In Christ, because of who He is and what He has done, we who believe in Him have a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). A hope we want for our grandchildren. The Easter season provides us with an excellent opportunity to pass this legacy of hope in Christ to them – all in the spirit of building connections and having fun.
Before we dive into some practical ideas for passing along our legacy of hope, we must hear an important word of caution. The wishes of our adult children need to be respected. If they have forbidden us to speak about God or share our faith with our grandchildren, we would do well to honor their wishes. Never giving up, mind you, but always praying that someday their hearts will be softened on the matter.
If, however, you are not restricted in speech or action, consider these ideas for passing your legacy of hope in Christ to your grandchildren at Easter.
1. Fill an Easter Basket
The giving of Easter baskets is one of the most common traditions of the season. Go ahead, fill the baskets. However, instead of stuffing them with an abundance of chocolate and candy, help your grandchildren learn more about Jesus and the work of the Cross by filling their baskets with items that will turn their attention to the meaning of Easter.
Board books and simple picture books such as The Easter Story; The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross; The Tale of Three Trees; and God’s Very Good Idea help little ones hear the Good News.
The King of Easter, The Donkey Who Carried a King, and Amon’s Adventure might be a good choice for the basket of your elementary-aged grandchild. And for older grandchildren, consider placing a copy of The Case for Easter or He Chose the Nails in their Easter basket.
Other basket-filling ideas that will help your grandchildren learn more about the meaning of Easter include coloring and activity books such as the Easter Coloring and Activity Book by Our Daily Bread for Kids, and sticker and activity books.
2. Use Resurrection Eggs
Honestly, who doesn’t love a good egg hunt? Pass along your legacy of faith in the hope of Christ by using resurrection eggs for your version of this time-honored custom.
Consisting of one dozen plastic eggs, each filled with a symbol of the Easter story, resurrection eggs provide a fun and engaging way for your grandchildren to interact with portions of the Easter story. Choose to allow your grandchildren to open one egg each day during the twelve days leading up to Easter or after all the eggs have been found during the annual hunt. Either way, an opportunity is provided for discussing the symbols as each is revealed.
Resurrection eggs are available for purchase at many of your favorite Christian marketplaces. And if you are on a budget that makes this a hardship, directions for making your own can be found through a quick internet search.
3. Host a Family Gathering
Gathering moments (especially those involving good food) afford wonderful opportunities for connecting and sharing. In fact, one of the best places for passing along your legacy of hope in Christ is around the dinner table.
Take advantage of the mighty power of gathering. Invite your family to Easter dinner or for a day-long celebration.
Whatever your choice of gathering, amid the traditional fun of bunnies, baskets, and egg hunts, plan some conversation and activities that will help you share the Hope that is yours. Read the resurrection account from one of the Gospels before dinner. Make the most of your dinner conversation by asking some great questions you prepared beforehand. Play Easter-themed Charades or Pictionary after dinner.
4. Bake Some Treats
Grab your mixing bowl, baking sheets, and apron. Then bake up some visual aids that will help your grandchildren “peer” into the story of Easter.
On the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday, invite your grandchildren over to help you make resurrection cookies or resurrection rolls. Or if Saturday evening doesn’t work, make your goodies on Sunday during your family gathering.
Then while you are enjoying the results of your combined baking efforts, engage your grandchildren in thoughtful discussion about the resurrection of Christ.
5. Organize an Easter Scavenger Hunt
An Easter scavenger hunt will require some forethought and effort on your part but is likely to become a cherished Easter tradition.
In the days leading up to your Easter celebration, spend some time in the Bible searching out passages related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Select a portion of those passages to use as Scripture clues to be used in helping your grandchildren find symbols that represent parts of the Easter story. Passages such as Matthew 28:5-6; Mark 15:17, 46; Luke 23:44-46; and John 19:17-18 are a great place to begin gathering Scripture clues.
The next step is to write out your clues and round up your symbols.
Before your grandchildren arrive for Easter celebration, hide the symbols. Then when it’s time for the hunt, distribute the clues. As the hunt progresses, take the opportunity to talk with your grandchildren about the significance of Easter, what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ, and your love for the Savior.
6. Attend a Journey to the Cross/Stations of the Cross
Invite your grandchildren to attend a Journey to the Cross or Stations of the Cross with you. Many churches host an event of this type during the week leading up to Easter Sunday.
