Easter Traditions for Families with Teens

Which of the following most reminds you of Easter?

1. White shoes, white gloves, and an Easter bonnet
2. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
3. Singing “Jesus Christ is risen today… A-a-a-a-leluia!”
4. Easter egg hunts
5. Chocolate bunnies

What are your Easter memories?  What memories will your kids have?

By high school, most of our kids are in the “helping prepare Easter breakfast for the congregation” stage.  They’re the ones organizing the Easter egg hunt.  Some help lead a worship service.

This is great when they reach the point where they can be leaders and help those younger than them develop Easter memories!

Is there anything special we can do as parents to help our teenagers celebrate Christ’s Resurrection? Lent and Holy Week seem to have many rich traditions.  Here are some possible Easter traditions for you and your teen(s):

-Worship together as a family.

-Gather with the extended family if possible.

-Enjoy special foods such as Resurrection Rolls.

-Watch a Christian Lenten or Easter movie together.

-Decorate for Easter inside and/or out.

-Read the story of the Resurrection together from the Bible.

-Assign each family member a character from the Easter story to learn about and then share with the family what they’ve learned (maybe one of the more than 500 who saw Jesus after His resurrection).

-Make candy together.

-Make crafts together such as Ukrainian eggs, etc.

-Share Easter cards with neighbors or others, maybe with an Easter lily.

-Put together Easter baskets for others.

-Listen to Handel’s Messiah, especially the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

-Listen to recordings of other Christian music with a Resurrection theme.

-Use colorful balloons to brighten your home.

-Put together a puzzle with a Resurrection theme.

-Read a favorite children’s Easter book as a family.

-During Lent, choose new clothes to wear to church on Resurrection Day.

-Have a special tablecloth for guests to sign each year in bright colors.

-Ask (in advance) your teen to say a special prayer before the meal.

-Challenge family members to memorize a Bible verse or passage related to the Resurrection.  (These could be shared around the dinner table.)

-Invite your teen to come up with a tradition that meets their interests—anything from a video to a treasure hunt to an empty Lego tomb to a new recipe.

We have so much to celebrate!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.  After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Jesus said:  “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”  John 11:25