My Favorite Easter to Date

Typical Easter Sundays: Waking early - when it's still dark even - to do Easter baskets and egg hunts.  Rushing the kids to get ready for church while I myself super-turbo rush to get ready as well plus start several dishes for a meal later and help the kids get ready.  After church I finish food, we take it to and eat it at Mom & Dad's and we get home tired and hurrying to get the kids to bed being a school-night and all.  I always want to make the holiday more religious and spiritual, but it's so hard to squeeze it in!

This year my Mom had a stroke of brilliance.  Absolute genius!  We ate our Easter meal Saturday night instead of Sunday.  And that one decision totally changed my whole Easter Sunday.  I spent all yesterday in the kitchen - but I could because I had nothing else to do all day, particularly not all those hours spent getting ready for, attending, and getting home from church.  We had a perfectly lovely evening with my parents and the local Aunts.  We dyed our eggs there.  We celebrated Hollyn's birthday which was also yesterday.  And when the kids had a late bedtime it was no biggie.

This morning - thanks to afternoon church - the kids enjoyed searching for the hidden eggs and checking out their baskets.  They each received a church outfit, a church book or quiet (sacrament meeting) toy, and one small other gift.  (The latter was mainly because I coincidentally and at different times in the last week bought each of them something they needed or could use)  After taking our time with all that I did a devotional with the kids of the Resurrection Rolls.  It was very successful and felt good to finally incorporate something like that into our Easter day.

I know other people often choose to do the baskets and/or egg hunt on Saturday.  I always thought that would help with the Sunday schedule, but ultimately just doesn't work well for us.  For example, our evenings are too jam-packed to dye the eggs on a weeknight. which would mean for a Saturday a.m. hunt we'd have to dye them the weekend before Easter.  And as of yet I've never been prepared that far enough ahead to have bought the eggs, let alone prepared them!

No, this year's plan was the best.  A busy cooking, activity, and family filled Saturday followed by a low key, cozy Easter Sunday.  If only I could have afternoon church EVERY year - that would truly be heaven :-)

*Bonus Material: While doing the Resurrection Rolls object lesson, which involves wrapping a marshmallow (= Christ) into a crescent roll (= the tomb), then baking during which the marshmallow disappears, I opened the roll and asked "where did Jesus go?"  Asher exclaimed, "He burned!"