I’ve found my dream Easter egg. There’s 1kg, yes KG of chocolate in the Thornton’s Marvellously Magnificent Milk Egg and it’s on sale for £15.00 when it was originally £25.00. I might have left it till the last minute to do Easter egg shopping but at least I get to take advantage of this £10 discount.

• Click here to pig out this Easter with Thorntons*

Buying an Easter egg as a gift for someone special? Thorntons don't include invoices in their orders, so you can have it delivered direct. What’s more, while I can’t find the actual deal details, when I put three Easter eggs into my basket the delivery charge of £3.95 was removed so they’ll be delivered FREE, yippee!

Thorntons also offer gift a wrapping service, with a choice of organaza or paper wrap to suit any occasion or how about adding a personalised message to make it an extra special gift? It's free, and you might just make somebody's day.

1kg worth of Thorntons delicious milk chocolate, this is a fantastic Easter gift to send to a loved one, or to indulge in yourself. The Easter Bunny is on his way!

One of the surest things about becoming a parent is that, sooner than you’d think, you’re up to your elbows in glue, scrunched up tissue paper, cut up magazines, and bits of old cereal boxes.

And as if to help parents out with ideas, just about every month there's something else happening that you can theme your crafts around. This month it is Easter.

There's lots of Easter crafts you can go for. Eggs, nests, bonnets, anything themed with chicks or bunnies. For this particular feature I'm focusing on Easter Baskets. And if you're not doing an Easter Egg hunt then I'd really recommend giving it a try. There's a little wood near us, and for the last couple of years a small number of us have got together and had a little Easter egg hunt for the kids. It is a huge amount of fun!

What you want to do is give the kids enough material to allow them to really go nuts with their imagination. And as it is Easter holidays, to give them an activity that will help keep them busy for a while.

If you’re looking for some fun games and kid’s activities to keep everyone happy this Easter then go have a look at this cool game from Toys R Us. The Dragon Chase game was priced at £17.99 but has now been reduced to £12.99 saving you a lovely £5.00.

• Click here to beat the boredom with Toys R Us*

Easter has pretty much arrived and while we all love a bit of family time and having everyone around for the holidays it can be utterly exhausting. Many mums will openly admit that they dread holidays and having to find things for the kids to do and trying to keep them entertained. Repeated cries of “I’m bored” are enough to make any mother reach for the Prozac or a bottle of wine.

Board games are great for keeping the kids entertained and the Dragon Chase board game is loads of fun. What kids need to do is carry the treasure through the maze to win, but they’ll need to watch out, if they roll a dragon-symbol on the dice they'll wake the dragon.

Happy Easter holidays!

Use this Green & Blacks promotional code to get 20% off Easter gifts. In case you don't know (although surely everyone does!) Green & Blacks do a lovely, delicious range of organic chocolate. Their white chocolate is my son's favourite. It uses proper vanilla, and when he was a toddler my son used to ask for the 'yellow chocolate' please. So, we still call it yellow chocolate!

Click here to use your Green & Blacks promotional code*

• Discount: 20%
• Applies to: Easter gifts
• Promotional code: G&BSEASTER13
• Expiry date: 27th March 2013

To use this Green & Blacks promo code, go to the Shopping basket page and enter it in the box. Click on the Apply Coupon button and it will be deducted automatically from your order.

I tested the code on the Twin Explorers Chocolate Eggs, which the site said had been reduced by 14% already to £6. The code took this down further to £5.10.

Thank to rpoynter at HUKD!

Easter is a great adventure and I’m not entirely sure I will ever grow out of it. I can remember stuffing my face with eggs, running about on a sugar high and being completely mean and not giving any chocolate to my brother. Easter has always been a family affair and we make a huge deal out of it every year. Last year I went and left a trail of cotton wool around the street and when we went for a walk, I told my daughter the Easter bunny was shedding because it was so warm…

So, as Easter rapidly approaches and the shops are bursting with eggy surprises, what are you going to do on the big day? Well, ASDA has some cute ideas that I’ve totally stolen from them and popped into this feature. They suggest a roast for Easter Sunday, and I am inclined to agree, especially if this icy weather continues. It may well be that everyone will need a toasty roast to warm up after hunting for eggs in the garden.

It's long weekend soon! Are you excited? If not, be sure to check out these fun crafts to keep you and the kids busy. Plan ahead, do all the set up a few days in advance, and be ready to go before it all melts down on Easter weekend!

Now I'm not averse to kids movies at all. Some of my all time favourite movies fall into the U category, and PG. But I do find most of them are OK but not what I really wanted to spend my money on. And the movies cost a lot these days, you have to be really sure you're getting value for your money before forking out dosh on tickets. Especially when it gets to £40 plus for a family of four.

So as a result, most of the time either myself or my other half takes our son to the flicks. You don't really want to spend all that money on two adult tickets when it is something you'd happily wait for the DVD to watch (and even then could give it a miss. Yes, Gnomeo and Juliet, I am looking at you).

