Easter will be here before you know it. If you want your Easter to be a special time with your family, take a few minutes today to plan how you can begin one or two Easter Traditions. It will reinforce the true meaning of Easter and it will be FUN for grown-ups as well as children. There are any number of fabulous ideas – here are just a few we found to share.
1. Empty Eggs Illustrate the Empty Tomb
Most of us spend a lot of time trying to come up with terrific fillers for plastic Easter eggs, but this idea is built around celebrating empty eggs. After all, the greatest news on Easter morning was the discovery of an empty tomb! Easter pails can be colorful and brimming with Easter grass and maybe even little candies sprinkled around, but the single plastic egg on top has nothing inside. Parents can tell the kids why or place a notecard in the pail explaining the symbolism.
2. Resurrection Eggs – Wordless Book Jelly Beans
Resurrection eggs have been around for a while, but if you’ve never used them this year you should give them a try. They usually come in a cardboard carton just like regular eggs. Inside the carton are plastic eggs and inside the eggs are portions of the Easter story – usually represented by monopoly-like tokens. A nail, a stone, a tiny donkey… If you don’t want to buy Resurrection Eggs, consider making your own wordless book with jelly beans. Black ones stand for sin, red for the blood of Jesus, white for the clean hearts He gives, green for growing faith and yellow for the heavenly streets of gold!
3. Easter Eggs to Share
Among your Easter traditions find some way to share the joy of Easter with others who may not really know the story. Fill plastic eggs with yummy candies – but tuck a tract inside or just your own family-created notes saying Jesus died and rose again because of love for YOU. Deliver your eggs to the family hairdresser, school bus driver, postman, dentist – you get the idea.
4. Read the Easter Story Throughout Holy Week
Think about dividing the Easter story into seven distinct readings. Kids will be interested to follow the events from Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday to His overturning the tables of the moneychangers to the Last Supper, the crucifixion and resurrection. Make it a yearly event to read the story together day by day.
5. Bake Some Resurrection Rolls
There are several variations on this idea from resurrection rolls to resurrection cookies (find them online). The main idea is that the filling placed inside disappears during baking so that children bite into an empty treat. Look for the recipe you like best and enjoy them on Easter morning.
6. Send out Easter Cards
Have your children help you sign Easter cards, address the envelope and affix the stamp. This is our most precious holiday and it deserves celebrating with everyone you love!
As you can see, it doesn’t take a huge amount of effort to come up with fun family Easter traditions. The trick is to pick one or two and then follow through. If you’re looking for Holy Week readings or Easter cards, here at The Printery House, we have a large selection to choose from.