On this Good Friday I’m sharing the Greatest Easter Story Ever Told. Listen to Elder Gary E. Stevenson talk about it below.
This clip is from the April 2023 General Conference talk by a modern day apostle of Jesus Christ here.
Here is Lani Hilton elaborating on this truth.
Yes! I invite you tall to read the Greatest Easter Story Ever told, over here. Start in 3 Nephi 11 and read through chapter 28.
Here are some questions for discussion with your family and friends after you read it.
It really is remarkable to think of Jesus visiting the people who lived in ancient America after He was resurrected. Maybe he also visited other people too! After His Second Coming all these secrets will be revealed. How exciting! Here is a beautiful picture book that tells the story, of the First Easter in the New World.
May you ponder how much Jesus loves you because of the events of this week and this day.
This is basically a Part 2 to my Not Junky Easter Baskets post. Go here if you didn’t already read Part 1. This post focuses more on thrifting than buying new stuff for baskets. This post shows what I would be putting in Easter baskets if all my kiddos still lived at home.
It’s not too late to get some non-junky items on the cheap for Easter basket gifts. The best way I know to do this is to go thrifting! You have two days left. You can also find inexpensive, non-junky stuff at Five Below, Hobby Lobby, and Dollar Tree, if you are discerning.
This book is a great Easter gift for Christian bibliophiles because it is written by a real life shepherd, about Jesus. I found two copies of this book on the same day when thrifting, the softcover one above and the hardcover one below. The softcover is in the basket above.
For example, the basket shown above, which would be perfect for an especially bookish teen girl, cost me $15.50 total because I found all the items thrifting! I put some some of the items in front of the basket so you can see it all, but for presentation it would all go inside. I bought everything at Deseret Industries, which is a thrift store. The five softcover books were $1 each. The Disney figures are on a T-shirt, which was $3. Then the umbrella was $2, the Kanoodle puzzle was $1.50, and the Jane Austen puzzle was $2. Amazing right? (I’m not counting the basket, or the bunny figurine. I reuse the same baskets every year, so I wouldn’t be buying a new basket, and the paper lilies and the bunny are decorations.)
This has been an early family Easter gift. I’ve been reading it with my teen son for our homeschool Morning Basket time before he does his scholar studies.
You’ll notice I don’t show candy, because everybody knows you can put candy in an Easter basket, and you don’t find candy at thrift stores. I’m showing stuff you may not have thought that you can find at a thrift store. Filling Easter baskets doesn’t have to cost tens or hundreds of dollars, which I do see moms doing in YouTube. It’s rather astounding. Is this because of increased consumerism and materialism, or is it really part of the movement of making Easter a bigger festival than Christmas? I suspect it’s more of the former than the latter. I’m all for giving gifts but when the baskets have stuff that costs over $100 I almost choke on my own tongue! I so appreciate the moms who show how to thrift to fill Easter baskets with inexpensive, yet beautiful, useful, and thoughtful items.
I’m also frugal and minimalistic, so if you are into doing frugal Easter baskets as well, read on. I’m showing examples of items that I have found at thrift stores that cost $6 at the most for each item to give you ideas of the amazing things you can find.
I’d do a similar basket as the one shown above for a teen boy. I’d swap out the Jane Austen puzzle for a different puzzle, like this one above, which I found thrifting for $2 and gave to my husband for his birthday last month. I’d take out the pretty green Words of Jesus book and replace it with the Action Bible shown below. I got it at a Savers for $5. That’s pricey but it is a thick hardcover book and currently $14 on amazon so totally worth it. Then I’d maybe get a different T-shirt, depending on my boy’s personality. I have 5 boys and I can see maybe one of my sons liking it for sure, the rest of them, I’m not sure they would like it. They would probably all wear the gray Mickey Mouse T-shirt I found thrifting last August for $3.
If I were doing an Easter basket for younger children, I’d find some kind of faith-in-God/Jesus-promoting/Easter picture book, or some other classic picture book that shows a Hero Quest. All the books below I have found thrifting for 50 cents to $2.
Or a spring-time themed book, like Peter Rabbit. Or something nature-themed. Little Golden Books are often at thrift stores, and they usually cost me 50 cents to $1. The ones below are more particularly spring/Jesus/God/Hero Quest-themed.
I see this Jesus Storybook Bible below frequently at thrift stores. I picked up a copy years ago, then when I saw it again when thrifting with my married daughter I urged her to buy a copy. I don’t love the illustrations but the way Sally Lloyd-Jones writes the stories is so splendid. She just has such a sweet, deep, poetic way of explaining God’s love! I don’t agree completely with all of her Biblical worldview/ theology but that just lends to more discussion with my children/grandchildren.
Then I’d do some clothing item (shirt, dress, pants, or necktie), and some kind of small toy or game. I’d give myself bonus points if any of it is Jesus or Easter/spring-related. Below are more items I’ve found through the years that would work for Easter baskets. You’ll notice a preponderance of books and puzzles.
I gradually acquired all the Narnia books in softcover from thrift stores though the years. You can see they have been well loved and used. Because of their Christian symbolism, they make perfect Easter basket gifts. Harry Potter and Hunger Games books also have Christian symbolism so they would be great too.
This book would be fun for any child who loves gardening.
Then a puzzle for camping lovers.
I picked this magnetic set from HABA for $2 at a thrift store last month. You take the magnetic letters and make words that go with the pictures. It would be a fun Easter gift for an emergent reader/speller. (HABA is a German company so the words shown on the lid are German but you can definitely spell English words with this set as well.) I’m excited to play with it with my grandsons the next time they come over!
The flowery top would be fun to give to a daughter who likes to wear flowers. One of mine does and one doesn’t. The Star Cube was pricey, $6, but it was brand new in the box at Savers and I knew it would be a hit and it was. Everything else in these photos was $5 or less.
