Healthy Family
Want to help your children learn what the Easter holiday is really about? Here are 7 ideas for a Resurrection-focused Easter basket that will point them to Christ.
Easter baskets were a rarity in my childhood home. And I don’t feel like I “missed out” at all.
I never believed in the Easter Bunny, and as long as I can remember I knew that Easter was the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.
My parents did give us Easter treats; they just happened to wait until the grocery stores slashed the prices of those treats after the holiday!
A favorite memory is scouring the clearance carts for Reese’s eggs and bunny-shaped Sweet Tarts–the day after Easter.
But in my husband’s family, however, Easter baskets were a yearly tradition. He is a huge gift giver, and he comes from a family of gift givers. Gifts, for any and all occasions, were a big, big deal in his family.
When we became parents, we decided to take a little of both of our upbringings to form what we have decided to do with our children.
We give them Easter baskets, but we make it very clear that our family’s celebrations revolve around Christ’s resurrection after dying for us on the Cross.
Sure, we do give our girls some candy (check out these allergen-free Easter treat ideas!), but we try to be intentional with the contents of our Easter baskets in reflecting back to Jesus.
Check out these 7 ideas for a resurrection-focused Easter basket:
1. Children’s Bible or devotional
Our girls love getting new Bibles! We are not including these in their Easter baskets this year, as we just gifted them with new, age-appropriate Bibles for Christmas, but, as they get older and begin reading, a new Bible will probably make its way into their Easter baskets at some point.
2. Jesus Lives!: The Easter Story Happy Day Book
This little book is only $2.49 at Tyndale.com. We will be including it, along with a few other Happy Day books, in our girls’ Easter baskets this year. What I really like about these books is that they are written for early readers. Our oldest, almost 6, is learning how to read, and I am so excited for the day she will be able to read about the resurrection on her own!
3. Faith that Sticks
OK–these little stickers are the coolest things ever!
I am not a crafty mom. But my little girls LOVE anything crafty. They also love pretend play.
Faith that Sticks takes stickers to a whole new level and gives kids the opportunity to use their imaginations while creating non-messy {cue the “Hallelujah” chorus!} crafts!
There are six Faith that Sticks categories: God Made, Smile Maker, Bible Time, God’s Word, Faith Shapes and Day by Day.
Each Faith that Sticks pack comes with a theme. Some of the themes we are including in the girls’ Easter baskets this year include “Jesus Loves the Children,” “Jesus Died and Lives,” “It’s Spring,” “Names of Jesus,” and “The Fruit of the Spirit.”
These fun little stickers are perfect for moms, classes, gifts, cards, activities, party favors, trading with friends, helping with learning Bible stories/Scriptural truths/memory verses, Easter baskets, Christmas stockings, etc.
One of my favorite feature of Faith that Sticks is that many of the packets are very easy to use to create stories on coloring pages, etc. In fact, Tyndale House sent me a folder of six different scenes where Faith that Sticks can be used–including Noah’s Ark!
4. Stuffed Lamb Toy
A friend gave our oldest daughter a stuffed lamb toy when I was still expecting her. She has become attached to that toy just within the past few months.
It occurred to me the other day what a wonderful illustration that stuffed lamb can be, as my husband and I can use it to illustrate to her the sacrifice the Lamb of God made for her sins!
5. Salvation Bracelet
Did anyone else make these as a child? My daughter came home from church yesterday wearing one! These are easy to make on your own. You simply need some string and beads!
The bracelets are a very simple way to share the gospel of salvation with both old and young alike.
You can find a tutorial for making salvation bracelets here.
6. Let’s Celebrate Jesus on Easter Coloring Book
I love that this coloring book focuses on Jesus! Coloring books are also a great way for children to use the Faith that Stick stickers.
7. A Sense of the Resurrection: An Easter Experience for Little Hands
This eBook is really intended to be completed before Easter, but it is an instant download, and some of the activities could most definitely be completed at a family gathering on Easter Sunday.
Want more ideas? Check out our post on 35+ Christian-Themed Easter Bakset Ideas and this post from Simply Rebekah on more Christian-based Easter ideas. Life Your Way also has DIY Resurrection Eggs!
You can find other Easter ideas on my Holidays & Special Events board on Pinterest!
See all of our previous gift guides HERE!
Thank you, Tyndale House, for sponsoring this post! I (and my girls!) love your Faith that Sticks and books!
Melissa
Love the ideas – thank you!!!
Erin
I’m so glad, Melissa!! Happy Easter!!
Kelly @ The Nourishing Home
LOVE these wonderful ideas and fun giveaway! Definitely sharing this. Thank you! Happy Resurrection Sunday to you and yours! xo
Erin
Thank you, Kelly! My girls LOVE the stickers! We went ahead and gave them some early. 😉 Happy Resurrection Sunday to you, too!! <3
Andrea
I love these ideals. Im going to look for stickers. We do Easter baskets and I always try to keep them Christ themed with candy. I bought my 8 yr. old son a new bible with his name engraved on it this year! I usually shop at Family Christian to find ressurection themed easter ideals for the kids. The only problem is they can be expensive. Thanks for sharing.
Erin
I bet he will LOVE his new Bible with his name engraved on it! My husband proposed to me with a Bible with my name–with his last name–engraved on it!
We had a Family Christian AND Lifeway store where we used to live in Mississippi but don’t have a Christian bookstore anywhere near us where we live now. I miss it! I do a lot of online shopping.
Happy Easter! 🙂
Holly (Your Gardening Friend)
What a great idea. I love to hear examples like this where parents allow their children the traditional activities BUT with intentional focus on Christ.
Thanks for sharing this creative idea.
Trena
I was just thinking and writing about Easter this morning, and putting an emphasis on why we celebrate Easter to begin with. I’m trying to make an effort to be more intentional with my kids, and this offered some great ideas!
Erin
I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Joy Gutzman
I will say that I love your ideas, Erin, but $398.98 for a coloring book is just a wee bit outside of my price range for things like this. 🙂 Thanks for the great ideas. You have given me ideas for the Easter Eggs for the egg hunt at my son’s school, also!
Erin
Oh my goodness, Joy!! That is CRAZY!! That is NOT what they were last year when I wrote this! LOL I thought you were joking!!
Amie
Thanks for the great ideas! In the past we have put kids worship music CDs in their baskets. Seeds Family Worship is a favorite!
Erin
We love Seeds Family Worship!
Lenah
Easter is coming and I’m trying to put more emphasis on Jesus Christ in our holidays, we are Christians all my fily went to.church but my dad wouldn’t let me go yo church but mybgranfpatenys took me to bible school every summer and my grandparents had us most weekend so my grandpa taught me the bible.stories and so.for the, so needless to say, I have a strong faith and.believer bit having anhatd time BC I don’t know what yo do with myself let alone my children, I want to go yo church but the church nearest to me and the one I go when we do is small (which I like) but there hardly Amy kids,,,the other sister church is a little farther away and more kids and bigger. Buy I feel judged there and welcomed at the same time weird I know…so anyways my kids believe in Santa and the easter bunny as I did growing up, but I want to point them to the reasons we celebrate these holidays ad Christians, I have my daughter every other weekend and my son every weekend, but he doesn’t want to go to church BC we never went repeatedly and there not a lot of kids there…. But I have taught him about got and Jesus and I have read them bible stories and answered all there curious questions on the subject in a Christian way, I just need to incorporate more, going tonyry to do some of these id as, there 4.5 and going on 6 what would be good for yhem? They would be shocked to not have candy and toys (especially the oldest) not my doing (family) so I’ll have cross candy and.a lamb stuffed animal or something, any advice would be appreciated thank you !