Fun Family Easter Traditions and Easter Games 2023

Easter Family Games and Traditions

Easter egg hunt is such a traditional game that I assume most families celebrating Easter are playing with their Little Ones...

I remember, as a kid, we used to visit my grandparents and spend Easter vacations with the family there. The "Easter rabbit" hid small chocolate eggs all over their house and garden... we, the four cousins were searching for these and putting them in a big bowl - so when we found them all, the eggs can be divided among us.

However one year it turned out that the "Easter rabbit" (my Mom and Aunt) was re-hiding all the eggs again, so the egg hunt could last longer (how clever, as being a mom now I am pretty impressed!) 😅

I think I would have never found that out, but my Little Brother remembered that there were three blue eggs in the bowl, and when he went back with a new yellow one, he only found one blue there!

Well, our parents had to admit that they were the ones taking it away - as they didn't want us to start blaming each other for eating the missing blue ones 😂

As growing older, egg hunts became less important for us, but we still kept this and some other great family games and traditions that we can now show to our own kids!😊

What is Easter about?

Easter is a Christian holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a moveable feast, Easter Sunday can fall on any date between March 22nd and April 25th. It always occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, the first Sunday following the full Moon that occurs on or after the March or spring equinox.

Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays, and it’s celebrated in churches all over the world. Many people also celebrate Easter with their families and friends. 

One important question that is asked by elder kids quite often: then what is that with the Easter Bunny and how do the eggs come to Easter traditions?

According to Wikipedia "The egg is an ancient symbol of new life and rebirth. In Christianity, it became associated with Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection. The custom of the Easter egg originated in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion. As such, for Christians, the Easter egg is a symbol of the empty tomb. The oldest tradition is to use dyed chicken eggs."

And the Bunny?

According to the same article, "A custom originating in Germany, the Easter Bunny is a popular legendary anthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture. Many children around the world follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. Historically, foxes, cranes and storks were also sometimes named as the mystical creatures. Since the rabbit is a pest in Australia, the Easter Bilby is available as an alternative."

What are some interesting Easter traditions around the world?

In Hungary, we have the tradition of sprinkling on Easter Monday. In old times girls got sprinkled with water coming from the wells poured with a bucket... today, luckily perfume is used for sprinkling 😀

I like this tradition as it makes so great memories and supports bonding between family members as well as friends and little mates already in kindergarten or pre-school.

On Easter Monday the women and the girls stay at home, get dressed nicely, and prepare Easter dishes (traditionally ham, pickled horseradish, and braided loaf). Men and boys also dress up in an elegant way and in small groups, they visit all the ladies in the family and among their friends. They tell an Easter rhyme, ask the ladies' permission for sprinkling and use their perfume, so that the flowers (= the ladies) do not dry out 😊 They receive hand-painted eggs in return - or chocolate ones!

In Sweden, people set up an Easter bonfire on Good Friday to burn straw effigies of witches. In France, people eat hard-boiled eggs at Easter. In Germany, children put baskets full of candy on the front steps of their neighbors’ houses. 

I collected some other traditions from fellow bloggers:

"While I'm not sure how unique or interesting they are, it's a lot of Easter baskets for our kids and egg hunting. Typically, you'll attend a church that morning for a special Easter service, sometimes with a meal afterwards." - Mckaya, USA, author of the Everydayshemoms blog.

"Besides coloring eggs, my kids love to draw. So I decided to make a new tradition and made them an Easter coloring and activity book. They loved it! A great way for them to learn and have fun during this family holiday." - Marina, Croatia. You can get her coloring and activity book form here!

"Painted eggs and sugar sheep in a basket." - Igor, owner of the Travelbloggingacademy from Poland.

"In the United States, we celebrate Easter by attending local egg hunts, dying and decorating Easter eggs, attending church service, and having a family dinner with ham or turkey as the main dish. My family and I participate in local egg hunts and enjoy decorating Easter eggs each year as well as attending our churches Easter service and having a big family dinner with all the grandparents." - April, USA, author of the Chaos&Wine blog.

Photo: Pexels.com

What family Easter activities and Easter games you can plan for this year?

Easter egg hunts are a great way to get your family outside and have fun. You can hide eggs in the yard or at a local park, or even in the house if you’re feeling crafty! Try making Easter baskets filled with treats like chocolate eggs and colored sugar candies, or bake some special cookies for your kids to decorate as an activity. It’s a great time to get together with family and friends.

Besides the egg hunt, we will prepare pained eggs for the boys (hopefully) coming sprinkling on Easter Monday 😊

If you like crafting as well, you can also try these bunny garlands, DIY bunnies, or just download this bunny svg and sew your own little bunny at home! We tried this latter one with my Daughter and I did not want to believe it, but she was putting it together alone (well, 80% alone, but still!) 😁

Hm, what other activities and games you might try this year?

"Every year we open our Easter baskets in the morning then get dressed to see our family and do a massive Easter egg hunt. We'll typically have 100 - 300 eggs depending on how many we decorate the Friday and Saturday before. Then, we'll all sit down and have a meal together! We don't like to focus on candy, so most of our Easter baskets have their favorite snacks, a swimsuit and sandals for the upcoming season, and outdoor activities like chalk or water toys." - Mckaya, USA

"The best memories I have is waking up and celebrating Easter with the entire family. There is nothing that gives me more satisfaction than to be with my loved ones. Hope my kids will remember Easter mornings as I do." - Marina, Croatia

"For Easter this year, we will be attending our cities egg hunt as well as dying our own Easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide. Some of my favorite childhood memories from Easter, are dying and finding the eggs and the delicious meals my mother would make for Easter dinner!" - April, USA

 

If you still need further inspiration, bake cookies or other treats together as a family, or have an Easter egg dyeing party where everyone can make their own colorful creations!

What about a free printable super cute Easter Bunny coloring page?
Grab that now! 

Takeaway: Fun Family Easter Traditions and Easter Games are great ways to bond as a family and make memories for everyone!