You may be looking for more meaningful ways to celebrate this coming Easter. What better way is there to spend the day than with your family, right? Check out these Easter bonding activities that can deepen faith as well your family relationships!
#1 Egg Hunting
Who wouldn’t know about egg hunting during Easter? Most parents hide decorated Easter eggs around the house and everyone is asked to find as many eggs as he or she can to get the prize. You can even make this experience more memorable by choosing a location that your kids love!
For younger kids, the eggs can be placed in secure and easy-to-find areas. You and your kid will likely be partners during the hunt in this setup! If the participants are teens or adults, the game master can make the activity more exciting by grouping the family in certain numbers. For example, the family can group themselves into two with the first group led by the father and the second group led by the mother. You may also add dummy eggs to invite more laughter into the game. The winning group can either claim a prize or some bragging rights, according to what the family agrees on!
#2 Egg Painting
This activity can precede egg hunting if your family chooses to personally decorate the eggs to be hunted! Since this is a family activity, you might want to ask everyone to design eggs resembling the faces of your family members. Just remind everyone to be a good sport if his or her face didn’t resemble the painting at all!
Egg painting can also be an opportunity for the family to reflect on their faith together. During the activity, you can lead your kids to reflect on things or attitudes they wish to improve for the better. Your kids can then paint it on the egg and do their best to find it or “achieve” it as they hunt.
#3 Family Outing
Now that the country is becoming more prepared for a post-COVID life, your family can certainly schedule small group travels and leisure bondings out of town! There are a lot of options to do this and you can choose from the following:
Long Drives
Yes, long drives can help you and your family unwind just by looking at different places and sceneries as you travel. Natural landscapes, bustling cities, and wide stretches of blue water can give your family that refreshing breathing space and headspace you all need. After all, the two years of at-home work setup may have felt a little confining at times.
Visit Important Places
You can also visit restaurants or hotels along the way and spend your family time there. Or you can visit your relatives and friends who live along the route of where you are going! And while doing so, you can visit churches in other towns. Bonus tip: they say you can make a wish if it is your first time going to a certain church!
For this activity, just make sure that there will be one or more drivers who can switch places so you will have safe and harmonious travel. Remember to also follow health protocols still in place as we are just easing off from COVID!
Camping/Picnic
As you travel by land, you and your family can bring tents and other camping materials as well as food to cook like meat, veggies, rice, egg, and chicken. You may also want to bring ready-to-eat food like bread, instant noodles, fruits, chips, and chocolates to avoid the hassle of cooking. Do not forget your soda, juice, water, coffee, and whatever comfort beverage to keep you and your family hydrated. Plus, take note of the weather!
For this activity, stay in areas where it is safe to camp. Even better, just visit legitimate camping sites that are already secured and managed by people. Don’t forget the bonfire and marshmallows in sticks to make a wholesome camping night! You can also do mini-games too or heart-to-heart conversations under the stars. Enjoy the night and make sure you wash out the fire before sleeping.
Beaching/Swimming
They say that when you are in the ocean or in a body of water, it makes you forget all your worries in life. It makes you focus only on the waves and the ripples everywhere. It is as if your worries disappear with the waves as they hit the shore. Well for kids, it’s obvious that they often enjoy the beach and swimming trips! Just take precautions and have them wear their safety gear all the time!
When you decide to spend time surrounded by huge bodies of water, your mind can be at peace. You can even invite the family to reflect on their own faith while looking at the vastness of the ocean.
Hiking
There is no other way to connect to the world than to be grounded, literally. This is an activity preferred for families with older children and those with previous experience. Hiking means taking a stroll in nature by following trails that lead to breathtaking views. It’s a way for people to ground themselves again outside of the busy and hectic life of the city.
As you marvel at the vastness of creation, you will feel humble. You will realize that no one is greater than anyone. This can even be a good opportunity to teach your children to value nature and to learn from the lessons it can offer.
Most importantly, take the easy route because you are with your family and your only purpose to hike is to connect with nature and enjoy its glory. There are a lot of hiking sites that are safe and conducive to family bonding!
Soul-Searching
In connection to your activities in hiking, you may want to stop by massage spas or sanctuaries where you and your family can rest, relax, pray, and reflect. In the Philippines, you can visit a lot of places for this activity like The Farm at San Benito in Lipa City, Batangas. Even Baguio is famous for its many parks and sanctuaries where you can engage with nature.
Some activities that your family can also enjoy during Easter are Easter Bingo, Easter Dinner, Gift Basket Giving, Egg and Spoon Race, Flower Planting, and many more! The sky is your limit.
What Easter is All About
No matter how you spend Easter, you must make sure that you and your family will never forget the true meaning of it: to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection. Happy Easter to you and your family!