Then along comes a movie like The Croods.

If you're wondering what to spend your Easter holiday treat money on, then read on to find out more.

It is that time of the year again when the kids get to gorge themselves silly on chocolate. Easter Sunday is on March 31st this year. So only a couple of weeks to go.

I love Easter, it is one of my favourite holidays (along with Halloween). Mainly because it is so simple. Throw a bunch of chocolate at the kids and they're happy!

It is also in the middle of the Easter school holidays, so you can spend a bit of time doing craft type things with the kids too. If you want!

What I also like about Easter is that it's an easy holiday event to do really cheaply. Here's some of the great ideas and budget deals I've found on the internet.

Use this Cadbury's Gifts Direct promotional code to get 15% off Easter Gifts. If you love chocolate at all then go have a look. These gifts are simply the most desirable thing I've seen all year!

Click here to use your Cadbury's Gifts Direct promotional code*

• Discount: 15%
• Applies to: Easter Gifts
• Promotional code: WGEASTER15
• Expires: 31st March 2013

To use your Cadbury's Gifts Direct discount code, go to the shopping basket and enter it in the Discount Code box. It will be applied to your order automatically.

I don't think there's a minimum spend - I tested it out on an egg that cost £3.99, and it deducted 60p.

As well as their eggs and other themed Easter goodies, the site has some Easter Hampers. I could feel the sugar levels in my bloodstream soaring just looking at these. Check out the Ultimate Easter Basket, priced at £70!

Thanks to millarcat at HUKD!

Use this Homebase promotional code to get 20% off. A very handy code too if you're planning on upgrading any of your fittings or furnishings, or doing any spring time sprucing up. The Easter holidays are coming up, and a good time to get out in the garden.

Click here to use your Homebase promotional code*

• Discount: 20%
• Promotional code: WEB20
• Expires: 17th March 2013

To use this code go to the Shopping Trolley page and enter it in the Promotional Codes box. Click on Apply Code, and you'll see it appear in your totals column, in red.

The code can be used both instore and online. The code will work on existing offers too, as well as full priced items. I tested it out on the Schreiber Eden dining set show above. This was reduced to less than half price, down from £624.95 to £329.99. The code took it down further by £66 to £272.94, including the £8.95 delivery.

Thanks to bigflump at HUKD!

It’s not long now to Easter (chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, happiness) and Delights have got a delicious offer for you start preparing. Use this Delights promotional code to get 10% off everything you need for Easter and everything else on the Delights site too.

Click here to use your Delights promotional code*

•     Discount: 10% off
•     Promotional code: EGGSTRA
•     Expires: 24 March 2013

To use this promotional code use the link above to take you to the Delights website. Select your Easter goodies and then use your promotional code EGGSTRA when prompted to do so. You’ll get your 10% off and a head start on the Easter madness.

I went to the Delights site to have a look at what they have on offer. There was too much to choose from! Everything you could possibly need for Easter whether you make the chocolates yourself, throw a huge Easter bash or just get a few Easter eggs for the kids. Decorations, cards, toys, arts and crafts and that’s just some of it.

Hurry and use your promotional code at Delights before the 24^th of March!

With Easter around the corner, Pinterest is buzzing with fun and exciting things to do. I particularly like this post from Growing A Jewelled Rose on 16 Creative things to do with candy, you know - instead of just eating it!

Yes, you read that right. Scribbled eggs, not scrambled eggs. A great alternative to messy painting, and it looks pretty good too. Ideal for little ones, and perfect for some Easter decor.

If for some strange, bizarre reason you don't like chocolate, then this review isn't for you. If the universe has turned its back on you and for some reason you are denied the joys of chocolate for health reasons (it gives my other half migraines - oh the horror!) then for goodness sake, look away now.

This review is a veritable choc fest of delicious chocolatey chocolate goodness, with added chocolate and more chocolate sprinkled on top.

We had the extreme good fortune to get to review two Easter Eggs from the Belgian chocolate manufacturer Guylian. Yes, two of them. I'm still salivating. Want to know what they were like, whether they're worth getting, and whether they're value for your cash? Then read on!

Click here to read more...

Easter. Eggs. Chocolate overload. I find that even just more than a couple of Easter eggs is too much, and we end up with chocolate sitting in the house for weeks.

Which is why for the last few years we've gone for a Playmobil Easter Egg instead. It is a toy, with no chocolate in sight. Great as we have a local Easter egg hunt in the woods near the house each year, and that's more chocolate than my son can possibly eat in a month!

The eggs themselves are actually quite sizeable, and priced at £5.99, which is only a couple of quid (at the most) more than we'd spend on a chocolate Easter Egg. Another thing that's handy about the eggs is that they make great, re-usable containers. The top and bottom click together quite well.

We got the Fire Knight on a Horse (4937) and the Mini Playground (4939) to review. Both of these are fairly gender neutral, although the blue egg and the Knight are possibly a bit more 'boy' orientated. But I know as many girls who like castles and medieval toys as boys, so I don't think it matters much.

