This is supposed to be a good week. This is the time in which we celebrate the immense sacrifice our Savior made for us, His death, burial, and resurrection. We’re supposed to be putting on our Sunday best to celebrate with the rest of the church body and preparing for a glorious feast. Easter is not supposed to be spent locked up in our homes with nowhere to go.
But who says we can’t still celebrate? Does quarantine change anything that Jesus did for us on the cross? Does a virus even have the remote capacity to keep God from doing what He’s going to do? If we’re at home instead of in church, can we not praise God, thank God, cry to God, pray to God, rant to God, and commune with Him? Of course we can; in fact, this is quite possibly the perfect opportunity to worship Him like never before. No distractions, no running late to church—just time spent together celebrating Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
It is sad to miss out on some of our favorite traditions, though: the church Easter egg hunts, family photos, parties and decadent dinners. But being in quarantine doesn’t have to mean losing out on everything fun about Easter. We’ve got some ways for your family to enjoy the day like never before.
- Wear that easter dress. Sad you don’t get to wear your fun new outfit? Put it on anyway! Just because we’re stuck at home doesn’t mean we have to stay in our PJs (unless you’re loving the PJ life and want to keep it that way). Wearing something special might just give you an extra boost on that joyous day.
- Have an Easter egg hunt. Think Easter egg hunts are just for little kids? We beg to differ. Hide eggs all throughout the house or the backyard and just have fun with it! Come on, you know you want to.
- Pray together. Whether or not your family regularly prays together, there’s no better time than Resurrection Sunday to start. While you’re all home together on Easter morning, start the day by coming together in prayer. Before the cooking starts, the games, the phone calls and church services. Spend a few silent moments praying with one another. And if you’re not sure where to start, check out this great list of prayers you and your family can use.
- Go on a prayer walk in the neighborhood. You may also consider taking some time in the day to pray for those in your neighborhood. Walk from house to house, blessing the members of each family and praying over their needs. Invite your kids to join in, and if they’re not comfortable praying aloud, model that for them and instead encourage them to pray silently to themselves. God doesn’t want us to put on a show for others to prove our praying abilities, He just wants to hear from us.
- Worship together. Fill your home with the sound of voices coming together to praise His name. Find some comfy spots on the couch or by the fireplace and sing with one another. Pick a few songs from a worship playlist, have each family member pull up the lyrics on their phones, and focus on the beauty of the day. If you’ve got some musicians in the family, you might even whip out some instruments and play your own songs! Check out these worship playlists for some inspiration:
- Start a new tradition. What better time to start a new tradition than a completely untraditional Easter Sunday? Put something new on the menu, play a game your family loves, anything to create fun new memories.
- Tune in to a church service. If your family has been doing this the last few weeks, then this is probably already on your list of things to do! But we’d challenge you to take virtual church to another level this week. It’s really easy to sit back, watch your pastor preach, then simply move on with your day without the words really making an impact. But watching church on a computer or TV actually gives us more flexibility than normal. If your pastor makes a really good point, or asks an intriguing question, pause the message and talk it over with the family. Invite your kids to really discuss the message and let Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection sink in.
- Make a new dessert. Let your kid scour the internet for a fun new dessert to make together. There are tons of fun Easter-themed desserts, so pick something that looks yummy and make it!
- Watch old home movies/look at photos from past Easters. Remember all of those photos you took of your kid with the Easter bunny when they were just wee babies? Yeah, it’s time to bring those out. Home movies and old photos are so much fun, and rediscovering those dashing Easter outfits just puts the cherry on top.
- Zoom family members. If you’ve had to cancel your regular celebrations with extended family, it can make the holiday feel pretty lonely. Schedule a Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime call with your loved ones this Easter Sunday to stay connected!
- Cut down the menu. How many times have you waltzed over to the fridge or pantry looking for a lil’ snack? If you’re like the rest of us, it’s been way, way too many times. Because with nothing else to do in quarantine, it only seems natural to eat all of the things. But you might want to consider actually cutting down the menu this year, that way you don’t stress too much over the preparations and instead can simply enjoy time spent with one another (not to mention fewer dishes, you’re welcome).
P.S. We’re in the midst of Holy Week! We have an awesome Holy Week devotional to get your family ready to celebrate Easter Sunday. It’s only available with the All Axis Pass, find out more here! And don’t worry if you’ve missed a few days, there’s never a bad time to rest, realign, and center your heart on Christ.