Easter falls on April 12th this year and we will all, more than likely, still be in quarantine for the Coronavirus pandemic. While this is my first Easter in quarantine, I feel confident that I will be able to create an Easter for my family that will be memorable for years to come. It will include some of our old favorite activities as well as some new traditions.
Celebrating Easter During COVID-19
For many families, Easter usually falls during spring break and can allow families to travel and create lasting memories. Although this year might be different from the usual, you can still have a memorable and enjoyable celebration with your family. If you are feeling unmotivated to make Easter special due to the circumstances, my hope is that this article will inspire you to make it great! Here are a few ideas to create a memorable Easter at home!
Dress the Part
One of the best parts of Easter morning is getting dressed in Easter best to wear to church or other places of worship. It may seem silly or too much effort to still do the same at home, but it will make the day seem special from all others if you dress the part! Even if you haven’t purchased special clothes for Easter, wear your best dress or suit for the day.
If you have young sons who have never learned to tie their own tie, an Easter Sunday at home is a wonderful opportunity to teach them. Do have a young tween who has been begging to wear heels but hasn’t yet? Easter at home is the day to let her try. When her feet start to hurt, she’s already at home, ready to change into flats!
For a dress-themed activity for Easter Sunday, you could have your children decorate their own “Easter bonnets.” Glue floral accents, buttons, ribbon, and other decorative items you have around the house to sun hats or scarves. You can make them as simple or outlandish as you want, thanks to an Easter at home!
Have a Worship Service at Home
Easter Sunday is one of the biggest days of the year for church attendance around the world. It’s a day of celebration and coming together as we remember Christ’s sacrifice and the Atonement. Take time on Easter Sunday of COVID-19 to have a service in your home.
Use available church resources for material. Set up a place in your home or go outside in a peaceful area of your backyard, to create an environment for quiet reverence and reflection of the day. Watch available church videos to set the tone for the day.
Your family can help choose hymns to sing for the service and each can share their own testimony of what it feels like to have church at home. Play spiritual music and keep distractions at a minimum to mimic the feel of your church. If possible, pass the sacrament or have communion to further remember Christ’s love for us. An Easter worship service during Coronavirus could be what your family remembers most about their time in quarantine at home.
Dye Easter Eggs
Dyeing Easter eggs is a tradition that I love. It’s simple to do and creates the most beautiful, pastel-color eggs! Dyeing kits have come a long way from color tablets with vinegar but sometimes simple is best. Use crayon to write secret messages on eggs that will appear after they are dyed. Cover eggs in stickers to create cute cut-out looks on eggs as well. For very young kids, sometimes just coloring eggs with markers and covering them with glitter glue or stickers can work!
Don’t want to go to the store to buy egg dye? You can easily make it at home by adding 1 teaspoon of vinegar to 1/2 cup boiling water and mixing in 10 drops of food coloring. For more vibrant colors, add more food coloring.
After the eggs are dyed, take pictures of your family’s creations. The eggs can be used in table décor or turned into deviled eggs for an Easter meal!
Have an Easter Egg Hunt
An Easter egg hunt is one of the best parts of Easter for children (and adults too!). Fill plastic Easter eggs with small candies and hide them around your home and outside in your yard. When it’s time, have your children find the eggs! There are several different ways to elaborate on a simple Easter egg hunt.
Find your color
If possible, assign a color Easter egg to each family member. When it comes time to hunt, the family member can only pick up eggs in their designated color. This keeps arguments over who got more eggs or candy, etc. at a minimum!
Have a virtual Easter egg hunt
Contact grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other family and friends for a virtual egg hunt! Have everyone connect via video messenger at a designated time to begin the egg hunt together. Your children will be thrilled to see other kids in their family searching for eggs at the same time as them. Follow your kids with the video messenger so family can feel like they are there during the egg hunt.
Do a scavenger egg hunt
Instead of hiding candy in the eggs, hide clues to a bigger prize! If you have put together an Easter basket full of gifts, hide it in a secret spot and write small clues in the eggs for kids to then find their gifts. Don’t forget to number the eggs so they know which order to open them in for the next clue!
Fill Easter Baskets
Do grandparents or other family members usually give your kids Easter gifts or baskets? Have them mail contents to your house to then assemble into an Easter basket. Your children will love receiving special gifts from their family and loved ones they can’t see in person.
