The Easter Bunny is great and all, but many of us want something more special and meaningful for ourselves and our families. Why not both? Here is list of ideas to make the Easter fun for the little one, challenging for older kids and heart affirming for you.
Easter Egg Hunts: Improving Your Egg Game
While many families choose to attend large community Easter eggs hunts these days, any “hunt” is cherished by kids. It doesn’t matter if the prizes are big or small, who can resist looking scouring the backyard looking for bright colorful plastic eggs with who-knows-what inside? Here are a few tips to make this year’s hunt eggcellent:
- Kids don’t care where you hide the eggs. If it’s raining outside, the living room will be just as much fun.
- Consider “assigning” children different colors of eggs depending on their age or skill level. For instance, a younger child could be on the lookout for yellow and green eggs that are placed more out in the open while older kids can look for blue and pink eggs that have been hidden more cleverly.
- If your Easter is too busy with church and/or family coming over, consider doing a flashlight Easter egg hunt the night before. This is also great for older kids regardless.
- For something different, why not hold a separate egg hunt for the adults? Prizes could include “I.O.U” slips that can be “redeemed” for gift cards or stuff eggs with candy that moms and dads will appreciate.
- Hold an Egg Olympics with relay races where teams balance eggs on a spoon, a Bunny Hop from one end of the yard to the other and perhaps a (plastic) egg toss.
Easter Books Worth Reading
While it is rare to find Easter-theme TV specials for children on TV these days, the holiday is still celebrated in the form of children’s books. Easter has some hard-to-grasp concepts, and we’ve found three new books this year that help to not only make the story palatable for kids, but entertaining as well. Here are three worth reading to your kiddos during the holiday which can be found at Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon.
The Story of Easter: God’s Gift to Us
Created by Media Lab Books, this board book shares the complicated Easter story is a way that kids can understand while keeping the story age-appropriate.
Easter Love Letters from God: Bible Stories
Written by Glenys Nellist and illustrated by Sophie Allsopp, Love Letters shares seven Bible stories that can be shared during Holy Week or one big reading marathon. Each story comes with an additional “letter from God” which help further explain the story that was just read and a Bible verse (described as “God’s Wonderful Words to You” that will give even more encouragement.
Jesus is Risen! An Easter Pop-Up Book
Who doesn’t love a pop-up book? This story, told and illustrated by Agostino Traini, shares the story of Jesus’ triumph over death in a whole new way for kids to enjoy.
The Story of Easter
A classic bestseller presented in a new size with fresh, bright illustrations. Here is the story of Easter told in about 200 words that are simple enough for a toddler to hear. From Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem through the crucifixion and the Resurrection, the Easter story is presented in its most traditional form. Vibrant illustrations paired with classic text bridge the connection between the biblical story and today’s Easter celebration. This book is unsurpassed as an introduction to the significance of Easter.
The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story
The Bear cubs are candy-crazy this Easter! But Missus Ursula and some Sunday school students tell the cubs about Jesus’s resurrection and show them that salvation is much sweeter than candy! Includes a sheet of colorful stickers.
The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Sunday
The Bear Family, all of their friends and family, and even the nature all around them get dressed in their Easter best for an Easter Sunday celebration at the Chapel in the Woods. Join Mama, Papa, Brother, sisters and Honey as they go to services, have an Easter treasure hunt, and learn what Easter is all about.
Easter At the Movies
This year there are three faith-based movies in theaters for Easter weekend, but ironically, none of them are actually based on the holiday itself. Still, each feature strong themes of redemption. While none of these will make great choices for young kids, they will make great choices for families with teens.
I Can Only Imagine
Already a big hit with both movie-goers and critics alike, I Can Only Imagine tells the story behind the song of the same name by the band MercyMe. While now Bart Millard is lead singer of the successful band, he was once on the receiving end of a troubled and dysfunctional family abused mentally and physically by his father. That all changed when Bart’s dad became a Christian. The movie stars Dennis Quaid, J. Michael Finley, Trace Adkins and Cloris Leachman. Rated PG, the movie is by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin known for October Baby, Woodlawn and Mom’s Night Out.
Paul: Apostle of Christ
This biblical movie is sort of before and after story about Saul, one of the most infamous persecutors of the early Christians and his conversion to his faith in Jesus and a name change to Paul. Yorgos Karamihos plays the younger Saul of Tarsus while James Faulkner plays the elderly imprisoned Paul. Jim Caviezel has top billing as Luke. The movie is Rated PG-13.
God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness
The God’s Not Dead trilogy comes to an end with A Light in Darkness. Though it features many of the same characters in the first two films, the last installment also works as a stand-alone film. It welcomes back Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper) who switches roles comforting Reverend Dave Hill (David A.R. White) after his church has been burned to the ground. Rated PG, the movie also stars John Corbett, Ted McGinley, Jennifer Taylor, Tatum O’Neal and Benjamin A. Onyango.
Easter on TV
There was a time when there were a lot more Easter-themed TV specials. Even It’s the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown (which isn’t spiritual at all) hasn’t aired in about four years. However, there are few things to watch Easter weekend. Most are appropriate for families with older kids, but if you want Snoopy, you’ll need to by the DVD.
The Ten Commandments
ABC will air the Charleston Heston 1956 classic, The Ten Commandments for the umpteenth time on Saturday, March 31 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Clocking in at an astonishing 284 minutes in length, the story isn’t even about Easter, but does feature Passover prominently. The Cecil B. DeMille movie also stars Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Vincent Price, John Carradine and cast of thousands. Though not completely biblically accurate, it still is one of the best faith-based movies ever made.
Jesus Christ Superstar in Live in Concert
NBC’s latest adventure with live musicals is presenting Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar, but in concert-styled format instead of a stage production. Though the musical has been controversial over the years, most people are able to look past some of the productions biblical inaccuracies and accept the story’s truth. As you would expect, the music is awesome. Despite what you might think, the title song is actually mocking Jesus (during his death) rather than celebrating him as a “superstar” and the show focuses more of Jesus’ humanity than most productions. The live show stars John Legend as Jesus, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Alice Cooper as King Herod, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas Iscariot and Jason Tam as Peter. The production begins at 8:00 p.m. Easter night.
UPTV Movie Weekend
UPTV is presenting a weekend of Easter-ish movies with last year’s Easter hit, Risen headlining the event. Risen is about a Roman Tribune in Judea tasked with finding the missing body of Jesus Christ when the tomb is discovered empty. The movie stars Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis and Maria Botto. Other faith-based films shown over the weekend include Song of God, Judas, The Passion of the Crist, Heaven is for Real, God’s Not Dead, Fireproof, Courageous and Mom’s Night Out. Visit UPTV.com for complete listing times and descriptions.
For more family-friendly Easter activities, printables and recipes, click on this link: HERE
Wishing You and Your a Blessed and Happy Easter!
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