Easter is such a fun time for families. The weather is getting nicer, there are Egg Hunts around town, and waiting for the arrival of the Easter Bunny gets kids excited! With all of the fun that surrounds Easter, how can you celebrate Easter in a way that points your kids to Christ? You want your kids to grow up knowing who Jesus is and you want them to have a personal relationship with him. But, you also want to enjoy this season of life with your kids, getting to do all of the fun holiday activities.
Here are some ideas to help you celebrate Easter with your kids. Use these to remind them the reason we celebrate Easter!
Make it fun!
There are a lot of fun activities that you can do with your family at Easter to focus on Jesus. Here at church there are a few Easter activities we have done that you can do at home:
- Resurrection Eggs: Use the plastic Easter eggs and fill them with pieces of the Easter story. Start by reading through the Easter story from the Bible with your kids. Then, talk about the different pieces of the story. Focus on Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Then find small tokens that represent these parts to help your kids retell the Easter story. There are also many websites that sell pre-made Resurrection Eggs that come filled with small objects that tell the story of Easter.
- Empty Tomb Rolls: This is a fun activity that also can be a yummy treat! All it takes are refrigerator rolls and marshmallows. Tell your kids the Easter Story. When you talk to them about Jesus being placed in the tomb, put a marshmallow inside of a roll and cover it all up. Then bake the roll and when it is finished, open them up. You will find that the roll is empty! This is a great demonstration of the empty tomb. Just a simple “Empty Tomb Roll” Google search will lead you to a lot of websites to show you how it’s done!
- Jelly Bean Poem: Use Jelly Beans and a simple poem to help kids remember the Easter Story. Each color of Jelly Bean is a different piece of the Easter Story and kids can use the candy to tell the story. Store them in a plastic egg. It makes for a fun treat that teaches about the events around the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
These are just a few ideas to help you celebrate Easter with your kids in a hands on and interactive way that’s perfect for all ages.
READ to Your Kids
There are some great books about Easter that are biblically focused. Each day leading up to Easter, you could read a different book with your kids. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Benjamin’s Box by Melody Carlson: This is a great one to read if you are going to do resurrection eggs with your children. They pair very nicely and the book does an excellent job of teaching the Easter Story with very nice illustrations.
- The Parable of the Easter Lily by Lis Curtis Higgs: This is a cute story of a farmer who give his daughter a special gift. The daughter doesn’t see it’s beauty until Easter morning. The book is filled with scripture references that you can use to dig deeper in the Bible. This book has won a Christian Book Award.
- The Donkey That No One could Ride by Anthony DeStafano: This story is written in rhyme and it tells of a donkey who was very weak. But it turns out that this is the donkey Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
- The Bible: Take time throughout the Easter season to read with your kids the Easter story from the Bible. Read the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, talk about the Last Supper on Thursday, discuss the crucifixion on Friday, and then read about about the resurrection on Sunday! Ask your kids how they would have felt being each person from the disciples, to the soldiers, to Jesus. Help them understand WHY Jesus died on the cross and what the resurrection means for us today.
Make your faith important all year long
I think the most important thing you can do to celebrate Easter with your kids starts before the jellybeans ever show up at Walmart. All year long teach your kids about who Jesus is. Teach them why we live our lives for him. Teach them about how much he loves them. Make your relationship with Jesus known to your kids. Let them see you in personal daily study, engage your kids in family devotions, go to church regularly, pray as a family. When you make Christ the center of your family, your kids will know why you celebrate Easter. They will know there is more to it than a big bunny hiding Easter baskets or looking for Easter eggs filled with chocolate. They will know and understand that we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
In Deuteronomy 6 verses 5-7 it says:
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
Parents, make your relationship with God known to your family. Talk about it daily in your normal routine. If you make Christ the center of your family, they will know who Jesus is. When Easter rolls around, go to church, talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus, enjoy the egg hunts and the Easter baskets. You can enjoy the festivities knowing that your family has a solid foundation of knowing who Jesus is.
All of that to say…
There are a lot of Easter activities that you can do as a family. Some are just fun like Easter egg hunts. There are other activities that you can do that show your kids Jesus! Make sure that you are teaching your kids that they are loved by God. Teach them that He sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us. Help them understand that 3 days later He defeated sin and death. All year long make Christ the center of your family. At Easter do special activities that help remind kids that although we can enjoy the Bunny, we need to remember that it’s all about what Jesus has done for us.
Have a fun Easter!
Looking for a church on Easter Weekend? Plan your visit to One Life Church! We have services on Saturdays at 6pm and Sundays at 10am. We’d love to see you here!