Celebrating Easter in Quarantine

I love Easter. It’s one of my favorites. I love the processionals in church and the choir anthems and the spirit of the celebration of the resurrection. I know for many of you, you also love the community egg hunts and pictures with the Easter bunny and big, extended family dinners.

And though we all know that the meaning of Easter is far greater than these man-made celebrations, the idea of celebrating a major holiday in our homes…alone….just like the past several weeks…is a tough pill to swallow.

If you’re looking for a way to make Easter feel more like Easter instead of just another day in quarantine, we’ve got you covered. Here are some ideas.

This post is sponsored by Hempler’s.

SUNDAY WORSHIP:

Tune in to an Easter live stream instead of watching it pre-recorded so you can feel the community of worshiping with other believers. Dress up just as if you were going to Easter service! If you want to make it really memorable, choose a traditional sunrise service.

SUNDAY DINNER:

Just because you can’t be together with family doesn’t mean you have to miss out on your favorite Easter dishes. Choose a Hempler’s half ham – they’re the perfect size for an intimate family gathering, and they are THE MOST AMAZING hams you will ever taste. They offer their half hams in Black Forest (my personal favorite), Honey Cured, or Uncured varieties. To make them extra-special, you can pick from one of these FIFTEEN glaze ideas, or you can just buy one of their full-size hams and enjoy the leftovers because they freeze great.

You can also share the cooking load! Instead of having each family cook their own mini Easter feast, have everyone in the family cook their one signature dish ahead of time in smaller take-and-bake containers and do porch drop-off of their dish a day or two before. On Easter, everyone has a full dinner that they just have to throw into the oven.

And when it’s finally time for dinner, set up a Zoom conference with the rest of your family members! Determine a time in advance for your dinner gathering, set the table with your best dishes, and reserve one spot for your laptop or other device so everyone can “eat” together. You can still have your big family gathering!

EASTER FUN:

Surprise another family with an Easter egg hunt! Hide eggs in their front yard so the next time they go outside they can see that they’ve been “egged.”

Does the egg shortage have you down? Instead of dying Easter eggs, paint rocks in bright colors, make string eggs with balloons, or make Easter Egg Oreo Truffles.

Hide eggs in your front yard and take a panoramic photo. Send the photo to other family members and see who can find the most. Or, assign each child a different color and see if they can find all of “their” eggs. This way you can make it easier for younger kids and more difficult for older ones.

Make a scavenger hunt! If you do Easter baskets, have them find it through a scavenger hunt instead of just leaving it for them Easter morning.

Though Easter is bound to be different this year thanks to social distancing, we can still infuse it with many of the familiar flavors, activities, and people that we love. The next time you’re getting groceries, pick up your Hempler’s ham as the dinnertime centerpiece, and then call up your family to plan this year’s gathering. They’ll be so thankful you took the initiative and found creative ways to connect. Let’s make this year’s Easter more memorable than ever!