Turn them into a mini ...
... Jamie Oliver
Follow the lead of telly's dietary hero and encourage healthy eating by sending them to a class at the Kids' Cookery School (020 8992 8882; www.thekidscookeryschool.co.uk) in Acton, London. Perfect if you're fed up of forcing down soggy gingerbread men or inedible rock cakes, these lessons will have them producing proper dishes with fresh ingredients. Kids as young as three can take the hour-and-a-quarter lessons, for £15, older kids aged up to 16 can opt for two-and-a-half hour workshops (£30), or full study days (£50) that include a lunch they make themselves.
In the unlikely event of there being any leftovers, the kids can take them home. Courses run throughout the holidays, and there are after-school clubs all-year round.
...Ellen MacArthur
You could just push them out to sea in a rubber dinghy, but you'd give them a better chance of making it round the world under wind power by launching yourselves into a family sailing trip around the islands of the Adriatic with Sail Croatia (020 7751 9988; www.sailcroatia.net). The yacht charter company offers skippered boat holidays which include tuition on race techniques and sailing skills, and voyages to untouched beaches, picturesque towns and villages. Snorkelling, diving, mountain biking and walking in the national parks are incorporated.
Departures over Easter cost from £2,075 per week for hire of a yacht that sleeps six and includes a skipper. Flights can be arranged from around £179.
... Robbie Williams
Let them discover the joys of helicopter transport, as enjoyed by many a popstar - though you do of course run the risk that they'll never be happy with their tricycles again.
A year of best behaviour is probably the minimum requirement for earning a place on the Very Important Kids programme at the Hotel Royal Riviera (00 33 4 9376 3100; www.royal-riviera.com), set on the exclusive peninsula of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat between Monaco and Nice. The VIKs can take their pick from a menu of top-class activities that include the helicopter ride over Monaco for €50pp (£36) for 10 minutes. Doubles from €240 per night.
... Ant and Dec
What child can resist the draw of all things utterly disgusting? Let them dunk their hands in tropical tanks full of lizards and eel worms, complete an adventure playground obstacle race or dare to sample some 'bush tucker' snacks, such as crickets and swamp slime, in order to collect gold stars and win prizes in the Wightlight Bushtucker Challenge, held daily at 2pm at the Isle of Wight's Amazon World between 25-28 March.
The centre houses the island's largest collection of exotic animals, birds, reptiles and insects, and children aged between eight and 13 can compete.
A day trip for a family of four, including return ferry crossing from Portsmouth or Lymington, costs £52 with Wightlink (0870 582 7744; www.wightlink.co.uk)).
... Vanessa Paradis
Let them show up mum and dad's poor linguistic skills during French lessons for the whole family at the Coeur de France (00 33 248 793 408; www.coeurdefrance.com) language school in Sancerre in the Loire Valley. As well as learn-and-study sessions, pupils pick up lingo through immersion in French life, with trips to the boulangerie and local markets. After 'school', which takes up 17-20 hours a week, there's plenty to do in the form of visits to chateaux or goat's cheese farms, forest walks, kayaking or swimming.
Accommodation is in self-catering apartments in the grounds of a 16th-century mansion that houses the school. Packages cost from €1,875 for two adults and two children under 10.
... Tiger Woods
Usually the pastime of middle-aged leisure seekers, the sport is gradually working its way towards youth, with credence gained through 'punk golf' and Tiger. Get them swinging into action in the original golfing destination, St Andrew's. An Easter break at The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa (01334 474371; www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk) costs £225pp and children under 12 can share their parents' room free of charge and try junior golf lessons. If they start feeling old before their time there's splash time in the pool, computer games consoles and messy arts and crafts sessions.
... Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Becoming a shopaholic It-girl may not be the pinnacle of every parent's dreams for their kids, but you could indulge their materialistic ambitions briefly, with an Easter break at the super-luxe Mandarin Oriental (020 7235 2000; www.mandarinoriental.com) in Hyde Park, London. Between 18 March-3 April doubles in this hotel of marble halls and satin-decorated bedrooms, near the corrupting influence of Knightsbridge and Bond Street, cost £188 per night.
... David Bellamy
The woodland-themed family attraction Conkers (01283 216633; www.visitconkers.com), in Swadlincote, Derbyshire has over 100 interactive exhibits, an assault course, sculpture trails and nature walks, all tree-themed for developing green finger types. The new Tree Top Adventure Walk creates a realistic forest canopy indoors.
Easter activities focus on animal and plant species, comparing indigenous varieties and recent introductions. They run from 19 March all weekend. Admission is £5.95 for adults, £3.95 for kids, with a £1 charge for some activities.
... Farmer Giles
Get into the true spirit of Easter with a trip to see new-born lambs at a choice of four National Trust (0870 458 4000; www.nationaltrust.org.uk) properties. Calke Abbey (01332 863822) in Derbyshire has 33 pens full of four-day-old lambs between 20 March-10 April.
Other opportunities are at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire (01909 476592) 25-27 March, at the Malham Estate (01729 830416), North Yorkshire Dales on 28 March, and post-Easter at Wimpole Home Farm (01223 206000), in Cambridgeshire, on 16-17 April.
... Miss Marple
Give them a taste for the macabre while honing their sleuthing skills on a murder mystery weekend at the Macdonald Frimley Hall Hotel (0870 400 8224; www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/frimleyhall) near Camberley, Surrey.
Teenagers of 14 and above can join their parents on a two-night trip, starting Good Friday, to try and figure out whodunnit from blood curdling screams, various clues and a full cast of actors who stay in character all weekend.
The package, which includes cocktail reception (orange juice is also available), Saturday lunch and B&B costs £205pp.
