Easter is coming, how's your waistline?

Ask any child what's happening a week on Sunday and they'll probably blink a couple of times and shrug their shoulders. Mention "Easter" and their reaction will be entirely different. To most children, easter means one thing - Chocolate, and lots of it. 

So here's a few tantalising factoids for those of you who sigh inwardly when you see the easter eggs hitting shelves on January the second...

1) A recent scientific study has shown that during a typical Easter period, an average child will receive over thirteen easter eggs, and scoff their way through over 12,000 calories of chocolate and easter goodies. Normally that would keep a busy child going for an entire week!

2) To burn off those calories, you'd need to get your running shoes on and run from London to Brighton (the equivalent of 56 miles!)

3) Most children would receive on average a whopping £24 worth of chocolate eggs. Cocoa prices are at an all time high, having risen 140% in the last year and they're set to increase further still. Increased VAT and political unrest in the main cocoa-producing countries are two of the main reasons for the rise in chocolate prices. 

4) According to a survey by Friends of the Earth, for every £1 spent on easter eggs, consumers could be spending the same amount or more on the packaging surrounding those precious chocolate lovelies. An estimated 4370 tonnes of cardboard and 160 tonnes of foil waste are created by the packaging despite many brands seeking different ways to reduce the amount of packaging on their products (thankfully most of this can be recycled in our particular county so remember that!)

So what can you swap the chocolate for? Here's a couple of ideas...

A paint your own easter egg kit. Readily available from £3 upwards, it's a great way of getting your kids creative this easter. Kits are available from www.dotcomgiftshop.com

An Ecoegg laundry egg. No need for powder or detergent, just slip one of these egg-shaped goodies into your wash and it'll last for up to 720 washes. Available from www.ecoeggonline.com

Buy a chicken for a family in Malawi. £10 will pay for a brood of chickens for a family in Malawi allowing them to earn an income from selling the eggs. A guilt-free easter egg from www.giftsinaction.org.uk

Or you could do the book thing. Stay tuned for our top ten list of easter-themed books to entertain your children.