It is Easter time again and through the gales and the wind daffodils still stand firm and welcome spring. With the welcome of spring also comes Easter and where many minds may turn to the meaning of Easter, for many children it is a fun time with easter eggs aplenty.

Alternative Gifts to Chocolate Easter Eggs

The Newborns Collection, from the popular FurReal Friends range, has a number of cute baby animals, all with realistic movements and sounds. Their cute Baby Duckling features softer than soft yellow fur and a feeding bottle. When you feed him, he'll move his head and make realistic 'quacking' sounds in delight. These adorable Baby Ducklings are the perfect alternative to chocolate eggs and are just waiting to be picked up and cared for.

Available from all good retailers. Visit www.hasbrotoyshop.co.uk for more details and other animals available.

Going along the egg theme, although not chocolate ones, look at the great Miffy egg cup and snack plate.

Loved by children and adults alike, the Miffy range with it's clear fresh patterns are agelessly chic and come in beautiful gift boxes with coordinated tissue wrapping paper. Available from www.dillongreen.com

Things to do this Easter

Egg Hunts
The traditional Easter Egg Hunt is fun for all ages and even the tiniest of toddlers will love exploring the garden for eggs

The National Trust and Cadburys Easter Trails and Egg Hunts - When you want to explore and have fun, where better to spend the day with your family than at a National Trust property? Many houses and gardens across England, Northern Ireland and Wales will be opening their doors for Easter celebrations, so go along and join in!

Over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend more than 190 properties will have Easter trails and egg hunts, and thanks to Cadbury who have donated Easter prizes, there will be tasty cholocate treats just waiting to be eaten. The excitement then continues into the Easter holidays - from teddy bear trails and pond dipping to the chance to see newborn lambs, there's something to keep all the family happy! For more information on these special Easter events visit www.eastereggtrail.com

Painting Eggs & Other Easter Activities

If the weather doesn't agree with being outside this Easter, there are plenty of indoor Easter activities to do. You can either use items from around the house to make easter bonnets or join in egg painting.

Painting eggs is a lovely way to pass a morning or afternoon. If your children are very young it's probably best to use hard-boiled eggs - you can always use them up in sandwiches later.

Or you could try blowing eggs and draining out the egg and yolk. Peterrabbit.com is a gorgeous site with tips on hollowing and decorating eggs as well as instructions on how to make Easter bonnets and berry baskets.

There are also any number of craft kits with an Easter theme at HobbyCraft to fill you with ideas. For your local store visit www.hobbycraft.co.uk

You'll find some free craft ideas from Happy-Easter.com including a recipe for Hot Cross Buns,while Under5's.co.uk has some daffodils, chicks and Easter egg colouring templates to print out.

Days Out and About

You'll be amazed how many places lay on special events for children over Easter, so it's worth checking out local museums, city farms, parks and so on. Another good place to look is on your county council's website - it sounds dull but they generally have good information on local events.

Or, Primary Times has a brilliant what's on guide for children which covers every county in the United Kingdom.

Dayoutwiththekids.co.uk is another good site offering a similar service.

Daysoutguide.co.uk has 2 for 1 entry to top London attractions, such as the Tower of London and the Natural History Museum.

S1play.com has a special section devoted to Easter activities around Scotland while at the official England tourist site Enjoyengland.com you can search for activities to do by date and postcode.

In London, TimeOut.com has a section devoted to Easter activities.

Here are some Easter highlights:

Ducks and Eggs in the Lake District - To celebrate the 100th birthday of the popular childrens characters by Beatrix Potter there will be a giant egg hunt across Cumbria on 19th March visit www.50connect.co.uk

Meet Peppa Pig over Easter Weekend Fri 21- Mon 23 March at The Hop Farm in Kent

How about an Egg and Spoon Race with Shaggy the Mascot or an Easter Egg Trail over Easter Weekend at Mead Open Farm, Leighton Buzzard

Seven Stories, Newcastle - storytelling, crafts and activities a the city's centre for Children's books. www.sevenstories.org.uk

Why not explore the Mars Yard at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

So with a few ideas here on what to do, all the team at Mumknowsbest wish you a very happy Easter!