Easter activities for children

Easter in the Netherlands is the perfect opportunity for expat families to discover Dutch traditions and learn the Dutch language and culture in a fun way. Whether you are hiding Easter eggs, going to an Easter market, or cooking together in the kitchen, there are countless ways to stimulate your child’s Dutch language skills during these holidays.

Easter 2026 update: this year, schools in the Netherlands will be closed on Easter Sunday (5 April) and Easter Monday (6 April). Good Friday falls on 3 April, which is a day off for many schools. The official May holiday, which often follows, will be from 25 April to 3 May 2026. Here you can read how to make it fun and educational, even if your child is learning Dutch as a second language.

How do we celebrate Easter and spring in our online lessons?

In our online Dutch language and culture lessons, we definitely focus on Easter and spring in the Netherlands. These are themes that really appeal to children. We not only discuss the beginning of spring and what that entails, such as live webcams from the Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds to follow young birds, but also deeper themes such as ‘hope’, ‘young animals’ and ‘birth’. All of this offers rich language and cultural exercises for expat children.

Easter activities for children: Some examples of our online activities

• Spring with toddlers: We use talking cards to let toddlers tell us what they see. This stimulates their Dutch vocabulary and sentence structure.
• For children learning to read: Reading bingo, like the one from Ms. Lies, encourages children to practice their reading skills in a fun way. A full card earns a small reward, such as “go to the park together” or “go to the playground together.”
• For older children: We read stories by teacher Milou together and discuss ‘love at first sight’, for example, not only educational, but also a way to have open conversations.
• Videos and digital resources: From the Klokhuis to Schooltv, we watch educational videos about Easter and spring, always with attention to vocabulary and comprehension.

Would you like to continue these activities at home? Below is a list of ideas!

Even more fun Easter activities for expat children:

• Reading for grade 3: Het ei is kwijt, Rik eet in de klas, het paas ei, stories by Ms. Maike
• Decorating Easter branches.
• Easter egg hunt in original ways
• Easter – faith: The story from the Bible depicted in Lego for younger children. Afterwards, you can of course recreate (parts of) the story with Lego.
• A nice explanation about Easter on Schooltv by Het Klokhuis. From about 9 years old.
• For younger children, Huisje Boompje Beestje ‘Pasen nieuw leven’ (Little House, Little Tree, Little Beast: Easter Reborn) might be more fun.
• And, of course, very important: what do eggs have to do with Easter? From NPO-start.
• SchoolTV has fun videos per age category about Easter and about spring.
• The children’s news program ‘Jeugdjournaal’ also has fun items about these themes.

Baking and cooking activities for Easter

A delicious way to celebrate Easter and at the same time practice the Dutch language is to bake or cook together. This is not only fun but also very educational: children learn to read ingredient labels, make a shopping list, and follow step-by-step instructions. Perfect for their language development!

Easter activities for children: Ideas for the kitchen

• Bake Easter bread: A traditional Dutch Easter bread with raisins, almond paste and orange peel. Let your child help measure the ingredients and knead the dough. Together, discuss the Dutch words for each ingredient and the method of preparation.
• Making a rooster bread for Palm Sunday: This is a fun, old tradition in which you bake a bread in the shape of a rooster. It is perfect for getting creative and learning words like ‘knead’, ‘shape’ and ‘rise’. It is a fun way to come into contact with the Dutch language.
• Decorating Easter cake: Bake a simple cake together and decorate it with yellow icing, Easter eggs, and chocolate sprinkles. This is a great way to discuss colours, shapes, and flavours in Dutch. Have your child name what he or she sees and tastes.

Make a shopping list together in advance: write or draw all the ingredients and let your child help you gather everything in the store. This makes it an interactive language activity for the whole family! By practising and saying words out loud, learning Dutch becomes fun and tasty.

Easter recipes for children

The Lady Lemonade website offers a fun combination of easy and kid-proof dishes for breakfast, brunch, or lunch, so you can be sure that what you make will be eaten.

Easter activities for children and Dutch culture

Easter in the Netherlands is not only about good food and family, but also about traditions that are deeply rooted in Dutch culture. For expat children, this is a great opportunity to learn about Dutch customs and expand their vocabulary at the same time.

• Easter egg hunt: Discuss words like ‘hide’, ‘find’, ‘colours’ and ‘eggs’.
• Decorating Easter branches: A chance to practice words like ‘branch’, ‘ribbon’, ‘flower’ and ‘egg’.
• Visiting Easter markets: Talk together about everything you see, hear and smell – from ‘stalls’ to ‘delicacies’. You can find the Easter markets in the Netherlands in 2026 via this link.

These activities allow expat children to strengthen their knowledge of the Dutch language while discovering the culture of their (temporary) home country.

Free activities for children for Easter: sign up!

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Originally published in 2025, updated for 2026.