If I could rewind the clock I would give the polka dotted skirt shown above to my oldest daughter when she was a teen and the BYU puzzle to my oldest who followed BYU football. The Robert McCloskey book was $4 not $7.98 like the sticker says. I’d put it in a family Easter basket, more on that below. Just because it contains the classic duckling story.
There are the star cubes again, below. My grandsons love playing with them! They are great for keeping by the table for after Sunday dinner, when they finish eating before the rest of us. Spot it! is great for that too. So is Swish.
Those are just some ideas, not meant to be comprehensive for all personality types I get it that children come in a wide range of preferences and energies, as mine do, but you get the idea. Some children aren’t nerdy enough to be thrilled to get an ACT in a Box set of cards as a gift but some are.
After finding just the right book, clothing item, spring/Easter related thing, and small toy for each child, I’d get some digital, printable bookmarks that fit my child’s reading personality, like the ones below.
Aren’t these Narnia bookmarks above and below gorgeous?
The set below is on sale as a digital printable for only $1.80 until April 12! See the links in the captions to buy. I’m not an affiliate, I’m promoting them anyway because they are beautiful!
For your Tolkien book lovers, etsy has these bookmarks. I’ve heard in the Christian homeschooling podcasting world that some families read the whole Lord of the Ring series between Lent and Easter. That sounds so magical. (Maybe someday my brain will be able to remember all the names in the Tolkien books so I can keep track of all the characters so I can enjoy the books.)
Family Easter Basket Gifts Found Thrifting
If I were doing a family Easter basket, and my kiddos were all still at home, I would put in these CDs. I gave the set to my children as a family Christmas gift but it would be so fun for Easter too! It’s all the Narnia books on CD. I found it thrifting at a Phoenix Goodwill for only $7, still in the shrink wrap! I’d also look for any Narnia DVDs when thrifting.
I found Gardening Scrabble at the Provo DI for less than $5! Amazing! This one would definitely be more for me or my older daughter, LOL. I don’t know if any of the other kiddos would have loved it. It’s sooooo cute!!!! So much better than ordinary Scrabble too! The seed packets give you special powers.
I’ve seen Catan when thrifting! We already have it but if I didn’t I would definitely pick it up. It’s a classic! It would definitely make a great family Easter basket gift, if you have older than age 8 children, although my two grandsons, ages 5 and 7 have been digging it lately. Last time I visited it was on the coffee table in the living room. My daughter said the boys play it every day.
All of these games below I’ve found when thrifting for $5 or less.
At $5 or less per game, these games could be individual Easter gifts too, they just wouldn’t fit into the individual Easter baskets I have. I do have a huge basket I found when thrifting that I’d use for a family Easter basket that could fit all of these games together. Anyway, I hope this gives you all some great ideas of Easter gifts that don’t break the bank. Thank you for all indulging me as I rewrite my story as to how I could have been a better Easter basket filler for when all of my children lived at home. :-). It’s like my inner child is parenting my outer parent, LOL.
Happy Easter, He is Risen indeed!
Want more Easter resources?
Go here for free printable Easter Christ-centered sheet music.
Go here, here, and here for simple traditions. So much to choose from! Don’t get overwhelmed, just pick one or two to add in.
Lilies are a symbol of Easter because they are white and represent the purity of Jesus. They also represent hope, innocence and virtue. Read more here. Here’s how you can make paper versions of this beautiful flower that represents our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, just in time for Easter.
Materials Needed:
-white paper
-bamboo skewers
-dark green Sharpie permanent marker
-green paper
-pencil
-scissors
-transparent tape
Trace your hand on white paper and cut it out. Then curl the ends of the fingers with a pencil so they resemble the curled petals of the lily flower. Sorry the above photo shows wrinkles and curls in the paper, I had already rolled it up and then decided to blog about this so I unrolled it and uncurled the fingers.
2. Color the bamboo skewer with the green Sharpie. Use thick paper underneath to protect your work surface from getting colored by the Sharpie.
3. Curl the white paper hand to look like a flower. Stick the skewer in the resulting central hole and tape them together.
4. Cut out leaf shapes out of the green paper.
6. Tape the leaves onto the green “stem.”
5. Make more and pop them all in a vase. No water needed, lol.
If you want to know how to get free art of the Savior, including the print above by Greg Olsen, go here. Enjoy your lilies! Use them with Day #6 Tradition for Holy Week, from Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler, as shown here.
Want more Easter resources? Go here for the best collection of Christ-centered Easter music ever, and here for LOTS of other ideas.
Happy Easter! He is risen, He lives again, and He loves you!
I just love, love piano music. I love playing it, I love hearing it, I love singing along to it! Then if it’s Easter music, I love it all even more!
I recently made my own, beautiful, customized Easter Songbook for almost free, as shown above. I’m sharing today how you can make your own too. At the same time I’m presenting to you all the best collection of free Christ-centered Easter music all in one place!
First, get an empty binder with a clear-view pocket on the front. I got mine from a thrift store for $1.50. Hooray for thrifting! (I love thrifting. If you want to see my fabulous finds from many years of thrifting trips, go here.)
2. Next, find a beautiful picture that represents Easter to you. It’s hard to choose, as so many abound! I chose the one above, the left page of the two-page spread, for my songbook cover. I got it from the inside front cover of the March 2026 Friend of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The picture is here if you want to print it, using a high-quality printer. I just love the way Jesus is portrayed, with people feeling drawn to him, rejoicing in His resurrection, with the glowing hills and sky in the background. (It doesn’t show the nail prints in his hands, though, maybe, it’s supposed to be The Sermon on the Mount? I’m using it as a resurrection picture. I’ll just add some nail prints with a little dot of a pen.) Slip your picture inside the front pocket of the binder.
You can find many more pictures here. That it is the main page for the magazines of the Church. Liahona is for adults, For the Strength of Youth is for youth ages 11-18, and the Friend is for ages 3-10. Beautiful pictures are in each one, especially on the inside front cover page. You can click around on thumbnails and dates until you find the one you want. Another beautiful one is here. Then print with your home printer or use a public computer and printer at the public library.
