Celebrating Easter with kids
Free Easter activities for kids
When it comes to celebrating Easter with kids, thoughts mostly turn to activities like Easter egg hunts, Easter bonnets and Easter hat parades, the Easter Bunny and hot cross buns. Some parents may buy Easter gifts for their kids, and books are released about lambs, chicks and springtime (even though it is autumn in Australia). It all sounds fun and sweet, but there is more to Easter.
Easter is when we remember Jesus’ death on a cross, which is called Good Friday. And Easter Sunday is when we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. The entire weekend is a reminder to us that God loves us and wants to be our friend. “For here is the way God loved the world – he gave his only, unique Son as a gift” (John 3:16, TPT).
If you are looking for some fun ways to share the real message of Easter with kids, The Salvation Army’s Kidzone magazine has got you covered. The kids in your life will have plenty to do (and learn) over the Easter long weekend.
Read on to find out what Easter activities for families and children are on their website. Plus, to get your free copy of the Easter Kidzone magazine for even more fun, puzzles and Easter craft ideas, visit your local Salvos church or Salvos Store.
Easter story for kids
Many years ago, God sent Jesus (his son) into the world. Jesus did lots of amazing things. He spoke about God’s love and healed people when they were sick. He had a lot of friends and followers, but many religious leaders did not like him. They did not believe Jesus was God’s son and didn’t like the things he was saying. Eventually, they got so angry with Jesus, they wanted to kill him.
They got a crowd of people to support their nasty plan. They went to the city’s rulers and called for his death. Jesus was whipped and laughed at then walked all the way up a hill where he died on a large, wooden cross. That’s the story of Good Friday.
At any time, Jesus could have asked God to stop it because he is strong and powerful. After all, he calmed the lightning, thunder and rain when it stormed, walked on water without sinking and made those who were sick better!
But Jesus’ death was all part of God’s plan. Because Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose back to life. That’s called his ‘resurrection’.
We remember this part of the story on Easter Sunday because on that day, some women who were followers of Jesus, went to visit his body at the tomb where he’d been buried. Instead of finding a tomb with a giant rock in front of it and a dead body – they found an empty tomb and angels!
“Jesus is not here,” the angels said. “He has risen from death!” (Luke 24:6, ICB).
Jesus showed that he has power over life and death. He died because he loves us and rose back to life so we can have life with him in Heaven after we die. While we are on Earth though, Jesus wants us to experience his love and kindness in our lives, so we never have to feel scared, unloved or alone. That gives us a reason to celebrate and have joy!
As we celebrate this gift of love and life, Jesus also wants us to share that love and kindness with others.
The Kidzone Easter magazine has a fun scavenger hunt so kids can celebrate the love of Jesus this Easter with others. Find your local Salvos church or Salvos Store and ask for a copy of the magazine.
Good Friday activity for kids
Good Friday – the day we eat hot cross buns and patiently wait to eat our chocolate eggs. But Good Friday is about so much more than that!
Good Friday is the day on which we remember Jesus dying on the cross because he loves us. When we do bad things, we are separated from God and deserve punishment. But instead of being punished, God shows love towards us. When Jesus died, he took on our punishment because he loves us. He didn’t want us to be punished. He wanted to be in a relationship with us and for us to have a good life.
To help the kids in your life understand more about the Easter message, then our resurrection cookies are an ideal Good Friday activity for kids. As you make your way through the recipe, you will read a bit from the Bible and learn an Easter fact. Including the fact that – just like the cookies have to stay in the oven overnight – Jesus stayed in a tomb for a few nights before coming back to life.
Easter crafts for kids
Keep the kids in your life busy over the Easter weekend by making a resurrection garden. This fun Easter craft is a great way to involve the kids in recreating the story of Easter Sunday morning and the hope that was found at the tomb.
All you need is a container, some dirt and some decorations gathered from your backyard or a nature walk. This is a great Easter activity for families or for older kids to do on their own.
Find the instructions and how-to video for the resurrection garden on the Kidzone website.
If you’re hosting an Easter celebration – whether it’s a small breakfast at home, a large family lunch or something with the community – get the kids busy with an Easter crafts and activities to make their own placemat while the meal is cooking. Complete with a crossword, maze, sudoku, colouring in and more – the kids should be happily entertained, all while learning some facts about Easter!
If they are still itching for more Easter activities, there is an A to Z Easter colouring poster and lots of free colouring sheets on the Kidzone website.
Celebrating Easter with kids at your local Salvos
While we hope you enjoy the Easter activities from Kidzone, we also would love to invite you to celebrate Easter in person at your local Salvos – whether you are on your own or are looking for something for the kids in your life.
Throughout Australia, Salvation Army churches will be hosting Good Friday and Easter Sunday church services, some with tailored kids’ programs or family events. We also have churches that host kids’ programs throughout the year, so be sure to visit your local Salvos website or phone them for more information.