With the recent rise in COVID-19 cases on campus, Roger Williams University has advised students not to go home this upcoming weekend. Since this announcement will likely cause individuals to spend Easter on campus away from family, here are seven ways to celebrate the holiday safely while remaining local.

1. Dress the part

Many people have different traditions for what to wear on Easter. Some wear bright pastel-colored clothing just to church, while others prefer to stay in their fancy outfits all day. Whatever you enjoy wearing on the holiday, continue that tradition while on campus!

2. Find a local, virtual church service to attend

A big part of Easter and Easter weekend is going to church on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Due to COVID-19, attending mass in person can be risky since you do not know where other people have been and whether they have been following COVID-19 guidelines. For this reason, some churches have been live-streaming their services, so people can attend from the comfort of their home, or in this case residence hall rooms. Search for a local church service, such as Mount Hope Church in Bristol, which posts sermons weekly and livestreams services. St. Mary’s Parish in Bristol livestreams services at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Hint: Your home church might have livestreams from their service or posts, so search their websites to find out more.

3. Egg painting 

Egg painting and dying is a huge tradition in most families for Easter. Many craft stores, supermarkets and other general stores sell cheap kits so be sure to check them out. If you get the chance, pick up a kit or two and spend the weekend painting eggs with your roommates and friends for a festive activity.

4. Easter egg hunt

Once you are finished painting your eggs (or buying plastic ones to fill with goodies), you can have a roommate hide them while the rest of you can search for them. For a fair and fun twist, color code the eggs you can find. Alternatively, for everyone to participate, you can color code the eggs and have each person hide one color and search for another and so on. Remember, this is your egg hunt — make it work for you!

5. Decorate your room/apartment 

If you miss being home for Easter, decorate your room for the holiday to bring the cozy, family-feel to you instead. Incorporate bright colors, table ornaments, Easter bunnies and eggs throughout the room or apartment. Hint: If you are on a budget, you can find a lot of great decorations at a local Dollar Tree or Family Dollar.

6. Have a family Zoom call

Seeing family over Zoom is a great opportunity to catch up with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and many more. Even though you are not going home, this does not mean you cannot use this time to see family for the holiday.

7. Cooking 

If you miss the home-cooked meals you would normally enjoy and you live in an apartment, find easy online recipes and spend the weekend with your roommates cooking your favorite Easter meals. Websites such as delish.com and foodnetwork.com have created simple recipes for classic Easter meals.