Easter is hands down my favorite holiday! It trumps my birthday and even Christmas. Being a follower of Jesus Christ makes my celebration all about our risen Lord who took the sin that I can’t eradicate out of my own life and paid the debt on it. I’m living debt-free and that is something to celebrate!
I always want to give this celebration, of knowing the living savior, my all. I aim to go big! I plan a big meal and invite the extended family over. The food isn’t always the fanciest, but I always get out my best dishes and make the table a beautiful centerpiece. One year when life was especially hard a friend suggested taking the easy route and using paper plates.
No.
Nope.
I couldn’t even consider it. I don’t care what you do, but for me, Easter is a personal time of deep gratitude and honor and I want to reflect that at my party. It is my joy to honor the King of Kings.
There are so many simple ways you can help your kids celebrate and experience an intentional Easter. I am going to share with you some ideas I have and some things I have done in the past with my own five children. All of these ideas can be modified for preschoolers.
First, ATTEND EASTER JAM! 
Grace Community Church is hosting a family Easter party. We are going to gather at our University Blvd Campus, Tyler, Tx on the football field to sing and shout, play a game or two and hear the good news story about how God sent Jesus to rescue us and give us eternal life. Please join us on April 3, 11-12 pm. Check out more information here.
Next, ATTEND EASTER SERVICES!
I’m sure you can find a church near you with a service that fits your schedule. If you are in Tyler or Lindale, Texas you are invited to join me and my friends at Grace Community Church. It is always more enjoyable to celebrate and party together! For service days and times look HERE.
You can also SHARE A MEAL AND DECORATE BIG.
Invite some friends over and share the meal prep and the happiness of the day. Decorating big doesn’t mean it has to be expensive or even store-bought. Get out your best dishes and gather the prettiest flowers from your yard. Have your kids help by setting the table or coloring pictures to place at each seat. If you put them to the task, I bet they can come up with some amazing creativity.
Have you ever seen or made a RESURRECTION GARDEN?
You will have to plan a little bit ahead with this one as you are planting a tiny bit of grass and want to give it time to sprout by Easter. Most of the supplies needed can be found at your local dollar store. This is a powerful visual for kids.
RESURRECTION EGGS are a perfect way to tell the Easter story. 
And it’s something your kids can use to practice reciting the story and even use to tell their friends about what Easter is truly about. You will need an empty egg carton and 12 plastic eggs. You will fill each egg with an item that illustrates part of the Bible story. Check it out and get a supply list HERE
Many people make RESURRECTION ROLLS on Easter morning. 
Have you had them? Basically, the inside of the roll is hollow just like the tomb of Jesus was empty after he rose from the dead. Kids LOVE these and they are EASY to make. You can find a recipe HERE.
I saw this PEEP HOUSE on the internet and thought it was adorable. 
Got me thinking that you could also make a cross and decorate it all fancy and fun. Or how about a resurrection garden? Make the garden bright and happy with an empty tomb. I want to see pictures if you attempt this one!! You can post on Instagram @gracekidslindale, @gracekids-tyler, or Grace Kids -Lindale Facebook page.
Lastly, I would encourage some REFLECTIVE TIME for your kids.
When I was growing up my mom made me and my sister sit in our room from 12-3 pm and think about Jesus.
I would not necessarily recommend that, (HA!), but I am still talking about it and still celebrating Jesus all these years later, so it wasn’t a totally bad idea. Make your activity age-appropriate and remember that kids are mostly concrete thinkers so the things you talk about need to be at their level and not completely over their heads. Keep the beauty of what Christ did for them simple at this point.
Maybe color a picture and talk about the story, or write an appreciation poem to Jesus, or read through the Easter story in the Children’s Storybook Bible.
The point is Easter is so worth celebrating. Jesus is worth our most heartfelt appreciation and admiration and gratitude! I hope you can take a few of these ideas and build family traditions that will transform and mold hearts.
See you at Easter Jam! Bunny ears are optional!
Looking for a community or someone to grab coffee with who is in a similar life season? We’d love to connect with you and get to know you better! Below you will find a few people that can’t wait to meet you, shoot us an email so we can make a plan!
Tyler OJ Campus
Teresa Ator: teresaa@gcc.org
Bethanie Tayler: bethaniet@gcc.org
Tyler UB Campus
Max Heller: maxh@gcc.org
Chrisleigh Heller: chrisleighh@gcc.org
Lindale Campus
Molly Pontius: mollyp@gcc.org
Debra Kirby: debra@gcc.org
