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6 Tips for Celebrating Easter in Isolation or Quarantine During the Coronavirus Outbreak

In our family, Easter has always been a family-fun filled time. Attending special religious services, planning family gatherings, joining Easter egg hunts, scheduling long-weekend road trips--and, of course, presenting fun, candy-filled Easter baskets to the kids. This year. Is. Different. As COVID-19 risks increase and more and people in the United States, and worldwide, are going into self-isolation or government ordered sheltering-in-place--our Easter traditions are disappearing, one by one. To help my family preserve just a little bit of our regular lives in this upended time--I have been working on ways to continue our familiar traditions--with some necessary twists! What are some tips that I have come up with to help us celebrate Easter during this challenging time?  Today, we are sharing this post as our submission for Letter E in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge!  E is for Easter!

Worship Virtually.  Many churches and religious organizations have turned to the internet to stay in contact with their community. Maybe your church is offering live-streamed content or perhaps pre-recorded messages instead of traditional Easter services? If your church is not offering a virtual option--another one in your area may be providing one.

Share the Meanings of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In addition to attending your usual Easter services virtually--this is also an excellent opportunity to share the meaning and value of Good Friday and Easter Sunday with your family. There are tons of resources online to help you--from Bible-based activity ideas or children's books or buying a Resurrection Egg Kit or making your own Resurrection egg story. Take advantage of the down-time imposed during this Easter season to revisit the significance of this significant Christian celebration.

Host a Virtual Easter Dinner. In the past, I have shared tips for hosting the family's Easter gathering. This year, I have some tips for hosting a virtual Easter dinner! Many families are already connecting with distant or at-risk loved ones via Facetime or Zoom or Google Hangouts--and these resources work equally well for gathering together for a virtual meal. Make your Easter dinner party invitations just like you would have in the past--set a time for everyone to connect online--and share your meal with friends and family from wherever you all may be. Some may opt to plan an identical or similar menu in each home. Personally, I think it would be more fun (and a lot easier) to skip the stress of locating specific meal dishes and simply share our menus and dinners. We can talk about the recipes and connect for an hour or so over our dinners. I will be sharing our Easter dinner menu here.


Get the Kids Active in the Kitchen. Whether teaching the kids something new--like baking bread or making an original recipe--or continuing a tried and true family tradition--spending time in the kitchen is the perfect Easter holiday activity. Parents can view cooking activities as a means to strengthen math and science skills--or just as a fun way to pass a morning or afternoon as we navigate an uncertain and difficult time. You can check out our cooking with kids section for some easy recipes that the kids can help make. We are building a fun, easy Easter Bunny Cake AGAIN this year. It is something that the girls and I have made almost every year since they were toddlers. 

Plan an Easter Egg Hunt or an Easter Scavenger Hunt. I LOVE hiding Easter eggs for the kids--and creating scavenger hunts has been my go-to party game every year since the girls and their friends were able to read. While you may not be able to attend a large Easter egg hunt with tons of other families--you can keep the tradition alive on a smaller scale. Stuff a bunch of plastic eggs with stickerssmall toyscandy, or even money. This year, I am planning to write random games, activities, and non-store-bought prizes on strips of paper that the kids can redeem over the next week or so as stay-at-home-isolation continues. I will be uploading an Easter Scavenger Hunt sheet soon.

Create an Easter Basket--for Everyone in the House. My teen daughters will get an Easter basket (of some sort) this year. I re-use baskets, use shredded paper as filler, and buy a mix of inexpensive items for the baskets. This year, I will resort to online gift shopping--but, I will pack up some baskets with small gifts for everyone--even the dog and cats. I posted a list of tween-friendly Easter basket gifts a few years ago. 
While this year may not be an Easter holiday like others that you have celebrated--you can still make it a memorable one for your family. Rather than dwelling on the people, activities, and events that are missing from your Easter celebration--enjoy the time, health, and opportunities to make new memories. You may even create a few new traditions this year that will stay with your family for years to come. 

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