Top 35+ Easter party ideas for a sunny celebration

Build an Easter Candy Charcuterie Board

Everyone loves a good charcuterie board. So why not hit pause on the classic meat and cheese combo and bring in the Easter candies (bunnies and marshmallow chicks, chocolate eggs and more)? It’s a simple, sweet twist and a perfect Easter idea.

To create an Easter nibble board, first lay a base of paper Easter grass (skip the plastic stuff). Then add in plenty of your favorite store-bought candies as well as homemade treats like pinwheel mints, cutout sugar cookies and candy bunny tails.

Braid an Easter Bread

Many countries have a tradition of baking braided bread for Easter. Whether you prefer the Polish paska, Greek tsoureki or Italian pane de Pasqua, our Test Kitchen agrees that they’re a rewarding (and tasty!) part of the holiday season.

Make a New Twist on a Bunny Cake

We’ve all seen the classic Easter bunny cake made with two round cakes. We still love this dessert, but if you want to try something a little different (and more vertical) this spring, try a layered rabbit cake.

To make this cake, frost a layer cake (use our recipe or make your favorite layer cake), then pipe on a bunny face. The ears are made with white chocolate candy coating coated in sparkling sugar.

Dip Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs

We’ve all eaten (and loved) Reese’s peanut butter eggs. While they’re delicious, why not take things one step further this Easter and make your own peanut butter eggs? And that’s just the start; we have plenty of other festive homemade Easter candy recipes you can make from scratch.

Add Springtime Flair to the Table

Sometimes the only Easter party ideas you need are decorative ones—like a festive table to set the stage. An easy way to add Eastertime flair to your place settings is with a simple napkin fold. Pull a linen napkin up around an egg—you can use real or faux—and tie with a ribbon. So easy!

Host Brunch

After morning church services, don’t make your guests wait until dinner to enjoy a robust meal. Instead, host a decadent Easter brunch. You can simplify things with these make-ahead Easter brunch recipes. Then, all you have to do is heat them up when you arrive home.

Dye Eggs

If you have kids or exceptionally creative guests coming over for Easter, save dyeing eggs until the party. Pick up a few kits, crayons and stickers so everyone can go all-out.

You can even up the ante and host an egg decorating contest. The winner can take home a special prize. Maybe that’s a big chocolate bunny for the kiddos and a bottle of bubbly for the adults.

Build a Nest

This chocolate Easter torte is a showstopping dessert. If chocolate mousse isn’t for you, here’s one of our best Easter party ideas: You can take the chocolate nest portion of this torte and place it on top of your favorite Easter cake.

Play a Few Games

If you’ve got kiddos coming over, you’ll need Easter party ideas to keep them entertained after the egg hunt is over. Keep yard games and cards on hand. You can also download free printable bingo cards for Easter. Use chocolate eggs and jelly beans as markers.

Create a Unique Centerpiece

Fresh flowers are always welcome on the table. However, if you’re looking for new Easter party ideas to keep your tablescape fresh, head to your china cabinet or local thrift shop and pick up some teacups. Fill these with a bit of floral foam and top it with moss, flowers and a few springy figurines. You could even fill these cups with soil and plant a few succulents inside.

A collection looks great in the center of a table. Once the party is over, you can send them home as favors.

Turn Carrot Cake on Its Head

Carrot cake is an Easter classic for good reason. But if you want to try something a bit different than this traditional Easter dessert, try making a vertical carrot cake.

Arrange Fresh Flowers

Easter signifies that spring has officially sprung. To celebrate, fill your home with fresh blooms. You can opt to have flowers delivered, or you can arrange flowers yourself—yes, you can do it! With a few tricks, like using tape on your vase, you can create stunning arrangements. For Easter, pick vibrant blooms like Gerbera daisies, tulips and hyacinths.

Turn Easter into Teatime

If brunch isn’t for you but you want something to tide your guests over until dinner, you’ll need some new Easter party ideas. Why not try a springtime tea? Serve up tea with small bites like scones and tea sandwiches. Keep hot water at the ready with a good electric kettle (and a coffee maker for those that prefer a cup of joe).

Stir Up a Signature Easter Cocktail

If you’re hosting Easter this spring, why stop at a basic mimosa? There are so many refreshing spring cocktails you can stir up for a crowd. Try a rosé sangria, a cucumber-gin smash or homemade limoncello.

Serve All Kinds of Deviled Eggs

With so many hard-boiled eggs on hand, deviled eggs are a natural fit for an Easter menu. Try some of our most devilishly delicious recipes like smoked deviled eggs and herby deviled eggs.

Make Adult Easter Baskets

While the Easter bunny fills baskets for the kids, you can create baskets for your friends. Yep, even grown-ups love Easter treats. Try a themed basket like one filled with baking goodies or crafting gear or gardening supplies. You can even just load up the baskets with classic Easter candy.

Bake an Easter Ham

If you’re new to hosting Easter, impress all your guests by making a delicious Easter ham. We’ll let you in on a secret: making ham isn’t hard! The tricky part is carving it, but with our Test Kitchen’s tips, you can learn how to carve ham in minutes.