I sometimes feel like I am paying a bit for the name, but with these Easter Eggs I do feel like I'm getting a lot for my money. There's a fair amount of toy on the inside. And as with all Playmobil stuff, you have to click it all together. We've done plenty of these and don't even need to look at the instructions anymore.

There are two other eggs in the range. There's the Fairy with Swan Pond (4936) and Ranger with Forest Animals (4938).

How about a gift for Easter that doesn't involve chocolate? I know from experience that more than a couple of Easter Eggs and kids are pretty much swamped.  An alternative that doesn't involve chocolate is always good.

• Click here for your Ivory Nursery Humpty Dumpty mug and soft toy set at Debenhams

If all the relatives buy your offspring, or other little family members, a chocolate egg at Easter, it soon mounts up. So something that doesn't involve chocolate can be a perfect choice. Like this Ivory "Nursery" Humpty Dumpty mug and soft toy set  reduced by 46% from £13.95 to £7.50. You can get free delivery too if you use the code SHV4  at checkout. This is valid until Sunday.

Charming scenes taken from all our childhood favourites and lovingly recreated in beautiful pastel colours that bring the stories to life. Aynsley China have taken a classic nursery rhyme as inspiration for their Humpty Dumpty mug. This mug comes complete with a soft plush of Humpty Dumpty.

Thanks to EMtart at HUKD!

The Book People are selling this Easter Things to Make and Do book for £2.99, its full recommended list price is £4.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at Easter Things to Make and Do *

I know we haven't got past Valentine's Day and half term yet, but Easter is early this year - it's at the end of March, last year it was very late and almost at the end of April.

Easter heralds the first two-week school holiday since the Christmas one (and doesn't Crimbo already seem like a lifetime ago!) and I know, from experience, that it pays to have some projects and activities lined up for young kids to do - the weather still isn't great, so turfing everyone out into the garden, to play, isn't likely to be an every day option.

This Easter Things to Make and Do book will not only occupy a few hours, but will also give you the chance to make some Easter gifts for the grandparents - they like that sort of thing...generally.

Each project in the book is explained with simple, illustrated step-by-step instructions, along with a colour photograph showing you how everything should look when it's finished.

There are pop-up chick cards to be made, delicious recipes to try, eggs to paint - I used to LOVE doing that! - and I'm pretty sure that you will have just as much fun doing some of these activities, as the kids will.  Easter Things to Make and Do also comes with a set of stickers that can be used to add the finishing touch to your projects too.

I can't find any free delivery codes, so you may just have to suck up the £2.80 single item delivery charge this time - sorry.

But, happy making things for Easter anyway!

There’s a whole range of Easter themed table settings and décor available at John Lewis at the moment, most of which is reduced to half price.

• Set the scene for next Easter

I wish I had the kind of house where I could have décor set aside for every holiday of the year, or a box in the attic (or even an attic, for that matter!) that could be brought down every year, but alas, that’s not where we’re at.

Included in this offer are serving dishes, bowls, and decorations, reduced from £6 to £3, £3 to £1.50 and £13 to £6.50 for a pack of 27 decorations.

There are nibble dishes, milk dispensers and tea cosies for a simple tea rather than a full scale lunch . For a spring theme, rather than a purely Easter one, there are decorative large flowers, reduced from £6 to £3 and wooden flowers down from £8 to £4.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

It is hard to review chocolate because everybody is different. Some think that anything less than 70% cocoa is not chocolate, others believe that it can only be made in Belgium, and others think it is not allowed to be flavoured. I believe that if it tastes nice, then I love it.

When I decided to review the Thorntons Easter Range I got one very unusual Easter egg that has actually taken over this review. It was the Lemon Meringue Pie egg. Yes, you read that right. This chocolate egg is part of their Great British Puds range, it costs £14.99 and you can also choose Eton Mess Egg or Banoffee Pie Egg if you prefer.

The Lemon Meringue Egg had this sort of ruffled up area in the front that had us poking it nervously, sadly the post had killed it a bit and it looked nothing like the photo anymore. None of us wanted to be the first to eat it. I bravely stepped in and took a chunk and OH EM G it was GOOD. The entire egg – all 425g of it – was gone in two hours. We all hoovered it down and could not stop. The end of the night saw us all lying on sofas and groaning.

This egg was an unexpected treat. It tasted very creamy and light, and yet it still managed to throw a little lemon meringue in there without being overly sweet and icky. The chocolate was smooth and that special kind of white chocolate silky I love, and the funny bit in the front was this utterly divine chewy lemon curd style decoration that we actually fought over.

While the Lemon Meringue Pie Egg is not online at the moment, it may be sold out, you can get the other two flavours that I am willing to bet taste just as good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there is a Banoffee Pie Egg with my name on it…

Over the past few weeks I’ve discovered cheap craft supplies and some ace ways to decorate your Easter eggs in time for the festivities. This week it’s all about ideas for truly brilliant Easter crafts with the kids. Some of the ideas I’ve found are genius…