If they can’t send a gift, a card or special note to put in the basket will also add a personal touch. These can be special cards to put in their keepsake journals to share decades down the road when the Coronavirus quarantine is simply a page in the history books!
Here are some Easter basket filler ideas!
Ages 8 and Under
- Coloring books
- Crayons and markers
- Children’s magazines
- Craft kits
- Popsicle sticks, glue, etc.
- Picture books
- Hot Wheels cars
- Dolls
Ages 8-12
- Advanced color books
- Art kit
- Action camera
- Science kit
- Chapter books
- Journal
Tween or Teen
- Advanced coloring books
- Colored pencils
- Instant camera
- Chapter Books/Novels
- Hand Sanitizer
- Lotion, Body Spray, etc.
- Journal
Have an Easter Parade
An Easter parade is an old-fashioned tradition that can be a lot of fun to orchestrate for your own family. Decorate bicycles, scooters, ride-on toys, strollers, or wagons with spring flowers, Easter grass, and other fun, spring-themed items. Let your kids have the lead on decorating their chosen “float.” Give them a set amount of time to complete the float and let them know what time the parade will begin!
If safe to do so, parade down your neighborhood street, dressed in Easter clothes and bonnets while pulling or riding the Easter “floats.” Even a parade in your driveway or backyard is a possibility.
After the parade, pick a parent to be the judge, and award each float with a special prize. Award a “most creative”, “best theme”, “best overall”, or other unique designation. Print certificates on your computer and have a small prize to give each participant for their unique Easter parade float.
Perform an Act of Service
There are multiple acts of service that can be completed around Easter time. Not everyone has a family full of people at home who they can celebrate Easter with. While it won’t be possible to invite them to join you for Easter festivities at home, acts of service can still be done from a safe distance.
Deliver Easter eggs to neighbors
Have you children play the Easter bunny! Fill plastic Easter eggs with small candies and notes of encouragement. Tape them up and decorate the outside with messages written in Sharpie markers. Kids can also cover the eggs in stickers or washi tape. Once the eggs are done, drop them by neighbors’ mailboxes so they will be sure to see them! You could start a trend online as well by asking neighbors to take a picture of the egg and tag it in social media with a special message.
Donate a meal
If you know a family who has been hard hit by the Coronavirus, whether through loss of income or the illness itself, consider donating a meal. You can make a monetary donation to a local food bank or send a gift card for take-out or groceries to the recipient of your choice.
Send hand-written cards to nursing homes and neighbors
Have your children make Easter cards to send to elderly patients in nursing homes that can’t have visitors. Cards can also be sent to neighbors, friends, and family. With all the less-than-positive news in the world, a bright and cheery Easter card is a welcome distraction.
Offer to shop for someone who is home bound
Where possible, offer to pick up groceries or other needed items for someone who is immunocompromised or high risk for Coronavirus. Leave the items on their front porch to avoid the possible spread of germs.
Do yard work for an elderly person
It’s finally springtime, and while most people have been advised to social distance, you can help clean up a neighbor or grandparent’s yard without physically interacting. Take all your own tools and supplies and help spruce up someone else’s outside space. You can call ahead of time or just make it a surprise. This is a great activity for teens during quarantine.
Cook an Easter Meal
Possibly my favorite part of Easter Sunday (after the church service) is the meal afterward! My family usually cooks a ham, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and other dishes for Easter. Create your own Easter menu during COVID-19 and make it special!
Print or hand-write a menu card for the table. Put place cards at each setting, designating where each family member will sit. In years past, I have written family member’s names on plastic Easter eggs and put them on their plates to act as place cards. Set the table with your best spring-themed dinnerware. Just a small amount of Easter grass and a few eggs will add that special touch to the dinner table.
Have family members help with meal preparation as well! This is a great time to teach your children how to cook family favorites. Have your family make requests on what to eat and involve them in making it. Don’t forget dessert!
When it comes time to eat, light candles and play your music of choice to create a wonderful Easter meal setting. During the meal, ask family members to share their favorite Easter memories or a favorite memory from their recent time at home.
Make a New Tradition
Easter, along with many other holidays, are special because of the holiday traditions that are made, and can be unique for each family. Some of my favorite Easter traditions involve gathering with family that we don’t usually get to see throughout the year. I plan to video call family this year and share photos and video snapshots of our Easter at home with them.
Special times call for special, new traditions. I hope this article gives you motivation and inspiration to make this Easter at home the best one yet!
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