The forecast for Easter weekend in much of the country is pretty shitty. Here are some ideas for having a nice time indoors.

Ex-tropical cyclone Tam might have been downgraded to a subtropical low, but it has already unleashed heavy rain, high winds and power outages on the upper North Island. Before Tam chose violence, the forecast for Easter weekend was already grim. It’s right in the middle of school holidays, and joining Tam in being downgraded are any plans that involve being outside and taking advantage of the expansive space to participate in healthy outdoor activities and, where necessary, put healthy distance between parents and their kids. At The Spinoff, the only media outlet not running a live blog about Tam, some have said they can already feel the unhinged energy emanating from parents as they stare at the hyper-real hell of headlines about the weather. 

If your eyes have also taken on a wild and undead quality, here are some ideas for what to do if you’re stuck inside over the next few days with your beautiful children. Some are practical, and some are just an exercise in matching parents’ energy across the motu. All are in solidarity; we are not accountable for any outcomes. Take care, go well.  

Suggestions from the Easter Bunny

Indoor easter egg hunt

If you are someone who has had to figure out how to hide chocolate eggs outside without them getting grotty or simply melting in the sun, this weekend’s weather could be a holy blessing in disguise. When the kids are asleep, hide a bunch of tiny eggs in every nook and cranny of your home and keep track of how many you’ve hidden. Then set the kids loose, and they’ll search for the last ones all day. 

Dye some eggs

Because we tend to only have brown eggs in NZ, there is a vinegar hack to lighten the egg, then dye it for those pretty pastel Easter colours.

Suggestions from our mums

“You can take them out in the rain as a special treat; lots of kids like this. Go for a walk, splatter in the rain and mud, then come home to a long bubble bath for warming up.”

“Walk up Maungawhau in the rain.”

“Clean the house, lol.”

Suggestions from the theatre kids

Get your kids to stage a dramatic production

Entertaining yourself by doing plays might have fallen out of fashion in this era of screen time, but some of us spent hours as kids mounting productions based on literally anything. A one-girl-child version of Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat? It’s a bit unimaginative, but Easter adjacent without the crucifixion. Interpretive dance set to every RNZ theme tune ever? Sure – the theme used between 1994 and 2004 is a genuine banger and inspires wild arm movements. Collaborate on writing a stage musical about Jim Grenon’s attempted NZME boardroom coup and watch it get picked up for a season at The Basement next year.

Fashion show

Break out the bras, shiny, sparkly dresses, and ridiculous hats, and have the kids create a fashion show. 

For more performance-related suggestions, see below:

• Initiate the Great NZ Bake Off: home edition. Force everyone to try making a scone, a sponge and a lamington. Judge them, then eat them. 
• Create a zeitgeist-defining podcast using your phone and a list of the worst possible ideas for a podcast you can imagine. 
• Make a home movie. Lights, costumes, motivations, iPhone camera. 

No judgment #guiltfreeparenting

• Dust off your old DVDs. Select which to view using an absurdly overelaborate voting system.
• Force your kids to watch movies you loved as a kid. Rick Moranis in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? Yes please.
• Watch Coachella live – it’s streaming on YouTube.
• Watch all 37 Eurovision 2025 songs here and predict the results. The final is in May, and New Zealanders can vote. 

Go somewhere if it’s safe and not utterly revolting 

Libraries and museums across the land are inside, dry and offer a miraculously generous number of activities. 

Ōtāhuhu Library in Auckland has an Easter egg maze. There are jellyfish slime sessions at Highland Park Library (book online). There’s an Easter Egg Hunt at Auckland Museum. Waikato and Whangarei museums have activities all the live long days of the holidays. 

Wholesome and time-consuming

• Take turns reading an epic book together. Older kids can take turns reading to you for once!
• Puzzles
• If you can’t go anywhere, get some nice pens and sketchpads and get your kids to draw some of their favourite places. 

House party

• Have a pyjama party.
• Push all the living room furniture aside and do nothing else – just have a big, clear space. Or do the same but drag out a mattress and let them go ham wrestling and jumping, or lie down and watch some movies.
• For toddlers: use masking tape to make a car race track around the house.

Real talk

“Just give them some big boxes, scissors, and paint.”

“No expectations. Plan nothing. Boredom is good for the brain.”

“Screentime (children). Liquor (adults)”.