, take your lovely cakes outside? Weather permitting.

That would be sufficient I am sure.

Afternoon tea is a great idea, thanks

And i hear you about possibly being the last one with your relative, it is a special kind of bittersweet. Gentle hand squeeze from me.

Thank you. Relative is ace at flower arranging. I was planning on having some spring flowers in the house, I will just plonk them in water and ask her to arrange, will make her feel useful too. Thanks!

They could do a 'masterclass'? And then judge the rest of yours' efforts? Could just be a load of daffs and tulips.

Oh I am LOVING the idea of a masterclass.

Nice opportunity for your relative to share her Easter traditions and memories with you. Does she have some recipes to share, like for the simnel cake? I wasn't clear from your post whether your relative is a churchgoer or might appreciate being taken to an Easter Service. It might be the kind of thing she grew up doing and would mean a lot. If the churches are open by then, of course!

@FlibbertyGiblets

And i hear you about possibly being the last one with your relative, it is a special kind of bittersweet. Gentle hand squeeze from me.

Thank you, very much appreciated x

My very elderly relatives enjoy sitting and watching other stuff happening, especially children doing things and eating. Chatting and being included in things. Eating a bunny or nest cake mad3 for them.
They are not keen on activities for themselves.
That said, Easter feast followed by a short Spring walk is always fun.
Not just flowers, we do an Easter tree of pussy willow with decorations and have blossom in pots.

I used to make little Easter baskets, wove them from strips of coloured paper (green, yellow, mauve) filled with shredded paper and mini eggs, and a tiny chick or two. They looked pretty on the table. Maybe your DCs would like to make them?