Easter Egg Nests

Scroll down to the bottom for the full recipe

Looking for simple ways to connect with your kids this Easter? Baking with kids is more than just making treats, it is an easy way to build confidence, create family traditions, and spend quality time together. Whether you are filling a school holiday afternoon or starting something new, these small moments in the kitchen can become lasting memories.

Easter in the Kitchen: Building Confidence and Connection While Making Memories

The Power of Traditions

What is your favourite time of year?

For most people, what usually makes a time of year special is the traditions or memories that are built around it. The smells, the feelings, the sounds, the people who made that season magical. Special times of year often come hand in hand with traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, and for many families, baking is a part of those traditions. Kids especially look forward to those times when we gather together to create memories. We may not realise it, but the simple moments spent in the kitchen or around the table together become memories our kids carry into adulthood. For our family, Easter has become a special part of our year. Here in New Zealand, it also brings cooler weather and the end of the school term.

Baking Creates Memories

Baking is such a powerful memory builder. Not only does it bring us together in the kitchen and builds on our relationships, but it also brings with it lots of sensory memories - the smells, the sounds of the mixing bowls clanging together, the taste-tests! Those sensory memories lodge in our brain, and resurface at various times through our lives. Sometimes it’s the smallest moments we remember most- little hands sneaking another chocolate egg, flour on the bench, or everyone leaning in for “just one more” taste. Even though we may choose to bake birthday cakes, do Christmas brunch, or create treats at Easter, all those things are not really about the recipe or what is created - it is more about the time we spend together, building those wonderful memories.

Connection Happens Side-by-Side

Spending time together gets more precious as our kids grow up, so it is important to grab those moments while you can and create an environment where they feel safe and connected to you. Kids don’t always talk to us when we sit them down for a ‘chat’, but when those hands are busy, conversations tend to flow more naturally.

As they mix or measure, you may find they open up about what has been going on for them. Sometimes, it may just be a silly story about their day, but you may also find some thoughts come up that may not have otherwise.

The kitchen brings with it a gentle space that encourages connection.

Baking Builds Confidence

While you create together, something else grows - their confidence.

Creating something with their own hands is a powerful way to build a child’s self-esteem. Those who struggle in other areas can shine in the kitchen, feel proud to share what they have created themselves, and give them newfound confidence in their capabilities.

Baking can be a powerful tool, especially for those of our kids who struggle to find their ‘place’ in the world.

Easter and the End-of-Term Reset

Easter often arrives at a time when we are all starting to feel tired. The year has well and truly started, for us in NZ the school term is coming to an end, and both kids and parents are worn out and need a break.

When we are tired, the connection part can slip a little. But taking the time to make something simple can bring everyone back together in a shared activity.

These little Easter Egg Nests are perfect for baking with kids. They’re simple, fun to make, and the decorating part is always a highlight. Give them a try and start building those memories with your loved ones.

At the end of the day, no matter how small they may seem, those little moments of togetherness matter a lot to our kids. Who knows - maybe one day our kids might remember our Easter baking the way we remember Nana’s kitchen!

I wonder what memories your kids will carry from your kitchen this Easter. Maybe one day they will be re-creating those traditions with their own families.

Until next time,

Heather xx