Easter Fun Ideas

I’m sure most parents are more than a little fed up with hearing the phrase ‘I’m bored….’ It’s been a difficult year for most of us, especially children/teens who have desperately missed their usual socialising at school and in their free time.

Like most parents we have tried our best to try to keep their spirits up by keeping them busy, but a whole year of coming up with new ideas can be a little draining for even the most inventive individuals. Here are a few ideas that we will be trying over the Easter break!

1. Take a virtual trip – a number of museums, zoos and other organisations are offering virtual tours, one of our favourites is the Johnson Space Center – Boeing leads the tour through the Houston, Texas facility, covering the history and future of aerospace innovation. Have a search online for some interesting tours, most of which are free of charge.

2. Play come dine

with me – ideal with teens, firstly decide on your teams and a prize for the winner(s), each team can then decide on a theme for their evening and create menus. You may want to record the preparation, the meals, and any entertainment, to show to friends or grandparents. At the end of each teams meal the guests score the chef out of 10, the scoring is kept secret – put score cards into labelled envelopes until the big reveal at the end.

3. PlpLan an Easter egg hunt – look online for inspiration for cryptic clues or novel suggestions for your hunt, you could also set up some fun activities such as a hula hoop competition, egg and spoon race, bunny hop sack race, pin the tail on the rabbit or egg toss.

4. Build a fairy house – gather materials from hedgerows, parks, and flowerbeds to create a tiny home for imaginary creatures in your garden. Get creative by adding touches like a carpet (moss) and a washbasin (an upturned shell).

5. Get crafty – Easter gives us a whole host of new craft projects that can be undertaken, pompom chicks, egg cress men, egg decorating, easter bunnies, easter bonnets and cards. The list is almost endless and will provide hours of fun to both little and older children. If you can’t face the mess, then wait for a dry day and take the activities out into the garden.

6. Build a den – all you need is a large blanket, some sheets, and cushions. This is a fun activity for little ones to play indoors or outdoors and should keep them occupied for a little while.

7. Play board games online family or frie nds

– play Monopoly online (available on iOS and Android – for a small fee) it has an online multiplayer mode that lets you play private games with another household. Get the app to play Uno or The Risk: Global Domination, free on both iOS and Android.

8. Host a pamper day

– we all love a pamper day in our house, put your dressing gowns on and indulge. Light some candles, put soothing music on, make homemade face packs and scrubs, soak your feet in warm scented water and treat each other to a hand massage, manicure or pedicure for a real treat!

9. Make a time capsule – include things that you have done during lockdown, such as crafts, letters, pictures, thoughts etc. You could collate a scrapbook together with pictures and memories from what you’ve got up to and how you felt throughout the past 12 months.

During these UNCERTAIN times you can always RELY on Lodge Brothers

We understand that with the ongoing changes to our lives caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the feelings of grief and anxiety are amplified when we lose a loved one. The Lodge family have been proudly helping and supporting families for over 240 years and we stand ready to help you now during this time of uncertainty.

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William & John Lodge (6th Generation) Share the Secrets of Success in a Family Business

Q: Lodge Brothers is the longest serving family-owned funeral business in the local area, what do you think is the secret to success when working with family?

A: When a family business has spanned 240 years and has been developed over seven generations, the loyalty to each other is ingrained. The exchange of knowledge, mentoring and coaching from one generation to the next allows the progression of modernisation and new ideas in carrying the company forward. Over the years our reputation has been built on trust, recommendation and the quality of service we provide. Naturally, each family member strives to maintain that reputation for themselves and for each other. It is a real team effort.

Q. Do you have a particular lasting memory from your years of service that has made you proud to be a Lodge Brother?

Q. What is the biggest change you’ve observed in the last few decades?

A. Many years ago, we, like our forefathers, called on our carpentry skills to build and French polish the coffins for each funeral. This was part of the service we provided. Automated machinery for the production of coffins was not introduced until the1960s by specialist suppliers. Although to this day our skilled staff still personally add the bespoke interior lining, handles and name plate for each coffin in our workshop.

Over the generations, we have also observed a change in trends. There has been a gradual shift in philosophy away from the traditional religious funeral service, with sombre mourners dressed in black - now we see more secular services led by civil celebrants, with families opting to ‘commemorate and celebrate’ the life of a loved one, remembering their character and hobbies, and sometimes, introducing brighter colours to the clothes the mourners wear or request a coloured tie worn by our funeral bearers (e.g football related colours of blue or red). And, of course, popular music selections are now preferable to the traditional singing of hymns. Nowadays, with the rise in natural burials and ‘greener’ funeral options, the freedom of choice for our clients is far wider than ever before and it has been very interesting to see this develop. A. We were honoured to be asked to care for the repatriation of the British servicemen who had died in combat during the Falklands War. Then, a year after the war ended, along with 11 members of staff, we spent three months in the Falkland Islands, locating and burying the deceased Argentinian soldiers who had died in battle, the interments either taking place at Port Stanley Cemetery, or repatriation arranged back to Argentina.

Q. The past year has been a challenge for everyone, particularly the funeral profession. What is your biggest hope for 2021?

A. It has been a difficult year to observe, with so many bereaved families not able to invite as many family and friends to attend a funeral due to the restrictions of the number of mourners allowed, and sometimes not being able to have the funeral service in their usual place of worship. We look forward in hope that the new vaccination programmes will be successful and that infection rates will drop so that we can all get back to some sort of normality, allowing our families to say goodbye the way they want to. We personally are certainly looking forward to spending a lot more time with our children, grand-children and extended family and friends this year.