When my wife was growing up, her parents did all the Easter bunny-related festivities on the Saturday before Easter. This way, they could keep the focus of Easter Sunday on the Savior. On the other hand, I always hunted for my Easter basket on Easter Sunday morning.
Talk of the Resurrection was left to the speakers and teachers at church.
Leading up to our first Easter weekend together, I completely forgot about her preference for doing Easter eggs and candy on Saturday. When the day came, I was unprepared and wasn't sure if we should do Easter baskets that Sunday morning.
In an attempt to make sure we still had a traditional celebration of the holiday while keeping the spotlight on the Savior, I came up with an idea.
On Sunday morning, I gave my wife a plastic Easter egg. Inside was a scripture about the Savior that included some kind of clue that led her to the next egg. Each egg in the hunt included a similar scrap of paper, leading her to the next. At the end of the quest was an Easter basket full of candy and one Easter egg.
This egg, however, was empty. After she opened it, we discussed the significance of the empty tomb and what it meant to us. We opened the scriptures and read Matthew 28, where an angel tells Mary Magdalene and another Mary, "He is not here: for he is risen."
As our young children begin to understand the meaning of Easter, we'll continue this tradition. Not only will they still get the joy of searching for their Easter baskets, but it will also help our family keep Jesus Christ at the forefront of our celebration.
Ben Luthi is a freelance writer and personal finance blogger with a degree in finance.