We often think Easter is an easier holiday than Christmas. Christmas is wonderful, filled with all our favourite things: good food, lots of wine and a holiday but it also comes with heavy expectations, a lot of tradition to uphold and a tendency to overdo it. Easter, on the other hand, has good food, lots of wine, an extra-long weekend and very little pressure surrounding it – what’s not to like?

Even in the religious context, Easter is clearly the more impressive. Jesus may have been born at Christmas, but he rose from the dead at Easter and resurrection is worth a celebration in my book. Maybe we can look at Easter 2021 as the resurrection of our social lives, as the eased restrictions we’ll be living in over the period can make up for what we lost in December with a washout Christmas.

As restrictions ease, there’s every possibility of replacing the Christmas you missed out on with your nearest and dearest over the Easter holidays instead.

Rather than a pre-prescribed menu, Easter allows you to cook whatever you fancy and the seasonal produce makes that choice glorious. That’s where Easter scores points for anyone who loves to cook: freedom in the kitchen. Yes, lamb might seem a natural choice but no one is going to complain if you decide to marinate a lamb shoulder in Moroccan spices and barbecue it, or switch to in-season seafood with asparagus and hollandaise instead. Read more, ‘Easter Is Almost Here: Let Us Be Your Guide.’

Enjoy leisurely brunches of fresh hot cross buns on any of the four days that Easter spans over. Buns from Flour and Stone, Sydney.

Whereas if there were no turkey on December 25, there would be tears. And if you entertain outside, a barbecue is a great idea as it allows you to be with your guests rather than being alone in the actual kitchen while everyone parties outside without you. Or you might prefer to have an Easter brunch. What better time than Easter to enjoy amazing scrambled eggs, stacks of bacon, piles of pancakes, croissants, coffee, and some hot-cross buns. A fine idea that could easily be enjoyed on any of the four days that Easter spans over. Read more, The Last Minute Hostess: How to Fake The Perfect Holiday Party here.

New settings are the overarching theme for Easter 2021. A chance to refresh, reset, leave lockdown behind and look forward to a new season. Perhaps that can manifest itself in your tablescaping with seasonal vegetables and fruits – in our neck of the woods, that means raspberries, grapes, peaches, apples, avocados, asparagus, leeks, fennel as well as tomatoes, zucchinis, brussel sprouts, garlic, onions, and potatoes. Easter is definitely a more relaxed holiday for us than Christmas. Where you can have more fun, and let loose with your table. We are going to be mixing and matching different tableware, as well as layering the table with delicious looking fruit, cakes and chocolates on cake stands. Read more, ‘An Entertaining Plan To Maximise Mingling.’

What could be better right now than being able to whisk whoever you choose to spend parts of the weekend with away to another world.

Gifting at Easter is an altogether a nicer affair than Christmas too in many ways, again because there are no expectations so anything you give or receive is simply a lovely surprise. We love stocking up on a load of chocolate eggs,  and mostly edible gifts to perk up Easter. Our advice for Easter decorating and gifts is to make it fun.

We recommend setting tables up outdoors, with a few savvy adjustments to your outside space, to enjoy the crisp air and lighter evenings with friends. Shelter, warmth and light are the key words in planning an outdoor entertaining space, and you can provide these elements in the most simple form. Read more, ‘Easter Essentials You’ll Actually Use All Year Round.’

Shelter

A sense of enclosure is all-important for an outdoor area you are entertaining in, to impart a sense of intimacy as well as provide shelter from the elements. Position your table near a hedge or under a tree to create a canopy and feeling of an enclosed space.

Warmth

Staying warm is crucial if you want to enjoy an extended season in the garden, and an open fire creates plenty of atmosphere. You can’t beat the traditional fire bowls which come in sizes to suit your garden space, or you could even build a stone or brick outdoor pit on your driveway, to gather around. However if you are outside night after night, the quickest and most efficient source of heat is from electric patio heaters, including hanging, wall-mounted and free-standing lamp-style heaters. Eco Smart Fire offers a range of ethanol-fuelled wall-mounted fire places or fire boxes with a sleek modern look.

Light

Creating the right ambience with clever lighting is key to a welcoming outdoor space. You might be lucky enough to have an existing covered terrace or conservatory that you can transform into an impromptu dining area. For natural candlelight, arrange a cluster of candle lanterns in different sizes around your seating area. Most chainstores have a good selection of hurricane lamps and lanterns in different materials to co-ordinate with your outdoor furniture and garden style, from metal and glass to natural rattan.