Easter Traditions for Your Family

When you have young children, it is only natural to want to start traditions that you can carry through as they get older; many of us remember Easter egg hunts with our cousins or sitting around with the family on Christmas morning opening presents.

Events take on added meanings when traditions are involved, and they are an important part of teaching younger children a sense of belonging, as well as allowing them to identify with other family members. When a child is given a special job as part of the tradition, it gives them a sense of self-worth and a place within your family group.

Family traditions are personal to those involved. They could be as simple as hiding Easter eggs for a hunt and going on a family holiday to the beach or, for older family members, following the traditions of Lent or preparing an Easter meal. There is no doubting that children grow fast, so this Easter is the perfect time to start some new traditions for your family.

How to Choose Easter Traditions

If this is the first year you’ve decided to start some Easter traditions, you may be wondering the best way to choose which ones to follow. The best thing about traditions is that you choose something to suit your family.

Encourage Your Child’s Input

Ask your children what traditions they like around Easter and why they like them. You will likely get a variety of answers and if they are old enough, you can dig a bit deeper to find the why – perhaps an Easter egg hunt makes them feel like the whole family is present and involved or an Easter dinner is a great way to sit down to a relaxed meal as a family.

Big and Small Traditions

Easter may be the only time you can take holidays from work, so planning a family holiday for then is a great tradition – but it is a big one. Include some smaller traditions such as reading an Easter book or watching a movie with a hot chocolate to strengthen the ties between each family member.

Offer Something for All

When it comes to traditions, everyone needs a role to play to feel part of the tradition. Perhaps an older teen may be able to lay out the Easter egg hunt while the younger ones are still asleep, while younger children may be able to help make the hot chocolate for the Easter movie after dinner.

Great Easter Tradition Ideas

There are some great Easter tradition ideas out there. We’ve put together some of our favourite Easter traditions that you can start now, and that your children may even carry through to their own children one day.

Bunny or Bilby Snacks & Footprints

It is a common tradition to leave out a drink and a snack for Santa and his reindeers, so why not do the same for the Easter bunny or bilby. You could leave out a carrot for the Easter Bunny or seeds for the Easter Bilby, and then once your child has gone to bed, place rabbit or bilby footprints from your front door and kitchen to where their Easter gifts have been left.

Chocolate Scavenger Hunt

If you like the idea of an Easter egg hunt but want something a little different, why not start the tradition of a chocolate scavenger hunt. It’s quite a simple option to leave clues for your child to find their Easter gift, and you can include small eggs or other gifts along the way. If you have a few children, and have the time, you can set up a scavenger hunt for each child – that way there is no fighting over who has the most chocolate!

Easter Movie

Many families are moving away from the idea of lots of chocolate at Easter and towards one big bunny or bilby and some small eggs, and then something non-chocolate based like some winter pyjamas and a movie. This is a great tradition that the whole family can get involved in either on the afternoon of Easter or after dinner.

Easter traditions allow a child to feel a sense of belonging to a certain group whether that be their family or their peers. This sense of belonging is one area we focus on in our Wellness Program. We’d love for your child to share their Easter traditions with their classmates to share ideas and be aware of how other people and cultures celebrate holidays.