Each year, we try to find a way to help kids focus on the real meaning of Easter during our annual Easter Egg Hunt at church. Last year, we made Resurrection Rolls with the kids, giving them a hands-on example of the empty tomb. We’ve also done an adaptation of the Resurrection Eggs activity.
This year, we used five special eggs, along with “visitors” who told the children how the object in the egg told a little piece of the story of Jesus’ last week and resurrection. It was adapted from an idea on Ministry-to-Children.com, using concepts from the main post and the comments, and was really well-received by both children and adults. It gave us an opportunity to share the gospel with the kids in an engaging way, especially to some who might not always come hear it during a regular church service (and if the grownups caught some of it too, all the better!).
This idea could be easily adapted to a family Easter celebration too–grandparents, aunts, and uncles could participate as the “visitors” as the children in the family find the five symbolic eggs before heading out to find candy. Let me know if you try this at home!
The objects in the eggs were:
- A small square of brown furry fabric, representing the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
- Oyster crackers, representing the Last Supper, when Jesus told his friends to remember Him
- A mini pretzel, representing Jesus’ praying hands in the Garden of Gethsemane (the salt reminds us that through His tears and sweat, he understands our pain and suffering too)
- A cross necklace (or other small cross), representing Jesus’ crucifixion
- An empty egg, representing the empty tomb: Jesus has risen!
Children were invited to sit in a designated area, and we explained that when they were told, they would go to the edges of the room to find one egg of the specific color, then return to their spots. For the large crowd we had, volunteers set out one color at a time, but you could possibly set out all five colors at once, asking them to only choose the next color when they search. Getting up five times helped keep the kids from getting antsy as we shared the stories, and they seemed excited to find out what the next object would be, and how it connected to the story of Jesus.
I’ll share the full script for the visitors in a PDF below, but here’s a basic overview:
- The donkey’s owner (male or female), sharing how s/he was surprised when men came to take her donkey, then realizing that Jesus riding it was a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah
- The disciple John sharing memories about the Last Supper
- Another disciple (male or female) telling the story of Jesus praying in the Garden, asking for His Father’s help, but following God’s will.
- The centurion who watched Jesus suffer on the cross, then realized he was the Son of God when He died.
- Mary Magdalene, who came to the empty tomb and met Jesus, then spread the Good News of the resurrection
We had adult volunteers dress up as the characters and enter the room to talk to the children, but this could be done in many ways. If you’d prefer to read the actual scriptures to the children, the references are there in the PDF below. My hope was to present elements of the story in a memorable way that would catch their interest and help them focus on relatable pieces of the story, pointing them to our need of a savior and how Jesus’ sacrifice redeemed us and covered our sins, restoring our relationship with God when we accept the gift of salvation.
And because Jesus came that we should “have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), the children were invited to participate in an Easter Egg hunt outside (weather permitting), and to enjoy some sweet treats. We reminded them that the sweetest treat of all was Jesus’ gift of salvation, and that when they eat their Easter candy, they should remember that sweet gift and thank Jesus for it!
Each child received a 1/4 sheet handout with reminders about the meanings of the eggs and their contents:
We also asked the children to take the candy out of their eggs and leave the eggs for next year–it saves from having to buy them year after year! If the eggs aren’t connected, ask the kids (and parents) to click them shut before returning them–it’ll save time hunting for matches when you fill them the following year. If you’re doing this as part of a church outreach, be sure to invite visitors to come join church services during holy week too!
Here’s a link for the PDF of the full script (a few paragraphs per visitor–no memorization necessary unless you really want to!)
And here’s a PDF of the color handout, four to a page and ready to print.
Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter season!
Do you have more ideas for how to bring the Easter story alive for your kids? I’d love to hear more about them in the comments–please share them! Be sure to Pin this for later use if you’d like to save it for next Easter.