You could print more pages of art of Jesus to intersperse between the pages of music, like I did, as shown throughout this post.
3. Print out all the Easter sheet music your heart desires that is available on the Internet, as linked below. Also be on the lookout for music at thrift stores. The book on the right of the picture above shows “The Good Shepherd” piano sheet music book by Kristen Randle. I found it thrifting for only 75 cents. The cover is worn and stained, but this is a gem. It is full of music about Jesus I had never heard before, including songs about the apostles, the Good Samaritan, Gethsemane, Good Friday, and the Resurrection, and more, all about Jesus. What a treasure! I have looked high and low to find out where this can be bought on the Internet so others can get it, but so far, no results. If anyone knows, please comment below.
Moving on, here are some links for Easter-themed piano music that can be easily found. It is all free!
Hymnsfrom the hymn book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
It’s hard to tell, but the image on the right goes with the title of the song, “My Shepherd Shall Supply My Need.” I sang this with my church choir just last week. Oh it’s so lovely!
-more songs from the new collection of Hymns for Home and Church are here, the more Easter-y ones start at Hymn #1007 with “The Bread is Broken.” They are interspersed throughout the list, and then you can easily see more starting at Hymn #1207 with “Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise.”
-Sally Deford has lots of free sheet music on her website. Her song, “In the Silent Garden” is just so beautiful. I remember singing this with my church choir years ago in AZ. I just love the gorgeous, swelling melody. It is here. Then her song “He is Risen From the Dead” is here.
-the old-school hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is here.
-another old-school hymn is here, “The Old Rugged Cross”
-“Crown Him With Many Thorns” is here, a sacred piano solo that has no lyrics
-this website, sacredsheetmusic.org, the site for the three just mentioned songs above, has a lot more Easter songs (1172!), including arrangements of LDS sacrament hymns, as seen here.
-one of the most unusual songs in the selection I just listed is “The Redemption of the Dead” which tells of the LDS Church members’ belief based on Restoration scripture (Doctrine and Covenants 138) of what Jesus did in the time between His death and resurrection, on Salvation Saturday. It is here.
-speaking of the Restoration scripture and the LDS Church belief in salvation for those who never heard of Jesus in their mortal life, here is another beautiful song, called “Long, Long Ago” about family history and temple work by Roger and Melanie Hoffman, the creators of the gorgeous Gethsemane song.
4. Put the sheet music you just printed in page protectors. Reinforce the pages with cardstock inside the page protectors, in between the papers that have the sheet music printed on them, if desired. It definitely makes the pages easier to turn.
Play the music, sing along, and enjoy! May your Easter be Christ-centered, full of the joy of His endless love and His victory over sin and death, as you hear and sing this music! Let’s praise Jesus with words, music, song, and dance! Truly He is Risen and He is King and Savior! Gather your family and friends around and sing! Maybe for an Easter sunrise service or an evening singalong. Use your phones with his page and go to the link. If you use the music in the LDS hymns section you can play the music with the interactive music player.
This is one of my many steps to fulfill the invitation from the First Presidency of the Church to elevate my Easter celebration. As Elder Stevenson has said, quoting N.T. Wright:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023
I hope you use this music and gather you family and friends to sing the songs, and make this an annual tradition. You don’t have to squeeze it in between now and Easter Sunday night, either. Consider doing it after Easter to spread out the festivities!
Want some Christ-centered Easter tradition ideas? Go here, here, and here.
Want more Easter ideas? Here are a lot more! Remember to spread them out to make an Easter season. Don’t get overwhelmed. The Easter season lasts until 90 days after Easter, to the Day of Pentecost.
Happy Easter! He is Risen! May we all move from acknowledgement of Him, to admiration, to adulation, to emulation. That’s a paraphrase from Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a modern-day apostle of Jesus Christ, from this talk. Then we will be fit to receive Him for His Second Coming!
I love discovering so many ideas recently about how to elevate the celebration of Easter to be more intentionally Christ-centered. This is all done in reply to Elder Gary Stevenson’s invitation from the April 2023 General Conference:
“I observe a growing effort among Latter-day Saints toward a more Christ-centered Easter. This includes a greater and more thoughtful recognition of Palm Sunday and Good Friday as practiced by some of our Christian cousins. We might also adopt appropriate Christ-centered Easter traditions found in the cultures and practices of countries worldwide.
“New Testament scholar N. T. Wright suggested: ‘We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.’ (Liahona, April 2023)
I have to say though, that two people were ahead of the game and responded to this apostolic call before it even happened. Over twenty years ago, my husband’s cousin, Janet Hilton Hales, with her husband Joe Hales, felt a call from God to elevate Easter to be more Christ-centered. They came up with this book below as a groundbreaking report of what they had done in their family to focus on Jesus at Easter time.
You can get this book here. (Disclosure: that is an amazon affiliate link, I receive a small commission if you buy the book from that link.)
It has some wonderful suggestions, so I highly suggest you get it. My favorite part of it is the Plan of Salvation Treasure Hunt, which teaches what Jesus did in the time between His death and Resurrection. Prime day for doing this activity would be the Saturday before Easter, but I like to do it the Monday after Easter for Family Home Evening. This book also has Easter-themed stories, the Holy Week timeline with the scriptures to read for what happened that day, suggested crafts and other activities.
This book inspired Lani Hilton to come up with even more Christ-centered Easter ideas. The Scripture Central YouTube Channel recently published a series of videos featuring the amazing Lani. Lani is the wife of John Hilton III, an amazing teacher as well. (John is a second cousin to my children. His grandfather and my mother-in-law are siblings, so I am a bit biased, I admit. The whole Hilton clan is just wonderful!) I have loved watching these videos the past few days. Lani has so much enthusiasm and knowledge of the scriptural accounts of the Easter story, she is infectious! I love how excited she gets. I love the way she notices details and make connections. Her discussion questions are so thought-provoking. Lani/Sister Hilton was introduced to the Hales’ book about Easter because she married their nephew, John. Each video below for each day in Holy Week and beyond involves the scriptural narrative and creative ideas idea to bring the events and teachings of Jesus to life, as well as discussion questions.
