Are you ready for Easter?

As we look ahead to Easter feasting on chocolate and hot cross buns, and time spent with friends and family, we’ve put together some fun tips and great buys to make your Easter the best ever.

Gorgeous gifts

While you’ll no doubt be giving plenty of chocolate eggs as gifts this long weekend, there are also lots of great non-food gift options to give this Easter. This three-piece Robert Gordon woodland dinnerware set, $44.99, would make a beautiful gift to keep for pint-sized bunny lovers. And, if you’re going to a friend or family member’s house for Easter celebrations, give them a stylish set of egg cups as a host gift. We love the philosophical Make Egg Cup set, $29.99 for four.

Egg-cellence

If you don’t want Easter to be all about the chocolate for kids, get them involved in fun crafts. You can buy plastic eggs from discount stores and younger kids will enjoy painting and decorating them with stickers, glitter and ribbon. Alternatively, turn egg shapes into bunnies and chicks by using pipe cleaners to create ear and beak shapes. For older kids, get them into painting real eggs, first blowing the egg from the shells so that the eggs will last forever (use a pin to make a small hole in the end of each egg, then put a straw to one end and carefully blow the egg into a bowl). They can then let their imaginations run wild with watercolour paints, stencils and more; check out Pinterest for lots of great ideas. For little bunny wannabes, you can also fashion rabbit ears and tails with cotton wool, pipe cleaners and cardboard headbands. And don’t forget to scatter a few slightly gnawed carrots and bunny footprints about the place on Sunday morning...

Table talk

Easter falls early this year, so hopefully many of us will be enjoying outdoor egg hunts, morning teas and al fresco Sunday lunches. Set a fresh feel with a simple white palette — we love the contemporary, clean lines of Como Rim crockery - then add warmth and colour with flowers, vases, servingware and napery. Natural materials are still a big trend in tableware and linen napkins will work well with a white palette — these faded denim blue Momento Mayfair napkins are currently $29.99 for a set of four, or go for the gorgeous blush-toned Momento Somerset napkins, currently $26.99 for four. Create a fun centrepiece by arranging sprigs of flowers and twigs along the centre of your table, dotting little Easter eggs in among them.

Choc-a-block

After all the fun of the egg hunt’s done, you’ll no doubt be left with a mountain of eggs and potentially a few stale hot cross buns. While you can easily freeze excess buns, also consider making them into a next-level bread and butter pudding. Cut buns into quarters, crossways, then spread the slices with butter and arrange, butter-side-up, in a greased baking dish. Pour over a mix of eggs whisked with milk, cream, a little sugar and cinnamon then bake until golden, set and delicious. And for all those leftover Easter eggs we have the best idea ever — chocolate fondue! This Momento cast iron fondue set, $99.99, comes with an in-built burner and several forks for dipping. Melt all your excess eggs then get creative with pieces of fruit, marshmallows, biscuits, croissants…