Easter is one of those holidays that tends to get lost in a confusing (although admittedly delicious) stream of a chocolate, candy and eggs left by a (kind of creepy, let’s be honest) giant bunny.
Not that I think there’s anything wrong with the more conventional Easter traditions, but we have a few traditions that we practiced growing up and a few we’re starting with our little family that we’d love to share.
Candy, bunnies and eggs are fun for kids, but we also love to incorporate traditions that celebrate our faith and the true meaning of Easter. Easter is one of my favorite holidays because we get to celebrate the greatest hope we have. Plus we celebrate it coinciding with Spring, the weather getting warmer and new life. So fitting.
Easter tradition inspiration.
”He is risen” cookies.
This is one of my favorite Easter memories growing up.
We always prepared these cookies together on the night before Easter, sealed them up in the oven overnight and then came down on Easter morning to see that they had risen! It’s a fun way to tangibly share the Easter story with your kiddos in a way that they will remember, and it makes delicious treats too.
Snag the recipe here.
Dying easter eggs.
This one is just for fun.
I always loved dying Easter eggs. We use our Instant Pot to make perfect hard boiled eggs every time (seriously, it’s amazing) and then dye them fun colors. I have sweet memories of dying Easter eggs together as a family. This is a more natural dye option which we LOVE. The pigments in the dye are derived from vegetables like blueberries, spinach and carrots. And we think they make SUCH pretty colored eggs.
We also love to use a white crayon to draw designs on the eggs before dying them. The designs drawn in white crayon show up when they are dunked in the dye, revealing them like a secret message!
You want to make perfect hard boiled eggs too? Here’s how.
- You need an Instant Pot.
- Place a steamer basket or steamer rack trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert.
- Pour 1–1½ c water in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add eggs in a single layer.
- Close the lid and make sure it is set to “sealing”.
- Set the Instant Pot to cook on manual for 4 minutes if you like your eggs slightly underdone or 5 minutes if you like them fully cooked.
- Allow the Instant Pot to build up pressure and then cook.
- When the cook time is up, quick release using the pressure valve on the lid.
- Prepare an ice bath in a bowl. Remove eggs from the Instant Pot (be careful, they will be very hot) and place in an ice bath.
- When eggs are thoroughly cooled in the ice bath, they are ready to peel or dye.
After dying the eggs, take a minute or two to hide them around the house or outside and let the kiddos take delight in finding the hidden eggs. (We recommend making a list of where you hid them in case some don’t get found. Things can get smelly really fast if an egg is lost in the house for too long.)
Resurrection eggs.
This is a fun take on an Easter egg hunt. Hide these eggs, let your kids discover them and then use them to tell the Easter story. My grandma gifted us a set and I can’t wait to use them this year.
Reading through the Easter story together.
I’ve included one of our favorite Easter books for kids below in the Easter basket ideas section. But we also like to read straight from the Bible or a kid’s Bible like the Jesus Storybook Bible together as a family.
Toddler Easter basket Ideas.
While we always prefer giving experiences like the traditions above instead of giving “stuff” on holidays, it can be really fun to put together an Easter basket of things your kiddo will enjoy for the rest of the spring and summer.
We try to keep Canaan away from sugar and leave the Reeses Eggs to the adults. So most of our Easter basket ideas are books, crafts, games and activities. So really, they parlay their way into being experiences anyway.
On Easter morning growing up, we would always come downstairs to hunt for eggs and our Easter baskets. They were “hidden” out in the open when we were little and as we got older and better at searching, they graduated to being hidden in crazy places like in the dryer or on top of a tall bookshelf.
Sweet Easter baskets.
Before you can create a fun basket full of Easter goodies, you first need a basket. Here are few options that are too cute.
Easter books
A sweet friend gifted us the book “God Gave Us You” when we first got pregnant and we’ve since read many different “God Gave Us…” books. They have a version of “God Gave Us You” for many different family situations, adoption, having twins, etc. They are so sweet and really helpful for talking about complex things to your kiddos.
This Easter is Coming book is one of our favorites. It explains the Easter story in an engaging and simple way that our toddler can understand and remember.
Kids gardening kit.
Maybe you’re taking a page out of our Spring Bucket List and planting your very own garden. This sweet little kit is the perfect way for the kids to get involved and help out.
Springtime coloring book.
I don’t know many toddlers who don’t love coloring. This is a fun spring take on coloring. You’ll need some crayons or washable markers to go along with it! We love these triangular crayons. The shape is supposed to help with toddler’s ability to start learning how to properly hold a pencil plus they don’t roll away which is amazing!
Playdough Easter Eggs.
We love playing with playdough and these are a fun spin on the normal playdough as they come in little Easter-y eggs.
If you try any of these traditions or Easter basket ideas, let us know how your kiddos liked them. Did you have Easter traditions growing up? Drop a couple below. We would love to hear about them!