You can learn how to get a free printable of the Holy Week events by going over here.
The first video is a summary. Then the other videos go through each day of the Holy Week, then on to the Ascension, then Pentecost. Then the crowning video at the end is about the Easter Story in the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which is the “greatest Easter story ever told,” according to a modern-day apostle of Jesus Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson.
My descriptions below each video just give a glimpse into what she talks about. Please watch them all because she shares a lot more than what I write. I definitely feel the Holy Spirit as I listen to her.
Palm Sunday is the day to act out the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, with real or fake greenery. This day is all about praising Jesus. Sister Hilton mentions the importance of praise and talks of different ways to show praise.
For this day, Sister Hilton focuses on Jesus cleansing the temple. Her family activity is braiding a whip and acting out this story with stuffed animal toys. She also talks about how some people do extra cleaning of their house on this day.
This is the day of focusing on the widow’s mite and Jesus’ parables/teachings. Sister Hilton and her family make clay oil lamps and light them in honor of the Parable of the Ten Virgins. In honor of the widow’s mite, you could as a family or group discuss how we can give all we can like the widow did.
Wednesday of Holy Week deserves a different name than Spy Wednesday, according to Sister Hilton. She likes to call it “Anointing Wednesday.” Watch the video to find out why. To celebrate this day, you could get some real spikenard, smell it and touch it. Discuss the Anointing Woman, the Anointed One, and how we can come to the Lord in a spirit of adoration, asking in prayer what I can give to the Savior instead of what I can get.
This is the day to reenact the Last Supper. Sister Hilton says her family sits on the floor, eats Mediterranean food, and talks about the significance of the meal. Then her family sings a hymn.
For Good Friday, Sister Hilton focuses on the fact that Jesus died for us because He loves us so much. She talks about the sadness of the day, but also the love of Jesus, and His victory over death. So love, sadness, and victory are all celebrated this day. She suggests making sugar cookies in the shape of crosses, or just out of paper if you don’t want to bake, eating hot cross buns, and talking about what happened on Good Friday. She also has a Good Friday bag with objects to represent aspects of the story to review and discuss. I have her video she did with her husband John with ideas for celebrating Good Friday, here.
The Bible doesn’t tell us much about what happened on this day. We are blessed to know more about what Jesus did on the Saturday of Holy Week because of Restoration scripture. This day is all about patience and waiting. She suggests talking about planting a seed and how we have to wait for it to grow.
Sister Hilton says on Easter Sunday she loves to act out the role of the women going to the tomb of Jesus. Early in the morning she runs to her children’s bedrooms, and wakes them up, calling out “He is Risen!” Then they gather on their deck outside to watch the sunrise and have an Easter Sunday sunrise devotional. They eat Resurrection Rolls and share testimonies of Jesus.
This is the day that Christ returned to heaven after telling his disciples to “Feed my sheep.” Suggestions for celebrating this day involve doing a craft to represent sheep or clouds, eating something that looks like clouds, like cauliflower or a dessert with whipped cream. Take out a map and talk about mission stories from your family or friends and where they have served.
A celebratory idea for Pentecost is to have a potluck feast and invite your neighbors, bringing dishes from different nations and cultures from all over the world. This is the day to celebrate that Jesus sent the Holy Ghost. She also talks about having some kind of harvest decor with flowers. Or candles on fire to symbolize the tongues of fire and the Holy Ghost.
Finally, here’s her take on the Book of Mormon Easter story, below.
Some activities to celebrate the Book of Mormon Easter Story are to act out 3 Nephi 11 and make a model of the temple where Jesus appeared out of Lego or playdoh.
Sister Hilton has created a list of resources over here.
It’s just so marvelous that we have sooooo many more resources for celebrating a Christ-centered Easter than we did when I was young, and more than we even did 2-3 years ago. Remember, these ideas are not meant to be checklists. Don’t be overwhelmed and remember, these ideas are to fill up a whole season of Easter, which can last months if we start from Lent and go to Pentecost.
If you haven’t seen what I’ve already shared about celebrating a Christ-centered Easter please go look at the following:
-my PDF of Easter-themed stories, songs, scriptures and poetry over here.
-new Christ-centered family Easter traditions from Maria Eckersley, author of Teaching Easter, here
-a review of the book, Sacred Days, Sacred Songs from Michael Young, here. This is like an Easter advent with Easter songs and the backstory of the songs.
-Holy Week daily traditions from Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler, here
-a review of the Celebrating Christ-centered Easter picture book by the same just mentioned authors, here
-a review of The Holy Week for Latter-day Saint Families by Wendee Rosborough here
-not junky Easter baskets, including thrifting for items here, including Christ-centered items
Image Credit: amazon.com. Disclosure: that link and all those below are affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you buy this or any of the books below through that link. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
In anticipation of Holy Week that culminates in Easter Sunday next week, today I’m reviewing the above book, Celebrating A Christ-Centered EasterChildren’s Edition. The “Children’s Edition” part means it’s a picture book. It’s by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler. Shown at the bottom of this post is a companion book by the same authors, for adults.
I love that this book has so many layers. By layers, I mean levels of interaction. You’ll see what I mean in a second here.
This book uses the same traditions that Sister/President Freeman (she’s currently the president of the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Brother Butler share in their countdown to Easter/Holy Week Daily Traditions over here.
It starts with Palm Sunday, but then it doesn’t follow the rest of the days of the Holy Week with events from each day. It does mention events during Holy Week, but it doesn’t mention them in order. It focuses more on the eyewitnesses of Jesus during Holy Week instead of what Jesus did each day, similar to the companion book for adults.
