It happens so quickly.
Already, for our kids, Easter has become all about the chocolate.
It’s hard for anything to compete with the lure of forbidden treats. Aisles lined with shiny foil-wrapped eggs and soldierly bunnies. Easter egg hunts and easter egg baskets. Creamy, smooth chocolate – chocolate in abundance; chocolate every which way we turn.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for having fun with my kids and letting them relish the special occasions of a child’s life. As a kid who wasn’t allowed much junk food, I still remember the thrill of peeling back the coloured foil on Easter morning and taking that first intoxicating bite through the thin shell. Our kids will be eating chocolate, and plenty of it, I’m sure. We’ll be doing our share of Easter egg decorating and easter egg crafts over the next two weeks.
But at the heart of it all, I wanted to come up with a way to remind them of what Easter is really about.
That’s where the idea of the Easter advent tree was born.
My kids have been asking me so frequently, “how many sleeps till Easter?” that I figured some sort of countdown would be fun for them.
I like the idea of creating a new family tradition in the couple of weeks before Easter: a special time spent with each other in the evening, reading the Bible together and then opening the advent eggs one by one and discovering hidden messages to remind us of what it’s all really about.
The biggest takeaway I want for my kids this Easter? That it’s all about love.
The love of a saviour who died for our sins.
The love God wants us to show in turn to others.
I kept it simple. Our boys are 5 and 4 years old. Here are the messages I came up with – one for each of the next 13 “sleeps”. Some of them reference crafts I’ve planned to make with the kids during the day. You could tweak any of these to fit your needs.
Our Easter Advent:
13. Make Easter cards for ___________ (insert name of loved one). Write them a message and tell them three things you love about them.
12. Lie down on butcher’s paper and have someone trace your outline. Decorate and add features to make it look like you. Roll up the cutouts, put them in a mailing tube and send to ______________ (absent loved one, friend)
11. Stick stained glass crosses on windows. What is Easter really about? Why did Jesus have to die?
10. Hang salt dough ornaments on the Easter advent tree. Sing a song together while we decorate – eg. Jesus loves me.
9. Tell your brother three things you love about him.
8. Write in a card for ____________ (a sick boy we’ve been praying for) and draw him a picture. Talk about how we can show love even to people we’ve never met.
7. Tell your Mummy three things you love about her, and Mummy will tell you three things she loves about you.
6. What is love? Read 1 Corinthians 13. Talk about what love does, and what it doesn’t do.
5. Tell your Daddy three things you love about him, and Daddy will tell you three things he loves about you.
4. Make Easter cards for ___________ (teacher, babysitter). Write a message to say thank you and tell them the things you love about them.
3. Say thank you to God for five things.
2. (Good Friday) Read story from the Bible, “The day Jesus died.” Think of three naughty things you’ve done. Say thank you to Jesus for dying on the cross for your naughty things.
1. Read the story of Easter morning.
0. Ring a loved one to say “Happy Easter!”
We cut the messages into individual strips, then curled them around a pencil. I numbered each plastic egg with a permanent marker – one for each sleep until Easter. The kids had fun finding the correct numbered egg to add each message to.
The eggs already had a small hole in the bottom, just big enough to thread with a piece of string and tie off with a knot. Then we took a walk together as a family to find a nice branch to hang our eggs from.
I love how our tree turned out! When I bought those brightly-coloured plastic eggs from the cheap shop, I thought they might look a bit tacky on the tree. I even briefly considered covering them with paper maché – except that we needed to be able to get them open. I decided to keep it simple; after all, the focus of this activity is what’s on the inside of the eggs, not on the outside. In any case, I ended up really liking the look of those bright candy colours against the stripped branches.
I can’t wait to start our Easter advent countdown! And I’m especially looking forward to spending some heartfelt family time together in the evenings.
Has anyone else tried an advent for Easter? Would you give it a go?
How do you help your kids focus on the true meaning of Easter?
It’s sad to read that you sold your house, after all the makeover you did. It really improved! However, I’m also happy and excited, as this means you have moved on to a new chapter of your life. I hope you are doing well.
http://coldwelllubbock.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/nar-figures-suggest-upward-trend-for-homes-for-sale-in-lubbock-tx
One year a home school project was writing an Easter devotional for kids with funny little kid stories to illustrate Jesus' final days. I love your idea! simple 🙂
It’s sad to read that you sold your house, after all the makeover you did. It really improved! However, I’m also happy and excited, as this means you have moved on to a new chapter of your life. I hope you are doing well.
http://coldwelllubbock.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/nar-figures-suggest-upward-trend-for-homes-for-sale-in-lubbock-tx
One year a home school project was writing an Easter devotional for kids with funny little kid stories to illustrate Jesus' final days. I love your idea! simple 🙂