Easter Sunday: 5 Fun Ways to Spend it With Your Kids

During the Christmas holiday, Santa Claus gets all the shine and with Easter, the spotlight is on the Easter Bunny. From a commercial standpoint, I get it - whatever drives up sales and makes more money. Both holidays, however, are biblically-rooted and centered around Jesus Christ. For that reason, I want to make sure that my children know the real reason why we celebrate the holiday, yet still make it fun and enjoyable for them.

With that in mind and with only 3 days left before the Easter Holiday, I thought I'd share 5 fun ways to spend the day with your family and still honor God's story. Take a look...

1. Play a game - The traditional Easter Day Egg Hunt is a must in my household! I normally hide the eggs in our yard after we come home from church. If you don't have a yard, no worries. You could always hide them indoors or at a local park. I fill the eggs with candy and usually do a "Grand Prize" egg that's significantly bigger than the rest of the eggs and filled with candy and a five dollar bill. The kids look forward to it every year and it's become somewhat of a tradition in our household.

Eggs have been a symbol of fertility and rebirth for many years now and reminds Christians of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life. This is why decorated eggs are associated with the Easter holiday and placed in a basket with straw to resemble a bird's nest.

2. Do a craft - Inspired by the Easter Story Wreath found at Wee Little Miracles, I wanted to create something similar to hang over my mantel. So, I had my ositos help me create a garland instead.

I created images that symbolized each event in the story and added a few eggs, colorfully decorated by them, in between. I purchased an Easter themed garland from the Dollar Tree and hung the images on the garland itself. You could also make the garland solely using the images alone and ribbon.

There are important events and significant religious days that lead up to the Easter Holiday (e.g., Psalm Sunday, The Last Supper, Good Friday, etc.) and this craft allows children to learn about them in a fun way. I found a website that beautifully illustrates the story, Topmarks, and it's free. We usually  read the story first, then I have them put the pictures in order and so on. The activity takes about 30 minutes to complete.

3. Have an Easter-themed snack - My ositos are not big veggie eaters but they do love cheese! So, these "carrot inspired" treats are a hit and they double as rabbit food, too!  I used the non-ziplock type baggies and cut the cheese into little square inch blocks. You can pair this treat with anything you'd like. I, personally, went with pretzels and a drink. My ositos loved it!   

4. The Jelly Bean Prayer - Have you ever wondered what Jelly Beans have to do with Easter? Well, yeah, me too! In doing some research though, I found that sometime around the 1930s, jelly beans became associated with Easter and the Easter Bunny because of its egg-like shape. So, the implication is that the Easter Bunny delivers all types of eggs as a symbol of new life during the spring season.

I also came across The Jelly Bean Prayer which was written in 1990 by Shirley Kozak from Stuttgart, Germany: 

RED is for the blood He gave, 

GREEN is for the grass He made, 

YELLOW is for His sun so bright, 

ORANGE is for the edge of night, 

BLACK is for the sins we made, 

WHITE is for the grace He gave, 

BLUE is for His hours of sorrow, 

PINK is for a new tomorrow.

A cup of jelly beans, 

so colorful and sweet, 

is a prayer, 

a promise, 

an Easter treat.

I printed the poem on cardstock and added it to some cute, jelly bean-filled bunnies I found at the Dollar Tree. Yummy, cost-effective and meaningful, all-in-one!

5. Have a fun photo-shoot - You have to capture all the memories you've made so why not do it in a fun way? Photo props make it so much fun to do so, too! Dollar stores have cute, inexpensive finds and there are tons of free online printables you can print out at home and use. Remember, you're never too old to have fun. Your children will love you for it and cherish these memories forever.

So, there you have it. I hope I've giving you some ideas on how to plan your day. Whatever you decide to do, I hope that you enjoy it, be fully present in the moments you share with your family and, most importantly, remember the true reason why we celebrate the Easter holiday. Be blessed!