Each section of the book tells a portion of the Easter story, something good that someone or one of the people involved in that part did, two questions to ponder, a suggested activity, a symbol, and the actual scriptural passage from the Bible that tells the story.
That’s where the layers or levels of the book come in. If reading this to very young children, you could just focus on the storyline, and omit the questions and activities. You might even skip reading all the words and talk about what the pictures are showing. I would definitely read the whole book on your own ahead of time if you were going to do this so you are familiar with the story. If reading this to older children, you could add in the first question. If you want to create more thoughtfulness and actual discussion, add in the second question. Then do the suggested activity if you want to make this book interactive.
We’re so blessed to have a bush in the front yard with these lovely blossoms we use for the branch activity on Day #1.
Activity #1 involves Palm Sunday and a branch. This is similar to the Palm Sunday tradition over here.
Activity #2 involves Simon who helped the Savior carry the cross on Good Friday. This is similar to the Day #2 tradition over here.
Activity #3 involves a testimony tree. This is similar to Day #3 over here.
Activity #4 involves Mary Magdalene as a witness of Christ. The activity is dyeing Easter eggs red while sharing testimonies of Christ. This is similar to Day #4 over here.
Activity #5 involves the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. It involves writing down favorite scriptures. This corresponds with Day #5 over here.
Activity #6 involves Thomas and Easter lilies. It goes with Day #6 here.
Activity #7 involves the people of Jerusalem and choosing your own individual way to celebrate Easter Sunday. Watch the video here.
This is a lovely book. The illustrations by Ryan Jeppesen are sweet and simple, and the way the authors connect what happened involving people during Holy Week to our lives today is so thoughtful. Then to add a symbol involving a physical activity is so ingenious. This book definitely deserves a place on every Christian family’s bookshelf, and more importantly, a place in every family’s collection of annual Christ-centered traditions. I just wish it had been around when I had all my children at home. I take heart in knowing I can share these traditions with my grandchildren.
Of course, you can read this book anytime of the year. To make it as part of your Easter celebration, you could just read this aloud as a family in one sitting, anytime around or on Easter Sunday, or you could do each section, one a day starting with Palm Sunday. Or you could spread out the reading even more to be once a week, every Sunday before and even after Easter. So many LDS books are out now to highlight Holy Week that I’m actually thinking of using each one separately, devoting each book, one a week, to the weeks before and after Easter. Then, however often you read from the book, you could just discuss the questions as a family and leave it that, or you could actually do the activity. I love that the adaptation can be so flexible, and that the activities involve simple things. If you don’t have the money to buy Easter lilies you can make some out of paper like I did in the photo above.
If you go here you can get the ornaments involving the symbols from the book. How fun to print them out, make ornaments out of them with tape and string, and then put each one in an Easter egg, then put them in a basket for a table centerpiece. Then pull out one each day to open, in order. Then read the corresponding section in the book for morning or evening devotional, Morning Basket, or dinner time. If you do that, you will either have to get large Easter eggs or reduce them in size to 50 or 33% to fit regular sized Easter eggs. Or you could put them in Easter eggs and put them in your hunt, then go through the story and questions for each after the hunt as you eat the treats.
I am so grateful that President Freeman and Brother Butler wrote this book. Thank you! It is a companion book to the adult book above. Then these two books pair up with their two Christmas counterparts shown below to make a harmonious quartet. Involving these four books in your family’s Easter and Christmas traditions will add much enrichment and joy for decades. They will definitely help in fulfilling this ideal from Elder Gary E. Stevenson, quoting N.T. Wright:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023
Today, 196 years ago, for the first time ever, the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ was made available to the public, so happy birthday to the Book of Mormon!
I am so blessed to have read this book many times. It is my favorite book.
Did you know that the Book of Mormon is the most Christ-centered book on the earth, as far as I know? It mentions a name of Christ on average every 1.7 pages. It also has over 100 names for Jesus Christ. Go here to learn more about that.
Here are some fun facts about the Book of Mormon.
The publisher, E.B. Grandin, started selling the Book of Mormon at his bookstore for $1.75, in Palmyra, New York, on March 26, 1830.
You can learn more about the print shop here and take a virtual tour.
Watch the video below done by my husband’s cousin Lynne Hilton Wilson to learn of the history of the publication of this book, which is sacred scripture to millions of people.
Below the video you will find some interesting screenshots from the video.
It’s published in 97 languages in the complete format, with excerpts in 20 languages.
The timeline below shows some interesting events that led up to is printing.
The publication of this book was a huge project! Joseph Smith placed an order for 5000 copies, when the usual order at the Grandin print shop was around 600 copies. It took 12 men working 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, for several months, from the fall of 1829, until March 26 1830, when it first went on sale.
What’s more important than the facts surrounding its publication is how it has borne witness of Jesus Christ and changed people’s lives. I have read it, love it, and prayed about it to God, asking to know if it’s true. The Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that it’s true.
If you want a list of amazingly beautiful plain and precious truths in the Book of Mormon go here, then scroll down about 2/3 of the page to the heading that says “Book of Mormon Times at a Glance: Some Statements of Gospel Principles.” The first principle on the list is “All good things come from Jesus Christ and persuade us to do good,” from Ether 4:11-12.
Go here to read the story of an Italian man, a Protestant minister, who found a copy of the book with the cover missing, read it, and started preaching from it, even though he didn’t know the name of the book. He eventually got baptized by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you go to that link at the start of this paragraph, you can also watch a mini movie about him that the Church made, at the end of that blog post.
Here’s the story of a man who read the book as a Jewish teenager when he was preparing to be a rabbi, got converted to Jesus Christ, got baptized, and served a mission for the Church. Now he is a chaplain for the U.S. military.
Over here we have a story of a man who asked, “Isn’t the Bible enough?”
