Easter's an excuse to bring home the joys of spring

I think it's nice, particularly if you have young children, to decorate the home with lots of little handmade things. We all go a bit gaga over the Christmas decs so why not Easter, too?

Easter is generally seen as the green light for spring, so celebrate by decking the house out with an abundance of pretty, colourful accessories that brighten our interiors as well as our moods.

From bunnies and bunting through to chocolate eggs and cherry blossom, accessories available to make this celebration nearly as pretty as Christmas are endless. And, if you're not too busy baking your hot cross buns, then most of this can be home- made, which only adds to the fun… honestly!

A table decoration at Easter is never out of place – even if you're not planning a dinner party. But first off, be prepared to get out in the garden – or to visit to the florist to make sure your table is adorned with the prettiest spring blooms.

You could also try adding a personal touch to the display

by painting your own eggs – fantastic fun for both kids and adults.

Pretty bowls of hand-painted eggs placed around the home look great, too – just remember to blow the eggs prior to decorating as you could end up with a bit of a suspect smell by Easter Monday.

Another way to decorate the home is by getting the flags out. There's so much gorgeous fabric about at the minute to make your own bunting.Go for pretty pastels in gingham, stripes and polka dots. All you need to do is measure out triangles and cut. Then stitch your triangles on to a ribbon. They can be re-used for birthdays, christenings, etc. Of course, some flowering bulbs are still around and by placing these in a basket they can make lovely additions to window ledges. Try dressing them up using curling ribbon or placing mini foil-wrapped eggs among the bulbs.

Don't stop in the house though. Get outside and decorate the garden too. Mail order company, www.coxandcox.co.uk, have a great collection

of goodies.

And, if you're going to the trouble of decorating your garden then you may as well create an Easter egg hunt.