We have now passed the first milestone on the route out of lockdown and will be able to enjoy sharing Easter with groups of six in our gardens or in the local park. This is an ideal opportunity to honour the historic tradition of the Easter egg hunt, which can be conducted outside, and is a sociable way of containing children’s pent-up energy and chocolate lust.

Children will enjoy their Easter eggs all the more if they have to hunt for them. All you’ll need is plenty of small, wrapped Easter eggs and a basket or bowl for each child so that they can store their booty.  Alternatively, you can go all out for authentic hand-painted hard-boiled eggs, rewarding children at the end with a compensatory chocolate egg exchange.

If your children are small, it’s probably best just to hide the eggs and let them roam free and hunt. Tell the children to return to base when they have achieved a target number of eggs (eg six) so that you can check that eggs are being fairly distributed, and that the balance is redressed for any children who are really lagging behind.

Older children will love responding to written clues. You can use brightly coloured craft card, which you tape to trees or walls. Children will enjoy rhyming clues and terrible puns. Alternatively, you can give each child a written sheet of clues that will direct him/her to various points around the garden.

Before the hunt starts, agree with the children that they can eat a limited number of eggs at the end of the hunt, but that the rest must be taken home and saved for later. That way you may at least mitigate the hyperactive consequences of a chocolate overload…

Egg Hunt Etiquette

• Pair up older and younger children to ensure that everyone has a chance.

• Alternatively pair up young children with grandparents, or aunts and uncles – they may not have seen them for several weeks, and this mutual endeavour is a fun way of re-establishing a bond.

• Keep an eye open for children who are struggling with clues and come to their assistance.

• Keep a few eggs back to redress imbalances, and to avoid tantrums and recriminations.

• Chocolate rationing is essential if you want to avoid hyperactive children.