Then this video below shows a woman, wife of an Air Force man, mother of 4, and native of the former Soviet Union. She was 18 when the USSR broke up. She tells her story of finding the Book of Mormon in Ukraine and becoming a believer of it, after she failed to prove it wrong. Amazing!
My Family Devotionals Ebook has more stories about the power of the Book of Mormon changing people’s lives, in the March section. Go here to get the ebook.
Want to play a Book of Mormon-themed Wits and Wagers game? Go here!
Go here to get your own copy of the Book of Mormon. Read it online here. It’s true and it will change your life infinitely for the better if you let it!
I had so much fun sharing ideas for thrifting for Christmas gifts last year (here, here, and here), I decided it would be fun to talk about thrifting for Easter gifts. I’ve never done it before but might just try it this year. I might get one non-edible surprise (from a thrift store most likely, although sometimes you can find great stuff at inexpensive prices at non thrift stores) for my children and grandchildren. I might get one each for them to find in the Easter egg hunt. I’ve always just had some health food store candy, and truth be told, some cheap grocery store jelly beans (gasp!) in the plastic Easter eggs. But I might make it more fun this year with directions inside the egg to find the wrapped gift somewhere else.
Our Easter egg hunt last year.
True confession time: I am a mom who hasn’t played the Easter Bunny, that is, I haven’t filled Easter baskets, for decades. I did fill Easter baskets when the oldest 2 of the 7 were 4 and under, and then I stopped. I stopped for a variety of reasons, including my resistance to junky, garish, neon bright toys and commercialism, and the fact that we went through some very lean financial years.
From one of our egg hunts when we lived in AZ.
During those years I was doing well just to buy some edible goodies to put in plastic eggs for a family Easter egg hunt. So they did grow up with Easter baskets, but these baskets were ones they filled themselves with plastic eggs during our family egg hunt. We usually did it Easter Sunday after church and dinner. Then we’d gather in the house and either watch Christ-centered Easter videos or tell the story of Easter with Resurrection Eggs, while they ate the candy. This was my way of making an Easter egg hunt Christ-centered. I wanted them to associate the gospel of Jesus Christ with sweetness, and also with the idea that much of a faith in Christ-centered life involves seeking and searching.
After all, it says in Jeremiah 29:13-14 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity…”
This was our hunt 5 years ago when one of our sons was doing home MTC.
But now I’m rethinking the whole Easter basket idea. I’m thinking it’s time for a change. Not that I’m going to play the Easter Bunny and get gobs of trinkets and candy to fill baskets. And not that I’m going to stop doing baskets, but maybe I’ll start doing what I described in the first paragraph above.
I’m thinking of doing this to make Easter feel even more festive. As Elder Gary Stevenson said, quoting, N.T. Wright:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023)
Note the word “festival.” Some kind of surprise gift for each person, beyond treats, at Eastertime could definitely add to the festival feeling. The surprise can symbolize the surprise and joy that the family and friends of Jesus had when they discovered that He had risen again.
Jesus appeared again in his material body. so maybe it is OK that I make Easter a bit more material. I never thought I’d say this but I guess I’m just rethinking the whole Easter basket thing. I’m realizing maybe I erred too much on the side of no material gifts at Easter when I could have been having a lot more fun finding and giving even just one thoughtful and useful gift at Easter, even if I had to buy it at a thrift store, with my limited amount of money. You can find perfectly clean decent beautiful things at thrift stores, as I’ve witnessed many times myself.
I don’t want to turn prepping for Easter as burdensome as prepping for Christmas. I watch young moms in YouTube talking about filling Easter baskets. Some of them look like they spend as much on Easter as they do on Christmas.
I guess if you can afford it, and it’s not stressful to do so, go for it, but I do wonder two things:
1. Is giving so much stuff at Easter making your children feel entitled and greedy, taking the focus off of Jesus Christ? and
2. What if we took that money and created gift baskets for the people in our neighborhood who are feeling poor or just poor in spirit because they are sad and lonely. Then left them anonymously on doorsteps. Baskets full of useful things like socks, hand lotion, books that promote faith in Jesus Christ, lip balm, as well as some treats, tailored to the person. Like find out if they are gluten free, low carb, or sugar free and give accordingly.
Just some thoughts. Anyway, here’s what I would look for if I could rewind the decades to fill my children’s Easter baskets over again with affordable, non-junky, non-edible Easter stuff. I would take the approach of finding stuff that stirs up the wonder of Jesus, the wonder of the covenant path of a Saint and the Hero’s Quest of human life, and the wonder of spring/summer/warmer weather, including some practical things that I would be buying anyway. I would find what I could at thrift stores by looking year-round. Ideally, I would do one practical thing besides PJs, one book, one wondrous/fun thing, and one religious item. If I found most if not all the stuff from thrift stores, I’d be OK with finding different things according to what was available. Part of the fun would be seeing the random variety. One child might get a T-shirt, another might get sandals, another rainboots, one a swimsuit, etc.
-first, some non-Easter Bunny/Jesus themed picture books, see my list over here
-picture books and chapter books that promote faith in God and faith in going on a quest/Hero’s Journey. See Sarah Mackenzie’s list here and listen to the podcast below. This includes books with Christian symbolism, like Narnia
-religious-themed jewelry and tie tacks, including cross necklaces
-religious-themed T-shirts, including Narnia ones
-spring/summer weight PJs
-hair bows and barrettes for girls, neckties for boys
-comfy summer-weight socks
-bubble-making toys. I especially like the spill-proof bubble tumblers.
-water play toys
-umbrellas
-raincoats
-rainboots
-sandals
-swimsuits
-swim goggles
-swim shoes
-actually functioning garden tools, not just cheap plastic shovels or buckets that break easily. The set above is around $20 so I wouldn’t give it to just one child. If I had all girls I’d give it as a family gift. It’s just so pretty I had to include it.
