As Easter approaches, your kitchen can come into its own. Here are four ways to celebrate with your congregation and community.

Easter lends itself perfectly to activities and sweet treats. At the end of a long Lent (especially when many will have given up chocolate) it’s a brilliant time to arrange some family fun.

Here are four activities and events to make use of your kitchen this Easter, reach out to the community, and even raise some money for charity and the church.

CHILDREN’S BAKING EVENTS

It’s the school holidays. Parents will be keen to find something for their kids to do, and there are lots of Easter-themed things to make. What you choose to bake can depend on the expertise in your team, the capacity of your kitchen, and the age of the children you work with. Here’s some inspiration to get you started.

Hot Cross Buns

It’s the classic Easter treat, and the symbolism is also an opportunity to discuss the significance of Easter, if you want to.

Once upon a time, you could only get these at Easter time. These days, shops stock them all year, but you can give them back a sense of occasion by baking them yourself.

They might be a little tricky to make with some children, especially younger ones, because there’s some boiling involved, and parts of the process are quite precise. Smaller groups, suitably supervised and assisted, should be able to manage. There’s quite a lot of kneading too, which many children particularly enjoy.

If you need a recipe, there’s no shortage out there, but this one is quicker than many.

Easter Biscuits

These are nice and easy, with very simple recipes that deliver effective results.

Gingerbread is a firm favourite, and doesn’t require many ingredients, steps, or skills to get right. If you buy or borrow some cookie cutters, you can make easter-themed shapes like eggs, rabbits, or chicks.

You also have two activities in one — once you’ve made the biscuits, you can start decorating. Again, you don’t need much. If you have some icing sugar, food colouring, and piping bags, you’re all set.

Easter Nests

While these do involve a lot of care, because you’ll have to simmer water, it’s a very easy process, with only three ingredients, that children can be heavily involved in.

It’s another recipe that creates a great effect through a simple process. Melt chocolate into cereal like shredded wheat, spoon the mixture into cupcake holders, and create a little dent for some mini chocolate eggs. It’s a perfect spring treat that children can be proud of making.

EGG PAINTING

One for all ages, decorating eggs is fun whatever the skill of the participants. You could even run a friendly contest with different categories and themes, e.g. Easter Story, Self Portrait, Springtime.

You might prefer to run a ‘bring your own egg’ policy, but if you want to provide some, or simply have some spares on hand in case of breakages, be prepared for a little (or a lot of) groundwork. You’ll need to hard boil or hollow a lot of eggs. That can be very time consuming in smaller batches, so ideally you’ll have larger pots and saucepans (if boiling) and a hob that can accommodate them.

Running the event itself, you’ll want to provide plenty of refreshment. It can be very basic, like squash for the children and tea and coffee for parents, but at scale, even simple things can be a challenge. Make sure you’re equipped. Jugs for squash will mean you don’t have to pour individual squashes for every glass. A hot water urn will make coffee and tea preparation far easier, and more efficient than overworking a kettle for a few mugs at a time.

BAKERY SALE

April showers permitting, setting up stalls to sell Easter-themed baking will be a hit with the congregation and the local community. It’ll also be a good chance to raise money for charity or church funds.

To bring more goods to the sale, and involve the community as much as you can, invite the congregation and locals to contribute their own baking and set up their own stalls.

Asking your volunteers to bake for the sale goes without saying, but if you get some people together for a baking day in the church kitchen, the company and camaraderie could be more fun than cooking alone.

EASTER HAMPER RAFFLE

An idea to stand on its own or to combine with another event, a raffle is another great way to raise funds. You may have to buy some of the elements, but if as much of it as possible is created by the team, it will be all the more charming and appealing.

You can look online for inspiration, but you could include an easter egg (they’re easier to make than you might think), some jam, some biscuits (some of the themed ones above would fit nicely), some smaller chocolate eggs, some tea, and whatever you think of.

An enticing hamper will attract plenty of ticket purchases. Also, consider inviting prize contributions from local businesses like restaurants, who might be keen to offer vouchers as prizes.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Do you have big Easter plans that you can’t realise because your kitchen is holding you back? It might be time for a renovation to make sure you have everything you need for next Easter.

Don’t know where to start? Download our questionnaire and ask your team what your kitchen needs. Then, Steelplan can help make your ideas a reality. Call us on 0844 809 9186 or email the team at [email protected].