Try a New Easter Craft

Dying eggs is the go-to for crafting this time of year, but why not take a little inspiration from something else filling Easter baskets? Cut a fresh kitchen sponge into the shape of a marshmallow Peep (you can even use one of the bunnies as a template). Dip them into paint and stamp everything from tea towels to place mats to paper goods. Use a marker or paint pen to finish the faces.

Create a Towering Dessert

Think tiered cakes are just for weddings? We’re here with one of our favorite Easter party ideas: a tower of spring Bundt cakes. These sturdy cakes are perfect for stacking high.

You can frost the Bundt cakes and then top them with an edible bird’s nest, Easter candy and springtime cookies.

Use the Good China

Looking for an excuse to use your good dinnerware, stemware and vintage table linens? This is it! Loved ones will appreciate seeing Grandma’s china on the table, and you’ll feel good getting some use out of long-forgotten wedding gifts.

Don’t have quite enough to fill the table? Thrift stores and second-hand shops sell vintage dishware for just a few dollars. And don’t worry about matching; the mismatched look is very au courant.

Decorate a Lamb Cake

Some families make bunny cakes and others make lamb cakes. Keep up the tradition (or start a new one) with a lamb pan and plenty of shredded coconut! Don’t forget to garnish your cake with lots of jelly beans.

Create Flower Pot Favors or Place Cards

Making baskets for everyone can be pretty time-consuming. Instead, try one of our favorite Easter party ideas: Fill small terra-cotta or peat pots with paper shreds. Finish the favors off with Easter candy or extras like a packet of seeds.

Bake Resurrection Rolls

Sometimes called empty tomb rolls, these sweet treats are an Easter tradition for many families. Resurrection rolls are made by wrapping a marshmallow, cinnamon sugar and cream cheese in crescent rolls. Once baked, the marshmallow melts away leaving inside a gooey, cinnamon-sugar treat.

Go Back in Time

While you have loved ones visiting, why not pull out a few photo albums? It can be so much fun to look at vintage Easter photos. The pastel dresses, the hats—even the old-fashioned Easter desserts!

Dye Eggs the Natural Way

First, know that eating dyed eggs is absolutely safe when you use food-safe dye. If you’re not interested in using classic food coloring, you can dye eggs with natural ingredients. Turmeric, coffee, beets and onion skins can all be used to dye Easter eggs. The colors are more muted but still very pretty.

Fill Eggs for Everyone

An Easter egg hunt is a must for kids. Stuff eggs full of candies and small Easter toys. For an adult Easter egg hunt, fill eggs with small Easter decorations and more sophisticated candies like dark chocolate and treats from your local candy store.

Bake Hot Cross Buns

We think it’s high time these old-school treats made a comeback. Stir up a batch of hot cross buns on Easter morning for your family. They’re the perfect addition to your Easter brunch menu.

Add a Butter Lamb to the Table

Don’t just spread any ol’ butter on your hot cross bun or Easter bread. Butter lambs are a popular tradition in parts of the U.S. You can find them at many grocers in the weeks leading up to Easter.

Try Easter Lamb

While ham gets a lot of the hype this time of year, lamb is also a traditional Easter menu choice. If it’s your first time working with this protein, try a hands-off recipe like roast leg of lamb. It’s packed with flavor and pairs well with seasonal veggies, but requires very little attention to cook.

Send Home Care Packages

When the celebration is over, send your loved ones home with some treats. Mini egg crates are perfect for sending your pals home with a few hard-boiled eggs or some egg-shaped candies. Who wouldn’t love a few Cadbury eggs to go?

Smash an Easter Piñata

Who doesn’t love hitting a piñata and seeing what falls out? Kids and adults will have a blast whacking at this cute Easter piñata (it even comes with a blindfold and stick), and you can fill it with candy, little toys and other fun party favors.

Decorate an Easter Tree

You can get more use out of your artificial Christmas tree by repurposing it on Easter! More people are getting in on the trend of “Easter Trees,” which you decorate with colorful ribbons, plastic Easter eggs and silk flowers. It’s sure to be a fun and unconventional decoration for your gathering, and who knows, it might even become a new tradition!

Make a Festive Easter Wreath

Greet your guests at the front door with an adorable DIY Easter wreath! All you have to do is glue plastic Easter eggs to a styrofoam wreath, and you’ll have a colorful seasonal decoration that can be used for years to come.

Hide Bunnies Around the House

You can host the ultimate scavenger hunt on Easter with a hundred of these tiny white bunnies. Each figurine is just half an inch tall, and you can tuck them into all sorts of nooks and crannies around your home and yard. People will get competitive as they hunt for the tiny rabbits, and the person who finds the most by the end of the day wins!

Get Creative with Peeps

If you spot Peeps on sale ahead of Easter, go ahead and pick up a few extra boxes. There are several surprising ways to use Peeps to make unique desserts—they can be used in milk shakes, Rice Krispies treats and even cocktails!