This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and perhaps you are intending to make this Easter week more meaningful than ever for your family.

Here are a few ideas you might enjoy integrating during the week leading to Easter, and they are especially suited for families with young children. Feel free to change days and adapt this to suit your family’s schedule.

1) Palm Sunday- As a family, re-enact Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In our home, our son’s take turns riding into the room on Daddy’s back, pretending they are Jesus. I love the idea of purchasing a few silk palm branches to wave in praises to Jesus! There’s also a fantastic creative tutorial for decorative palm branches on the Mustard Seeds site, here. We’ll also read Mark 11:1-11 and Luke 18:29-28.

2) Monday – Read Mark 11:15-18, and discuss what happened in the temple that day. Why was Jesus so upset? What can we do to keep the church a meaningful, worshipful place? Discuss I Cor 3:16, 6:18, 2 Cor 6:16. Our bodies are a temple, too, because Christ dwells within us. What are some ways that we use our bodies to glorify God? In contrast, what are some ways that we might treat our bodies that are not pleasing to Him?

3) Tuesday – This is a good time to talk about Jesus teaching in the temple, specifically discussing Mark 12:28-34. This is the passage where Jesus was asked, “Of all the commandments which one is the most important?” To which Jesus replied, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” What does it mean to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? How can you show love to a neighbor today?

4) Wednesday – Watch a children’s video together relaying the meaning of Easter, such as The Greatest Adventure Stories From the Bible: The Easter Story. Discuss the video and compare/contrast with what you read in Scripture.

5) Thursday – Set aside time for foot washing, just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on this day, and talk about the importance of serving others. What can we do to encourage serving others in our daily life? This was also the day that Jesus ate his famous last supper with his disciples, calling it their Passover meal together (Mt. 26:17-20). How did Passover come about? Read Exodus 12 as a family and discuss.

6) Good Friday- Talk about the crucifixion day, and recount the Passover and last supper.   What was the crucifixion like?  Jesus was given vinegar to drink;  let your children take a dab of vinegar and taste it themselves.  We remember doing this with our oldest son and it made the account much more vivid and real to him.  Plan your own Passover meal, with roasted lamb, bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and grape juice, explaining the meaning of each. In leiu of spreading blood on the door (!) hang red fabric on the door and discuss what it means. What was is like for the Israelites on the night of Passover?

7) Saturday – Meditate on Jesus being in the tomb. Your children may enjoy being wrapped up as mummies (in toilet paper) as you talk about burial customs of that time. Also, how might Mary and the disciples have felt on this day?

8 ) Easter Sunday – Celebrate that Jesus is risen and read Luke 24:1-9. For further discussion, talk about the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit coming in Acts 2 as part of the beauty of the resurrection. He came, died, and rose again because He loved us and wanted us to have new life in Him!

Many of these ideas we’ve integrated into our family’s evening time together and it helped the real meaning of Easter come alive for each of us.  Although Easter egg hunts and sweet gift baskets are fun for children, may they never forget what Easter is truly about!   A few years ago, we prayerfully and intentionally began to make Jesus central to our celebration.  It’s strengthened our relationship with Him and enriched our family life during this time of year.

What will you do to make this Easter more meaningful for your family?