Tell it out with joyful voice!
The Easter story is a joyous one of triumph and perseverance--it merits an entire season of celebration! However, the implementation of that is a complicated one. Why?
- Easter is a moveable feast! It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. In our Gregorian calendar, it is always observed on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This means that while Christmas season has a predictable start date, Easter Season will be different every year. It also means that unlike the long, slow indoor days attended by Christmas, Easter comes with an outdoorsy itch of lengthening days and welcoming weather. There is little room in the Easter season for the kind of hearth-warmed traditions that give Christmas its reflective flavor.
- There are several events that call on our attention before or around Easter Sunday. If Easter occurs in March, it may be contesting with St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Passover, a meaningful celebration leading up to Easter, may fall before or after Easter Sunday (because, for Christians, the meaning of Passover is heavily associated with Easter, we often choose to celebrate a Passover-type dinner the Friday before Easter regardless of its official date that year). April Fool's Day tricks, General Conference plans, spring break vacations, and Fast Sunday observation, are all moveable parts of this celebration season. Even events as small as Doctor's Day, the Restoration of the Gospel, or the birthdays of Dr. Suess (anyone else observe that with a week of dress-up days at school?), J.S. Bach, or birthdays of your own may be brought into account when making celebration plans (like grocery-shopping...activity spacing...company planning...). For an involved family, springtime life is simmering with activity!
There are a million ideas to celebrate a meaningful Easter. Take a quiet moment to decide how you want to experience it, and what you want your family to experience. Your own traditions will unfold over time, and they will change as ages change. Across the years, our Resurrection Celebrations have taken on a flavor of their own. Here are some ways Easter has become more savory to us.
Easter Season
Music. Besides fun spring songs or sacred music we play on Spotify, I favor making music of our own. I love to hear my children sing, probably far more than they love to do it! However, they are obliging enough to learn a new song when I sit them down and officially teach them (especially where bribes are involved). About a month before Easter, I often get the itch to share an Easter hymn in this way with them. One year, we learned All Things Bright and Beautiful and they each "drew" a verse to prompt memorization. Another year we learned All Creatures of our God and King by writing each verse on the whiteboard and erasing words one by one until we could say it all by heart. This year, we used a YouTube video with lyrics to learn Amazing Grace. Once everyone is dressed on Easter morning, it has become a tradition to sit the kids down and film them singing. A sweet by-product of this practice is the spontaneous solos (or duets, or choirs!) that break out around the house in the days around Easter.
Scripture. Cool ideas for scripture studies are things like Lent (what is Lent?), Holy Week, snippets from Christ's life, snippets from other Bible lives, or verses from the Book of Mormon to augment the holiday. One year we studied a name of Christ each day and hung up a picture of Him representing that name. Another year we did a 30-day Walk with Christ. I truly believe that it doesn't matter what you pick so much as that you pick something from scripture to study as a family. You know your family's spiritual dietary needs and abilities (one verse a day may be plenty, or maybe it's the perfect time for a new challenge?). If your leaders, parents, or local church community are suggesting something specific (and you don't already have your own plan), I've found that to be a unifying choice.
Picture Books. Nothing says spring like stories about baby animals, garden seeds, pouring rain, or historical Easter traditions. Everything that happens in spring is a celebration of new life, which is the message of the resurrection! Choose fun spring books to buy or put on hold at the library (if you have a Biblioguides account, this is the perfect use for it!). Don't forget to check YouTube for read-aloud versions of books you can't find in hard copy. Rotate through them in the weeks leading up to Easter, or keep them all on your coffee table during Easter season. Aim to read (or have the big kids read to the youngers (bribes here? 
)) 1-3 books a day.
Art & Activities. Egg blowing, egg dyeing, and crafting colorful decor are whimsies of mine, so we prioritize creative time for these things. I find afternoons or evenings to be our best fit, often with themed music (like our fun spring playlist, Handel's Messiah, or Rob Gardner's Lamb of God depending on your mood) or an audiobook playing in the background. We have twine hanging across our banister and dining room windows with clothespins for displaying our current crafts. These projects will vary depending on the ages involved, so here are my suggestions:
- Younger elementary ages and preschoolers do well with pre-cut crafts in your selection of pastel colors. These can be for touch and play or for display.
- giant paper egg
- big country bunnies
- peek-a-boo chick
- egg dyeing
- story wheel
- stick puppets
- This Celebrating Easter page has a few other good ideas.
- Older elementary & teens can be more helpful, more intuitive, and more interested in a project with a challenge.
- egg blowing
- Make sugar cookies in the shape of eggs to decorate.
- Make coconut cookies or cupcakes that look like a nest, placing m&ms or egg candies in the center.
- Make quiche, popovers, or egg salad out of all those decorated eggs
- Set up and explore Stations of the Cross
Easter Egg Hunt! We have a few favorite Easter treats that show up year after year (don't forget to include a stash of the adults' top picks!). We aim for about 15 eggs per kid, plus a few giant eggs with treats to share. Staple candy:
- Cadbury caramel eggs
- bagged homemade Reeses
- Peeps of assorted colors
- jelly beans
- rice crispy bites made with colorful marshmallow bits
Sometimes the bunny throws in a fun seasonal treasure for each, such as
Our Springtime To-Do List
- In January, note the dates for Easter, Ash Wednesday, and Passover and mark those dates in the calendar. Also mark "planning" dates for each holiday.
- When the time comes, plan menus for Easter, Passover, Conference, April Fool's, and other noteworthy meals. Shop for groceries and egg fillers (including small gifts if applicable). Prep and freeze whatever can be made ahead!
- Attach song practice with one meal everyday.
- Plan to set aside needed scripture study time, if plans vary from your usual schedule.
- Plan Easter clothing.
- Check out picture books.
- Set aside time to craft or bake together.
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