20 Things To Do With Kids in NYC on Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday, many New York City families enjoy a neighborhood Easter egg hunt or watch the wildly popular Easter Bonnet Parade and Festival, which returns in 2022. But there's plenty of other springtime fun to be had, too.
Read on for 20 ways to spend Easter Sunday—which falls on Sunday, April 17, 2022—with kids in NYC. Find even more inspiration in our Family Activity Calendar or Guide to Spring Fun in New York City.
Subscribe to our newsletters to get stories like this delivered directly to your inbox.
1. Marvel at the Millinery
Don your best hat and head to the Easter Bonnet Parade and Festival. FREE
2. Visit the Dinos
The Bronx Zoo's popular Dinosaur Safari is roaring back to life, featuring 52 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, and it's open on the holiday. The walk-through experience covers a 1/4 mile-long path and traverses more than 2 acres of forest. While you're there, explore one of the many fascinating animal exhibits and get up close with hundreds of different species.
3. Hit the Rink
Join the roller skating party at Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace at Rockefeller Center.
The New York Botanical Garden's Daffodil Hill is a springtime must-see. Photo by Jody Mercier
4. Pack a Picnic
Visit the New York Botanical Garden, where you can visit Daffodil Hill, check out the Orchid Show, or explore the rest of the family-friendly fun therein.
5. Get Crafty
Craft your own pair of bunny ears, learn how to weave a basket, join an egg hunt, hear live music, and more during Easter at the Children's Museum of Manhattan.
6. Hop Aboard
For a truly special treat, set sail with the Easter Bunny, and enjoy an onboard Easter egg hunt.
RELATED: Best of April: Awesome Things To Do in New York City with Kids
Easter egg hunts abound all weekend long, or you can host your own.
7. Bring a Basket
Gather up the kids and head to one of NYC's Easter egg hunts happening on Easter Sunday, like the Easter brunch and egg hunt at Veranda.
8. Skip the Crowds
Or stage your own Easter egg hunt at home hunt instead.
9. Enjoy Farm-Inspired Fun
Green Meadows Farm in Brooklyn holds its annual Easter event including an egg hunt, photo-ops with the Easter Bunny, and a visit to the Bunny Barn.
10. Rock Out with the Easter Bunny
Get your groove on at The Easter Bunny Hop featuring an egg scavenger hunt, a sing-along, and after-show photos with the Easter Bunny.
11. Play Outside
Spend the day exploring one of our favorite playgrounds.
RELATED: Where to Snag a Photo With the Easter Bunny
Wave Hill's bucolic grounds make you forget you're in the city at all. Photo courtesy of Wave Hill
12. Celebrate Mother Earth
Head to Riverdale to explore the beautiful Wave Hill. This 28-acre public garden offers spectacular views of the Hudson River and sprawling grassy lawns where guests are encouraged to play and relax. On Easter Sunday, join the Family Art Project: Shell-y Friends program, where kids use recycled cardboard and fabric strips to make their own shell backpack.
13. Play at BCM
Head to the Brooklyn Children's Museum where kids can explore some of the museum's favorite exhibits including Totally Tots, World Brooklyn, Neighborhood Nature, and The Nest, or enjoy its special Earth Rocks spring break programming.
14. Catch a Flick
Drive (or walk-in) to the Skyline Drive-In's showing of Fantastic Beasts the Secrets of Dumbledore.
15. Meet the Easter Bunny
Hang out with Abby the Bunny in front of the Atlantic Mall in Downtown Brooklyn. While you're there, score an Easter basket filled with candy eggs plus an instant print-out photo with the bunny.
RELATED: 25 Kid-Friendly Spring Day Trips for NYC Families
See a performance of "Wake Up, Daisy" at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater. Photo by Sean Jamal
16. See a Puppet Show
Take in a classic fairytale with Pinocchio: Carlo Collodi's 1883 Adventures of a Marionette at Puppetworks in Park Slope. Or see Wake up, Daisy! at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park.
17. Go Cosmic at CAMP
The City Point CAMP launches Cosmic CAMP–an intergalactic space journey where kids can explore the cosmos through interactive games, physical challenges, and other cosmic-themed experiences.
18. Stick Around to Celebrate
City Point is also home to the Easter Eggstravaganza in Downtown Brooklyn, which features bouncy houses, spring craft projects, bunny pics, and a magic show.
19. Paint Some Eggs
Kids Paint Easter Egg-stravaganza event in Park Slope, where kids can decorate their own Easter eggs and pose for a photo with the Easter Bunny.
20. Strike a Pose
Dress the kids up and pose for spring pictures; a little bribery might help! Take them to FAO Schwarz to purchase some of the best Easter goodies in town.
This post was originally published in April 2013, but it is updated annually.