-gardening seeds and other supplies
-beach/sand toys
-yo-yos
-other outdoor toys like jump ropes, Frisbees, balls, jacks, sidewalk chalk, toss and catch games, Koosh ball toys, etc.
-nature journals
-water color paints and/or colored pencils for using in nature journals
-other art supplies
-something to help them stay quiet in church, like quiet books for younger children and notebooks/journals and pens for older children, and fidget toys for all
-nature-themed kits, like butterfly gardens and ant farms
-nature microscopes
If I wasn’t able to find that kind of stuff thrifting maybe I’d just do a family Easter basket like this mom shows below, but I’d do more spring-themed games, books, and puzzles that I found thrifting
Here are some ideas I’d do for family Easter gifts.
-a sturdy kite to take turns flying as a family on a picnic, or a pack of kites if you have older children you can trust to fly them without running them into each other.
Some board games that remind me of the culture of Easter and Christianity and religion such as the following:
– Jerusalem board game to play with teens and young adults, which simulates Holy Week in Jerusualem, the spring of 33 AD.
–Sagrada, about stained glass windows. I love the chunky colorful bright dice in this game!
-a saucer swing to hang from a tree limb outside
-a birdfeeder with outdoor camera
-spring and nature themed board games like the following:
I know Wingspan seems complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, it is super fun!
Just for fun, here are a few videos involving Waldorf and Montessori inspired Easter baskets that just make me happy. I wish I could make an Easter basket like one of these for every child, adding in a few Christ-promoting items as well, as mentioned above.
Image Credit: Maria Eckersley YouTube Channel. Credit for all images below except the photos of the two temples also go to the same channel.
Here are some new-to-me Christ-centered Easter traditions, from Maria Eckersley. She’s a mom of 6 who has a gift for teaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has a YouTube channel here where she shares ideas for making scriptural truths come alive using object lessons. She’s so craftsy and creative. With her object lessons involving science tricks and fun crafts, I feel like I’m watching a mashup where Mr. Wizard meets the Martha Stewart of Mormondom.
Today I’ve rounded up some of her videos that showcase some wonderful Christ-centered Easter crafts and activities.
Disclaimer: This is not a checklist of things to do. She doesn’t expect any family to do all of these. She says she doesn’t even do all of them. This a beautiful buffet of ideas. Take what works for your family without making you feel like you are running faster than you have strength. (How’s that for mixing a statement from my days of leading La Leche meetings with a phrase from the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ?, LOL.)
The first three of these ideas come from the video above.
Joy of Jesus Coming Out of the Tomb Craft. This involves making a paper tomb and filling it with a surprise. Sister Eckersley encourages us to talk with our children about how that surprise represents the joyful surprise that the followers of Jesus discovered when they saw the empty tomb and then the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
2. String Eggs
Sister E explains that we didn’t get to see the Savior and His life firsthand. We do have His form, though, or His example and His words, in the scriptures. This is just like with these string eggs. After the balloons are gone, we don’t see them. But we have the form, made after the real thing. She says you take embroidery floss and separate it into strings, coat the strings with a glue/water mixture, and wrap it around the water balloon. Then you let the eggs dry overnight. You then pop the water balloon inside and take it out. What you have left is an amazing, perfect egg made out of string.
3. Sharpie Egg Dyeing Trick
Out of all the ideas she suggests, this one looks the simplest. Instead of dyeing hard-boiled eggs, you mark them up with Sharpie markers. She says these marks are to represent what happens to us in mortality, the bad things that happen to us. So don’t bother to make the marks pretty. Then you pour rubbing alcohol on them, and it transforms the designs into a thing of beauty. She says this represents the idea that things that have been broken become beautiful and whole, through the power of Jesus Christ.
The next seven ideas come from the video above, which Maria released two years ago on her YouTube channel, when members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were studying the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ for our Sunday School curriculum. She says she took seven Christmas traditions and turned them into Easter traditions.
4. Christ-centered Easter decorations, like a Hallelujah banner (seen at the top of this post), or these Easter lilies, with scriptures about Jesus printed on the inside of the petals. Maria suggests setting apart a day to this, and playing Easter music as you decorate, similar to when you set aside a day and decorate for Christmas.
5. Drop off a surprise Easter egg hunt for someone else, someone who you think will love hunting for eggs in their yard. (Young children and the young at heart.) This is egging your neighbor in a nice way!
(I’m adding in my own suggestion here. If you know of elderly people who are sick and or lonely, and not easily agile and therefore probably not interested in an egg hunt, maybe give them an Easter basket full of thoughtful and useful items like socks, lip balm, hand lotion, a pictures of the Savior, and a book or DVD that promotes faith in Christ.)
6. Have a family Easter breakfast. Or do whatever meal works for you. She says she does challah bread French toast. She says she makes challah bread for Christmas. Then for Easter she uses the same recipe to make French toast.
7. Serve others in the temple. She points out that the sealing power used in the temples was restored on a Passover Easter Sunday, in the Kirtland Temple. It was April 3 1836, when Elijah of the Bible appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. As part of your Easter celebration/temple anniversary, she suggests creating a temple experience for your family. This could involve baptisms for your teens, other ordinance work for older family members, or, if you can’t get to the temple, doing family history research.
8. Draw names and do an egg exchange in your family. This is less stressful than a gift exchange at Christmas but still involves a little bit of anticipation like Christmas does. She says she does this instead of Easter baskets. She has two ways to do this:
a. Decorate an egg in a way that reminds you of that person. So after they draw names she gives them each an egg to decorate. Then they set it on the mantel the morning of Easter Sunday. They have fun guessing whose egg belongs who. I started thinking about this and thought, how fun it would be to use wooden eggs that last forever. If you did this often starting when your children were young they could leave the home at 18 with a carton of decorated eggs that would bring back memories of home as they decorated for Easter wherever they go.
b. Give a plastic egg that separates in half to each family member. After they draw names tell them to fill up the egg with something that the intended recipient will enjoy, to give to that person on Easter Sunday.
