10 Christ Centered Easter Ideas For The Family

10 Christ Centered Easter Ideas

 By: Alyssa James

Easter is just around the corner and like with any holiday, it can get easy to get lost in the fun and gifts but forget the meaning behind it all. This year, I've collected 10 Easter Ideas centered around Christ to help teach and remind our children the true meaning of Easter and why we celebrate. First and foremost, what is the meaning of Easter? Easter is one of the most important and oldest celebrations by the Christian Church, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Luke 24:6-7 "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ " 
 Now for the fun! (Psst! Kids! It can be fun to learn sometimes too!) I'll begin with my favorite, 1. RESURRECTION EGGS. I saw this idea in a recent flyer in my mailbox from Lifeway Christian Bookstore and I loved it! You can buy the kit from their store or online here. The idea around it is, 12 objects representing the meaning of Easter such as a cross and a donkey. There are plenty of free printables you can google as well. Finding the objects will raise interest in the kids and is a more age appropriate way to tell the story and help remind them each year. 
2. THE JELLY BEAN PRAYER. Lets face it, jelly beans are an Easter must especially if you have toddlers. They just cant seam to get enough! The jelly bean prayer is a fun, simple and inexpensive way to tell the resurrection story. You can put one in the kids basket or have them help you make them to deliver to your friends, family and/or neighbors! Just bag up some jelly beans and attach the cute little poem, which can be found online.
3. EASTER VIGIL. I found this idea on multiplygoodness.com and I love it!! It's so pretty and a perfect tradition to start with your family. Go check out her story and participate in your own Easter vigil with your kids. She also shares an idea to do with the family everyday the week leading up to Easter which is fun too! She reminds us in her post of the verse John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” 
4. RESURRECTION ROLLS. A delicious treat any kid will love and get to help make! Follow this site for the recipe. She also tells you what verses to read to the children as your making them and how to explain what each ingredient represents. Such as, the crescent roll is the cloth and the oven is the tomb. This is so much fun and such a great way to share the story as they help bake and eat the treat!
5. SCRIPTURE SCAVENGER HUNT.  This activity can be done during Easter week on any day to help teach and prepare your children. It's a fun outdoor activity that uses scripture to give the kids clues as to what to hunt for. Give each child their own bag to collect their items then read the scripture provided in the list followed by the clue to go with it. (Click on the image to print.)

6. RESURRECTION BINGO. Who doesn't love a good ol' game of bingo? My kids love to play and it's become a little bit of a holiday tradition family game where i find a different set for us to play themed for each holiday. You can even reward winners with jelly beans for Easter! I found this cute printable you can download and print for free!
 7. COLORING PAGES. Every child loves to color. Finding a Christ centered coloring book is very easy to come by too. They can be found at nearly every store from Dollar Tree to your local Christian book store, or even free printables can be found online!. 
8. STAINED GLASS CROSS. This is a beautiful and easy project for any child of every age to

partake on (even toddlers!) First, you will want to tape a sheet of clear contact paper (Sticky side up) onto the table. Place your pre cut cross onto the paper (can be made from poster board from the dollar store). Pre cut different colored tissue paper (also from dollar store) into squares and give each child their own pile. Next, let them place their squares however they'd like inside their cross. When they are all done, place a second pre cut cross directly on top of the first (to cover the overlapping tissue). Trim the contact paper around your cross and hang it up outside or in your window for the kids to enjoy all the beautiful colors when the light shine through. 
9. STORY BOOK. There are many children's books available to read to your kids that tell the story of why we celebrate Easter. The Easter Story by Patricia A. Pingry is one of my personal favorites for its soft and gentle for children's ears while still getting the story across. It is very important to always be reading with your children so why not an Easter story? 
10. CHRIST CENTERED EASTER BASKETS. Having a family of four (soon to be five) children, shopping can get a bit expensive. We love to turn to the dollar store first to find all that we can and for only a dollar an item why not!? You can find some pretty great stuff there too. We have found lots of Christ centered items as well! As I said earlier, you can find coloring books but aside from that, we've found Christian books for all ages including toddler! Chocolates in the shape of a cross, Christian puzzles for different age ranges, CD's, and so much more! You can even add verses to different items such as the jelly bean poem mentioned earlier, Revelation 7:17 with a slinky, Isiah 64:8 with play dough, and Luke 12:7 with hair accessories to name a few. There are so many cute, fun, and delicious ideas for you to enjoy with your family that keep the holiday centered around Christ. Must we never forget why we celebrate. HAPPY EASTER!