Celebrating Easter in Melbourne

HOORAY for Easter bunnies, chocolates (and long weekends!). Carene Chong shares ideas for making the most of your Easter holidays in Melbourne.

Image: Nancy Matthews via Flickr

Easter means different things to different people.

To some, it’s a religious event where a visit to the church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection is a must. To others, it’s a great excuse to gather family and friends for a feast and a laugh.

Regardless of what it means to you, Easter is a much anticipated break from the daily grind. So make the most out of the short holiday, whether it be throwing a small party at home or exploring what Melbourne has to offer.

Here are some ideas for what to do and see this Easter in Melbourne.

Host an Easter-themed party

No Easter party is complete without some decorated eggs or chocolate eggs. Image: maxmaria via Flickr

Staying in this Easter to save some dollars? It doesn’t have to be boring. Why not throw an Easter-themed pot-luck party with some friends at home?

Include some fish or prawns on the menu as it’s a tradition to have seafood during Easter, particularly on Good Friday. Don’t forgetting all the other goodies that come with the holidays, such as hot cross buns and, of course, lots of chocolate.

As for activities, you can’t go past an Easter egg hunt. Instead of chocolate eggs, make it a grown-up game and use real eggs.

Prepare some simple and cheap gifts like gift cards, bottles of wine, scratchie cards etc. Then write the gifts down on small pieces of paper and roll them up.

Hollow out some eggs, paint them a fun colour and place the scrolls of paper inside the eggs. Hide them all around the house and have your guests hunt for as many eggs as they can to score as many goodies as possible.

Take a CBD tour

Take a coffee, chocolate or laneway tour around the Melbourne CBD and you’ll be surprised at what you’ll find. Image: gappa01 via Flickr

Think you know Melbourne well? A few special themed tours around the CBD might just prove you wrong.

A good tour to consider is the Chocoholics tour, which couldn’t be more appropriate for Easter. With a wide range of tours to choose from, you can be sure your sweet tooth will be fully satisfied by the end of the tour.

For $39, attendees will be taken on an approximately two-hour long walk to the best chocolate shops around town such as Lindt, Haighs and Ganache. On top of chocolate stories and fun facts, tour-goers will also be given the opportunity to taste the mouth-watering creations of these stores.

Not a fan of chocolate? (What planet are you from??) Never fear as there are plenty of other CBD tours to choose from such as a coffee culture tour, a Melbourne laneway tour, and much much more. Best news is, prices are very reasonable (under $60), which means you return home with a new perspective on the city of Melbourne without burning a hole in your pocket.

Shop till you drop

With more shopping places and extended trading hours, there has never been a better time to shop your way around Melbourne. Image: Thomas Riggs via Flickr

There has never been a better time to shop and dine in Melbourne.

With the recently opened H&M store at Melbourne’s GPO building and the exciting new Emporium shopping centre that will open in time for the Easter holidays, shoppers are truly spoilt for choice.

When the $1.6 billion Emporium shopping complex opened its doors on the 16th of April, shoppers were treated to a good handful of international brands and Australia-firsts like Uniqlo and UCLA as well as some Melbourne-first outlets such as the world famous dumpling franchise Din Tai Fung.

If that’s not good enough, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle has just announced that 1,000 shops from La Trobe Street to Bourke Street Mall will be open until at least 7pm on weekdays from 22 April onwards.  That includes stores in Melbourne Central, Emporium, GPO and Bourke St Mall.

Just keep in mind that most shops (including major grocery stores) will be closed on Good Friday. Trading hours for the rest of the Easter holidays will vary from store to store, but will generally be shorter than normal trading hours.

World of entertainment

The Dreamworks Animation Exhibition is on now until October 5. Image: ACMI

There is simply too much to see and do in Melbourne during Easter but here are some of our top picks:

Dreamworks Exhibition at the ACMI centre
See how your favorite Dreamworks characters (Kung Fu Panda, Shrek etc) come alive in this world-first exciting new exhibition. Normal tickets are $22.50 but if you present your student card upon ticket purchase, you only have to pay $16.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Laugh your way through Easter with a massive line-up of shows by both local and international funny men and women. The festival continues until April 20. Look up the full list of shows on the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website.

Seussical
This is part of the comedy festival line-up but it deserves a special mention because this musical is based on the works of the ingenious Dr.Seuss. With tickets costing less than $30, you have to be quick with bookings as shows and seats are strictly limited.

2nd annual Malaysian Summit of Australia (MASA)
Hosted by the Malaysian Students Council of Australia (MASCA), this four day event starts on April 20 and finishes on April 24. Dubbed the largest event in Australia for Malaysians, it brings together Malaysian students in Melbourne for a series of events such as sports competitions, a new cyber game competition, a career expo and a conference headlined by famous Malaysian speakers such as Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and inspirational female leader and writer Marina Mahathir.

How are you planning to celebrate your Easter holidays? Share with us below.