President Donald Trump initially expressed in a TV interview with Fox News that he wanted people to pack churches come Easter Sunday. He said he “would love to have the country opened by Easter” citing that the economy needs to be “raring to go” around that time. With a background in business, it’s quite understandable where the president is coming from. However, medical experts and every frontliner risking their lives to handle the situation would rather have you celebrate Easter while on coronavirus lockdown in the safety of your home.
Fortunately, Trump later extended the social distancing guidelines to April 30 saying the “highest point of the death rate is likely to hit in two weeks” so the country needs to. White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci earlier estimated that the infection rate will peak in mid-April and that 100,000 to 200,000 may die because of the coronavirus.
Trump stressed that strict social distancing guidelines are “the way you win” against COVID-19. He also suggested June to be the next target date for things to get back to normal, saying the country “will be well on our way to recovery” around that time.
He mentioned before that he felt that Easter Day, which falls on April 12, was a good day to because it is “a very special day for me” and that it would have been “great to have all the churches full.” Despite the president’s wishes, everyone should stay away from crowds and public events while the pandemic is still wreaking havoc around the world. Sad as the thought may be, there are ways you can still celebrate Easter while on coronavirus lockdown.
Easter Sunday Preparations
You don’t have to wait for April 12 to celebrate Easter while on lockdown. Get the kids excited by doing a number of activities in preparation for the much awaited holiday. By this time, your children would probably be complaining that they miss their friends and want to go out. Aside from lecturing them about why they should stay inside, you can give them fun things to do.
DIY Easter Signs
With social distancing measures in place, you can’t invite friends and family over on Easter Sunday. You can’t even greet your neighbors with a hug or a handshake. That doesn’t mean you should totally ignore them.
Make a simple Easter outdoor sign huge enough for your neighbors or other people passing by to see. Grab some wooden pallets and nail them together to make a board. Attach a stake to the back of the sign. Use sandpaper or a sander to make the wood smoother and easier to paint on.
A sander like the Black+Decker BDERO100 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander is a good investment if you want to do more DIY projects or go into woodworking. It’s affordable and saves you a lot of time and energy compared to using sandpaper.
Since you’re placing your sign in your yard, use weather-resistant paint. FolkArt Outdoor Paint is made of durable formula that can withstand the elements.
Easter Face Masks
Here’s one DIY project that’s definitely in tune with the times – bunny-themed face masks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises people to wear cloth face masks in public, especially if social distancing will be an issue. They also say to let the medical professionals and other frontliners have access to surgical masks and N95 respirators since they need them more.
Whip out your trusty sewing machine and start making your Easter face masks. If you don’t have one or your sewing machine, check out Sewing Machine Plus. They have a great collection of machines that caters to factories, businesses, and serious sewers and even newbies.
You’ll need the usual sewing items such as thread, pins, and a pair of scissors. You’ll also need filters, elastic string or hair bands, and pipe cleaners or anything that bends and holds its shape to create that snug seal around the nose.
Then there’s the fabric. Researchers have been studying what kind of fabric will work best against the coronavirus. These are the ones that best filter small particles while also allowing breathability.
Interestingly, a study conducted by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine found that some fabrics are supposedly better than surgical masks in filtering small particles. The researchers determined that face masks made of two layers of quilter’s cotton with 180 or higher thread count were quite effective. They also suggested adding a layer of flannel for better filtering. A Vanderbilt University Medical Center study also determined that tightly woven fabrics are the best materials for DIY face masks.
As for the filter, many suggest using HEPA filter vacuum bag. The OSHA certified filter is better than N95 respirators as it filters 99.97 percent of airborne particulate matters.
For the Easter part, you can use a fabric with bunny patterns or anything that reminds you of the holiday. You can also ask your kids to draw a bunny face on their masks using non-toxic materials.
Making cloth face masks is an enjoyable project to do while you’re at home. Your kids will also have fun playing pretend bunnies with these masks. You can even make more and donate them to the frontliners.
Bunny Ears
Since you already have the face masks with the bunny face, might as well make a pair of bunny ears out of felt. You’ll need a headband that you don’t really use that much, a piece of felt, a pair of scissors, and a glue gun.
If you’re planning to do lots of arts and craft, which you should now that the kids are home, you definitely need a glue gun like Stanley STA0GR25 Heavy-Duty Glue Gun.
You can add more design elements to your DIY bunny ears such as white ribbon to cover the headband. Use your imagination. The video below shows a different and more sophisticated method of making bunny ears that includes bendable wires and white lace.
Watch Online Mass
Trump mentioned that the online masses are “terrific” even if he said watching one is “never going to be like being there.” Still, you should scratch any plans to go to church this coming Easter Sunday. If you insist on going, you’ll only put your and your family’s lives in peril.
Find out if your local church is streaming Easter mass. Make plans with the family to gather in the living room to watch the online mass before proceeding with your Easter celebration.
You’re probably missing those days when you had to dress up. In case you do, this is a good opportunity to wear something other than your boxer shorts or pajamas. The kids can go in their bunny costumes.
Easter Party at Home
It’s perfectly okay if you’re not in the mood to celebrate anything with everything that’s going on around you. if you have a loved one or friend in the frontlines, you may feel it’s inappropriate to even think about holding a party at home or even post photos of your celebration. It’s also perfectly fine if you wish to have a little semblance of normalcy and celebrate Easter while in quarantine.
