Spending time with the family over the Easter weekend can be great – but how can you keep everyone entertained?

Host of Newstalk’s Screentime John Fardy offered The Hard Shoulder a list of options, broken down by appropriate age groups for children.

His first recommendation for children aged zero to five was Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

“I absolutely love these movies, Neil Park, Aardman Animations, that kind of clay-motion animation, whatever it’s called,” he said.

“I remember before I had kids, going with my niece and nephew to see this in the cinema about 14 years ago, just enjoying it.

“Going along as an uncle going, ‘Oh, this will be fine’, I’m thinking, ‘This is absolutely delightful!’”

WALLACE, GROMIT, THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, 2005. Image: Maximum Film / Alamy

John said this, along with Disney’s Encanto, are perfect family films to watch with young children.

Moving onto the five-to-eight-year-old category, John put Toy Story at the top of his list, but also offered a few alternatives.

“E.T.; controversial one because it contains a lot of sadness, but it is absolutely important that a child of seven would see this,” he said.

“I watched it with my then seven-year-old and they loved it – but they did cry at the end.”

John also offered up The Iron Giant, as well as the famous Frozen.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Movie Poster. Image: FlixPix / Alamy

When it comes to eight-to-ten year olds, he suggested Pixar’s Up – but warned that some parents might be concerned it is too sad.

“My wife says she doesn’t want to show the kids that, I’ve smuggled it in,” he said.

“It is about a man who’s lost his wife and it’s told in such a heartbreaking fashion.

“Then a boy befriends him and they travel the world with the house tied to balloons.

“It sounds ridiculous; it’s one of the most beautiful animated movies ever made.”

For those not so keen on animation though, John suggested Back to the Future and the first Star Wars film for slightly older kids.

For ages twelve and up, John said Mrs Doubtfire and the first Lord of the Rings film are both age-appropriate and thoroughly engaging.

Main image: Multi Generation Family Watching TV Together. Image: MBI / Alamy. 13 March 2014