How to Run an Easter Grotto

It’s getting to that lovely time of year again. Spring has nearly sprung, and the Easter holidays will be upon us in no time. Families will be enthusiastic to get out more and enjoy some brighter weather (fingers crossed)! This year, Easter Sunday falls on April 17.

If you’ve already had success with Christmas grottos, or want to create a seasonal experience to boost footfall, then Easter grottos are a growing trend to get on board with. You can count on plenty of social media posts with pictures and videos from your event, delivering invaluable word of mouth promotion for your business.

Here are 6 great ideas to create a promotable and profitable Easter grotto:

1. Online booking

Take online bookings in advance, which will let you know whether to scale up (or scale down) your event. You can use a ticketing system with pre-payment to help you fund the grotto and gift experience, and also ensure a high attendance rate. Allocate time slots to avoid overcrowding, rather than the chaos of everyone showing up at the same time!

As an added bonus, you could create time-slots by age groups, enhancing the experience for children by partaking in activities with other children at the same developmental level. Spread your event over the whole week, maximizing the revenue opportunity.

2. Meet the generous Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny has always brought eggs to children who deserve a treat. With his cute ears and cottontail, he loves to bounce around and hand out gifts to any child he meets!

Decorate a little home for the Easter Bunny to live in, providing an ideal photo opportunity for families. Don’t forget to create a bunny-themed playlist of music for the right atmosphere. Research children’s performers if budget allows, or perhaps a member of staff is available and willing to dress up and play the role.

3. Imaginative Easter storytelling

Easter is all about the magic of new life. Encapsulate the youthful joy of the season with good old-fashioned storytelling. Select an engaging picture book to hold up for small groups, such as this storybook, and enlist your most theatrical staff member to be head storyteller! Involving children in the delivery will help make the experience as engaging as possible.

Extra entertainment, such as a magician, balloon inflatables or having all staff in costumes, will add even more theatrical appeal to your event.

4. An adventurous Easter egg hunt

From toddlers to primary (or middle-school) aged children, all will revel in the chance to burn off some energy while undertaking an exciting mission to discover hidden Easter eggs. Keycraft’s NURCHUMS™ hatching eggs are ideal for this, which kids can take home with them as a prize.

This activity requires a little more space than others, with suitable features and props you can use to hide eggs amongst, and will need to be re-set throughout the day. If you only have in-store space, are there less relevant displays you can put into the stock room for a few days? If you have outdoor space, a marquee may be sensible to allow for those pesky April showers. Recommend water-proof jackets and wellie boots!

5. Fun-filled Easter arts & crafts activities

Young minds thrive on creativity, especially when hands can get a little bit dirty, or use tactile materials in the process. Think themed colouring sheets, little easter baskets to decorate with crafty materials, card making, ceramic bunnies and chicks to paint, any maybe even the irresistible novelty of a face-paint artist.

Set up child-height tables, and allocate a member of staff to hand out materials for each child’s chosen activity (and to clean-up afterwards).

6. Delightful Easter goody bags

Present each child with a goody bag of surprise items, full of treats to deliver ongoing entertainment after the event. This could be done when meeting the Easter Bunny, after completing an egg hunt, or on the way out.

Consider offering up to 3 price ranges to pre-order with the ticket purchase, catering to parents who have more budget to splash out. Gender-neutral selections might include an extra toy or two, a higher value plush toy, and additional edible treats. Healthy options for edible treats are advisable, as are allergy or dietary-requirement sensitive options.

Use checkboxes during your online ordering process, and a discreet bagging system such as colour-coded stickers with corresponding information on event tickets. Provide images of what will be included, and mention any environmentally-friendly credentials of the toy products you select. Keycraft’s Living Nature soft animals are made from recycled plastic, helping you cater for the growing desire to tread more lightly on the planet.