Easter Feast
A party without food and drinks is not a party. Go ahead and do some barbecuing in your backyard. You’ll probably see your neighbors doing the same thing. Don’t forget to wave at them and cheer each other up.
For your juicy meats, check out Snake River Farms. They have a number of meat products to choose from. In case you’re having a difficult time picking, they have the American Wagyu Steak Flight Package, which is a set of two different meat cuts for you to enjoy.
The kids will surely love barbecuing burgers in your backyard. Don’t settle for those pre-made burger patties you can buy from stores. You’re not supposed to go out anyway so better have your meat delivered. Make your own tasty burgers with Snake River Farms’ 100% American Wagyu gourmet ground beef.
Add a twist to your Easter feast by making some of your meals on a solar cooker. The GoSun Go Portable Solar Oven is a popular choice since it is pretty compact, easy to handle, and affordable. It can boil water and cook meals using the heat of the in just 20 to 30 minutes. While your steaks and burger patties are grilling, you can cook your vegetables or bread in the GoSun.
(Related: Easter Recipes You Should Definitely Try)
Easter Games
Easter Egg Hunt
Easter Sunday without an Easter egg hunt is just not the same. Even with the world in disarray, you still have to take care of your children’s mental well-being. Having an Easter egg hunt in your backyard will make a lot of difference to your kids’ day.
Start by making the Easter eggs. If you live in a homestead where you raise chickens, you’re all set. Just gather some of the eggs and boil or remove the white and yolk. Have the kids decorate the eggs using food color or natural dyes. Once the eggs are dry and with the kids not looking, hide them in your backyard or inside the house.
If you’re doing your Easter egg hunt in your backyard, might as well make the place look livelier. Put up some outdoor decors such as the wooden Easter yard signs from Easter Egg Hunt Decorations. The seven-piece set includes a couple of Easter egg signs, an Easter basket sign, a chick sign, a bunny sign, and two arrow signs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG8_S7iGT98
Don’t forget the Easter baskets. You can make one out of paper, which is another fun activity you can do with the kids. If you already have a basket, decorate it to make it look more Easter-y.
(Related: Homemade Easter Baskets Ideas You Should Try Making)
Egg and Spoon Relay Race
You can have lots of fun with just a spoon and a boiled egg. If you have four or more people staying in your home, you can play egg and spoon relay race. Simply divide yourselves into two groups and provide a spoon and an Easter egg to each one.
It may get boring really fast if there’s just two in each group. Turn the fun up a notch by placing simple obstacles all over the yard. Don’t make things too hard, though. The goal is to have fun and not hurt someone. You can take the race inside the house if there’s little space in the yard. Just make sure to clear anything that may break or could hurt someone.
Pin the Bunny Tail
Pin the Tail On the Donkey is a classic game but since the goal is to celebrate Easter while on coronavirus lockdown, you can use a bunny instead. Not a real one, though.
You just need to draw or paste a cut-out of a cute little bunny on a piece of cartolina or Manila paper. You can also print out a photo of a bunny if you have a printer at home. Making it from scratch will be more fun, though.
For your bunny tail, you need yarn, a pair of scissors, cardboard, and sticky putty. Now there are two ways to use cardboard in making your pompom bunny tail. First is to make a couple of discs as seen in the video above. The other method, seen in the video below, uses a rectangular piece of cardboard. If you don’t have a cardboard, you can use two toilet paper rolls (you probably have lots of toilet paper now) or even your hands.
To simplify the instructions, you just need to wrap the yarn around the cardboard, tie the center or middle together with a separate strand of yarn, and cut the loops. You can see the complete process in the said videos. The sticky putty is for pinning the pompom tail to the rest of the bunny. We don’t want to use actual pins since they’re an accident waiting to happen. Sticky putty or maybe even a double-sided tape may work.
Virtual Easter Celebration
As much as we want to meet up with or friends and loved ones to celebrate Easter, we need to practice social distancing to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further. Fortunately, we live in a world where people can stay connected even if they’re not physically present.
Call them on video apps such as FaceTime, Messenger Video, and Zoom, which has recently gained popularity. Be careful with Zoom, though. There are reports that the app has some privacy issues. If you’re going to use Zoom, just be careful about sharing personal and important details.
Enjoy A Movie
Even if you don’t have kids, you can still celebrate Easter while on lockdown. Skip the games if you want but you should definitely have something nice to eat while chatting with friends on FaceTime or enjoying an Easter-themed film.
Some titles you can enjoy with the family include The Dog Who Saved Easter, Peter Rabbit, Hop, and Rise Of the Guardians. If you want something a tad more serious, watch The Greatest Story Ever Told or Jesus Christ Superstar.
There are lots of ways you can have fun while at home. In fact, you should crank up your imagination and figure out how to keep the children entertained during this global crisis. For now, focus on how you can celebrate Easter while on coronavirus lockdown since it’s a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the whole family.
Follow Gentleman Pirate Club for more tips on how to stay safe and sane while in quarantine. We’ll also try our best to keep you updated on the coronavirus while continuing to provide you with tips on how to survive the pandemic