This sounds so fun to me!!! I am hoping I can enroll my family into doing this. I’m thinking of how fun it would be to alternate between the two ideas every year.
9. Act out the journey of the women who went to the tomb and have it be a part of a sunrise hike. As an alternative to the hike, she suggests memorizing The Living Christ before Easter. Then recite it together and record yourself reciting it together. (Hint: you can get free sheet music of words of The Living Christ document set to music over here.)
10. Fly kites on Easter Sunday. She says in other Christian faiths you see people flying kites representing Jesus’ resurrection. She loves that kites symbolize Christ’s ascension. She also loves that just as kites stay tethered to the earth after they arise, Jesus Christ has chosen to stay tethered to the earth by communicating with us.
Wow, what an amazing list! If you feel overwhelmed by it, remember, don’t feel like you have to do all or any of them. Maybe just pick one and incorporate it this year, then add a new idea next year, another one next year, and so forth.
This video below comes from last year when members of The Church studied the Doctrine and Covenants. It has more 8 more ideas!
If you want even MORE ideas, check out Maria’s NEW book below. The only thing from above that is repeated in the book is the making paper lilies activity and the oil lamp craft. I’ll be poring over the book and the ideas above to see how we are going to fit a few of these activities in over the next two weeks, along with the ones from Emily Belle Freeman over here. I want to do the Easter lily activity on Emily’s Day #5, Good Friday, since she mentions using lilies on that day.
Image Credit: amazon.com (that is an affiliate link, if you by the book through that link, I get a small commission)
Want more Christ-centered Easter resources? Go here to get a PDF of Easter picture books.
Go here to get a PDF of songs, stories, and poetry to share with your family, one of each, each day as we countdown to Easter!
Happy Easter! Remember, He is Risen, and He loves you!
Image Credit: amazon.com (Disclosure: that is an affiliate link, as are all the amazon links below. I receive a small commission if you buy through any of these links.)
Easter comes rather early this year, on Sunday April 5. It’s less than three weeks away! Every year I aspire to make Easter more Christ-centered and more festive at the same time. I’ve felt a call to do this for decades, since my oldest children were little. What I mean by that is to focus on Jesus Christ’s atonement and resurrection, and not on the Easter Bunny. Now I feel the call even more since one of the modern-day apostles of Jesus Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, quoted N.T. Wright as saying:
“We should be taking steps to celebrate Easter in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts. … This is our greatest festival. Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.” Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Liahona, May 2023:
If you want to watch the whole of this talk, the video is below.
In honor of this call I’ve noticed people in my church publishing more Easter resources. Some of them are shown below. So I’ll be highlighting some of them in the next while to help you decide what resources you want to use for Easter. So many wonderful resources abound! I’ll also be sharing Easter stories and picture books as well. There’s no way one family could include/do all these suggested things, so just see what appeals to you the most and incorporate what works best for your time and energy, even if it’s just one new thing. Don’t get overwhelmed. Every year just add one or two more of these resources.
Today’s resource is the book Sacred Days, Sacred Songs by Michael D. Young. This book is full of suggested songs to play and learn about during Holy Week. So if you are into Easter-themed music and singing, read on.
For each day, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, the author suggests the following for that day:
– a quality that comes from the Savior Jesus Christ (like deliverance, hope, grace, etc.)
-a story of the Savior from the New Testament
-two songs that go with that quality, with a QR code for each song that take you to a video of a group performing the song, on the author’s website. Mostly it’s The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, of which the author is a member of. The author gives the backstory of the composer and the song.
Click here to go to the author’s website where you can see the list of the songs and the videos.
This is a great resource for adults and people with long-listening attention spans ages 12 and up to use during Holy Week. You could even start using it now, if you plan on doing more than one set of Holy Week activities, like I do. It’s hart to fit all these great ideas in one week, so I’m spreading them out by starting now. This definitely makes Eastertime into a season, about a month-long, instead of just a day or week.
This book doesn’t have any pictures or simplified language, or child-tailored activities so it’s not ideal for families with young children or older people who have a hard time just sitting and listening. If you want a great Holy Week guide for families with young children and short attention spans, use the book below. My review of it is over here.
This book my husband’s cousin wrote below is also wonderful. It has a lot fewer pictures than the one above and the format is different. The one above is simpler/more accessible to use if you have very young children.
Now, back to Sacred Days, Sacred Songs. I’m thinking of using it right now during dinner or either in the morning after prayer or after scripture study before we do our family prayer at night, for our family of 3 currently at home (DH, my 16-year-old son, and I).
Here’s an excerpt from the audiobook format of the book. Then a summary of the book from amazon is below that.
Celebrate Easter with a joyful, soulful, and inspiring collection of songs about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Most people don’t often associate Easter with music, but author Michael D. Young has collected a variety of inspirational hymns and songs–some solemn, some jubilant–and his commentary on their meaning can enhance our holiday. Each chapter focuses on the rich history of two songs that relate to the events of Holy Week, including the Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. The complete lyrics for each song are provided, along with fascinating facts and stories behind each one. Also included are relevant scripture passages that illuminate the themes and events that inspired the songs, as well as a daily devotional of a Christlike attribute: deliverance, compassion, grace, hope, love, sacrifice, obedience, and renewal. Readers can also experience the beauty and power of the songs in an immersive way through the inclusion of QR codes that link to YouTube videos of a variety of choirs, including the famous Tabernacle Choir, singing the songs being discussed, including such favorites as “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” “Amazing Grace,” “It Is Well with My Soul,” and “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” as well as lesser-known songs “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” and “Drop, Drop Slow Tears.” Whether you are a seasoned churchgoer or simply someone who loves music, this gift book can help provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of the significance of Easter, as well as the role that music has played in honoring and celebrating that Holy Week.
Want a huge free list of songs, poetry, scriptures, and poetry to celebrate Easter? Go here.
Tree of Life Mothering 
