From palm-waving parades to sunrise celebrations, Tabitha Heathcote wants us to discover simple ways to help our children experience the wonder of Jesus’ journey and make faith the heart of our Easter
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is my favourite Sunday of the whole year, excluding Easter, of course! If I could go back in time to one moment in Jesus’ life, it would be the day he rode into Jerusalem and entered the temple, telling the grown-ups off for trying to silence the children’s worship (Matthew 21:15-17).
And this is only the trial run for the Easter Sunday celebration!
Palm Sunday should be a day of messy celebration, people gathered together, singing and praising God. Each year I choose a creative activity to do with my children. Sometimes we make giant palm branches, sometimes we paint our feet green and make footprints showing Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem, and other times we use handprints to create palm branches. It’s a day when all the instruments come out. The children can sing, shout, and make joyful noise, bringing glory to God in whatever way they want! And this is only the trial run for the Easter Sunday celebration!
Passover supper
Taking time during Holy Week to celebrate the Passover supper is another tradition we practise as a family, and something I have also done with the church in the past. It is a wonderfully intergenerational event filled with storytelling, songs, food, the Seder plate, the four cups, finding the Afikomen — and of course, remembering to let Elijah in!
Celebrating Passover brings the Old Testament story to life. It allows us to take part in a meal that Jesus shared with his family and friends throughout his life, right up until the very end. It helps people of all ages begin to grasp the depth and wonder of what it means that Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
I pray that all children who encounter Jesus this week will not only remember the story and chocolate, but will come to know Jesus as their living Lord and Saviour
The children love it because they get to be part of every aspect of the story, most importantly, the story that is still being told.
Here are some websites and a podcast that help you see how to run a Passover meal:
Friday fast
For many people, Good Friday is a day of fasting and preparation as we remember the sorrowful moment when Jesus breathed his last.
As a family, we fast until three o’clock. For the adults, this usually means fasting from food, but for our children we encourage them to choose something to either give up or take up for the day. What this looks like will depend on your family habits and what might be most meaningful or challenging for your children. It might be screen time, a favourite snack, the box of toy cars, or even time spent in their bedroom.
Fasting is an act of denying ourselves and drawing close to God
Fasting can be challenging, so it’s important not to choose something that sets your children up to fail. It can sometimes seem like a good idea to fast from things like arguing with siblings, but instead it can be more helpful to teach a different response. For example: “When I feel angry, I will put my hands on my knees, close my eyes, and ask Jesus for help.” A practice that they can continue to use.
Fasting is an act of denying ourselves and drawing close to God. One of my favourite Good Friday “take-up” activities is to set an alarm every hour and be still for at least one minute. These moments become natural pauses in the day, opportunities for the whole family to draw close to God, even if only for a short time. It can even become a gentle challenge: one minute the first hour, two minutes the second, and so on.
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For children who struggle to sit still, I encourage parents to create a special place in the home — perhaps at the dining table or coffee table. Each hour, gather there, light a candle, focus on the flame, and whisper the name of Jesus. You may find that the more children practise this, the longer they are able to be still.
Saturday hunt
Each year we host an Easter egg hunt as a way to share the gospel with our neighbourhood, friends, and family.
Using Easter eggs as part of our Easter celebrations is a fun and engaging way for children to experience the Easter story. There are so many creative options: plastic eggs with parts of the story inside, ribbons hidden in trees that can be traded in for eggs, or simply hiding chocolate eggs around the garden. There are always new ways to reimagine the traditional Easter egg hunt.
But whatever the format, we want to remember the purpose and the reason for the season — Jesus.
when Sunday arrives, the joy is far greater, just as the joy of the resurrection followed the sorrow of the cross
After sharing the story and handing out the eggs, we encourage the children to wait until Easter Sunday to open them. When they do, they discover that the egg, just like the tomb, is empty. The anticipation makes the chocolate taste even sweeter.
In a small way, this waiting helps children understand something about the Easter story. The waiting can feel difficult, and parents may have to endure a few disappointed reactions when the chocolate is off limits! But when Sunday arrives, the joy is far greater, just as the joy of the resurrection followed the sorrow of the cross.
Sunday celebration
One of the most profound moments of the year for our family is walking up the hill near our house, which overlooks our home and neighbourhood. From the top we can see across the hills, over toward Wales one way, and toward Liverpool another.
We try to arrive just as the sun is rising. We bring bread and juice with us and, as a family, we break bread together while watching the sunrise. It is an incredible moment of stillness.
Read more:
Christian parents will find that the Real Easter Egg collection from the Meaningful Chocolate Company is well worth trying
The Garden the Curtain and the Cross is a great resource for Christian parents to try in the run up to Easter
Then, on the way back down the hill, everything changes. We sing, shout, and praise God, running with excitement, just as the women did when they left the empty tomb to share the good news (Matthew 28:8). We then join our church to worship together for “He is Risen! Hallelujah!”
Each year as we celebrate Holy Week, I pray that all children who encounter Jesus this week will not only remember the story and chocolate, but will come to know Jesus as their living Lord and Saviour.