These events are multisensory family experiences that take participants along the path that Jesus walked during His last days on earth. The activities which focus on Jesus’ love and forgiveness demonstrate the real meaning of Easter and teach the life-changing message of the cross in a way that adults and children alike can understand.
7. Incorporate a Symbol
One way to help your grandchildren learn more about the meaning of Easter is to buy them a cross or another meaningful symbol of the season. Meant as a visual reminder, the symbol you choose should be age-appropriate to your grandchild, whether a wall hanging, item of jewelry, or pocket trinket.
Place your gift in a basket, wrap it up, or put it in the mail. No matter how you present this gift to your grandchild, be sure you include a note or letter explaining why the chosen symbol is significant to you.
8. Engage Older Grandchildren Beyond a Single Day
As with Christmas, Easter is more than a single day. Spanning fifty days, the Easter season is celebrated from Easter weekend through Pentecost Sunday.
The reality of Easter is incredible! Think about it. Easter is the time when Christians celebrate Christ risen, death defeated, sins forgiven, and evil overcome. No wonder it needs a season! How could we possibly celebrate such an event in a single day?
Help your older grandchildren grasp this mind-blowing, life-altering truth by inviting them to join you in a reading or study that takes them beyond a single day’s observance and, at the same time, provides you the opportunity to share your hope in Christ.
- Invite them to read and discuss John chapter 19 with you.
- Together search the Bible for evidence that points to Jesus being God.
- Issue a Cross-centered journal challenge to your older grandchildren.
- Purchase copies of a Lenten devotional. Gift the books, age-appropriately, to your grandchildren. Read and discuss them together.
9. Customize Celebrations to Minimize Distance
Admittedly, face-to-face celebrations with our grandchildren are the best! However, the reality is that many of us are long-distance grandparents.
Please allow me to encourage you not to dismiss the ideas listed above because you don’t “see” your grandchildren at Easter. Instead, permit me to spur you toward meaningful celebrations regardless of the distance that lies between.
Let these ideas spark your imagination:
- Mail an Easter celebration to your grandchildren. Your package may contain an egg coloring kit; Easter-themed plates, cups, and napkins; an appropriate craft; an age-level book on the meaning of Easter; or any of the ideas detailed above. (Think resurrection eggs and scavenger hunts!)
- Buy two copies of the same book. Keep one and mail the other to your grandchild. Once received, schedule a time to read the book together via Skype or FaceTime. Afterward, discuss the book.
- Snail-mail an Easter card to your grandchildren. Include a Bible verse or handwritten note explaining your hope in Christ.
- Package up the ingredients for resurrection cookies or rolls and mail them to your grandchild along with the recipe. Ask the parents of your grandchild to send you a video clip of the baking process or finished product. Discuss the experience and the meaning with your grandchildren afterward.
10. Integrate the Power of Tradition
One highly effective means for passing a legacy to our grandchildren is that of observing traditions – the practice of handing down stories, beliefs, and customs from one generation to another in order to establish and reinforce a strong sense of identity.
This year, take inventory of your family’s Easter traditions. Do you have any? Do the ones you have help your grandchildren come to have a strong sense of identity, both as a family member and as a child of God? Perhaps in taking inventory, you will discover the need to institute some new family traditions or tweak some existing ones.
As you work to integrate the power of tradition into your family’s Easter celebration, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind.
- BUILD REPETITION INTO YOUR TRADITIONS
Repetition is an essential learning aid. Through it, conscious knowledge and skills are transferred into the subconscious. The teaching power of repetition is without a doubt one of the greatest strengths of tradition.
As you stop to reflect on your own memories, I have no doubt that you will find that most of them stem from words or events that were repeated frequently and regularly. Maybe it was even a well-planned scavenger hunt, or the baking of resurrection rolls with your grandparents every Easter weekend.
- STRIVE FOR CONSISTENCY
Repetition and consistency go hand in hand. Where repetition is the act of saying or doing something regularly and frequently, consistency is the act of sticking with it or adhering to the practice over the long haul.
Consistency compels us not to quit. The most well thought-out, meaningful tradition, newly instituted this year but never again or rarely seen, will have little sticking power on the hearts and minds of our grandchildren.
Being consistent with our purpose and observance of our traditions over the days, months, years, and seasons of our lives helps us to more effectively pass our legacy to the next generations.
Whether you live nearby or far away, Easter is an excellent time for sharing your hope in Christ with your grandchildren. All it takes is a little forethought and effort.
