DIY Resurrection Eggs with 2 Dozen Ideas!

I'm trying to celebrate holy week with my daughter (who is 3) this year, and as I was looking for ideas, I ran across Resurrection Eggs. You can buy them, or you can be amazingly thrifty and crafty and make your own :-)

This idea originated from the children's book Benjamin's Box: The Story of the Resurrection Egg.

I opted for the tightwad way (as I always do) and I wanted the eggs to include as many Catholic holy week traditions as possible. I also wanted to make sure to tell the whole Easter story rather than just try to come up with the cutest stuff to put in eggs. So here's what I came up with:

How I made my "Resurrection Eggs" or "Holy Week Eggs":

1. Palm Branch (Made out of a leaf from a fake flower arrangement. I just sliced "palm branches" into it with some scissors.)
2. Soap (For when Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. I wanted to include this since feet are washed during the Holy Thursday mass.)
3. Cracker (For the last supper.)
4. Flower (For when Jesus asked his apostles to stay awake with him in the garden. I wanted to include this since it is symbolic of the Catholic tradition of staying up in adoration Thursday night.)
5. Dimes (For the 30 pieces of silver that Judas betrayed Jesus for.)
6. Ropes (For bounding and arresting Jesus. I think this is a pretty crucial point for the story.)
7. Crown of Thorns (I made mine from a twig I pulled from a tree in my front yard. Make sure you get a green one so it's flexible enough to weave it into a circle. Don't worry if it snaps in a few places when you're weaving it- mine did, too.)
8. Nails (self explanatory)
9. Crucifix (Mine is from a broken rosary. You could also just stuff a whole rosary in there, or make a cross from toothpicks.)
   
10. Sponge with Vinegar (I just whacked off a piece from my kitchen sponge.)
11. Spices and Fabric (For preparing the body for burial. I just put some oregano in a ziplock bag and tied it off with a knot.)
12. Stone (just a piece of gravel will do.)

Some more ideas I came across for Resurrection Eggs were: A Die (for the soldiers casting lots for Jesus' garments), Fur (for the donkey Jesus rode in on), A Feather (for the rooster crowing), A Thick String (for the scourging), Small Piece of Wash Cloth (for washing of feet), Small Cup (for when Jesus says "let this cup pass from me"), A Black Cloth (for when the sky went black), Small Piece of Rose Bush Stem (in place of crown of thorns), An Empty Egg (for the empty tomb) or a Cloth (for finding empty burial cloths in the tomb), Cotton Ball with Perfume (for the perfume Mary put on Jesus' feet), Purple Cloth (for the robes they wrapped Jesus in), and a Sign that says "King of the Jews".

There's really no reason why you can't make 2 dozen resurrection eggs with all of these ideas! :-)

When you've collected your stuff, just put them all in some plastic eggs...

And number them!

And if you're not the "do it yourself" kind, you can order sets of Resurrection Eggs that are already made, although you can't buy stations of the cross eggs.

Then you can just put them into an egg carton and decorate it! For younger kids, you go over what each piece stands for and pass it around so they can hold it. For older kids, include a piece of paper in each one with an explanation, and a bible verse they can look up for that part of the story! :-)

What Jesus did for us during this week of his life is so amazing! Share it with your children. Don't just allow the true meaning of this amazing holiday to get lost in the Easter Bunny shuffle!

You still have time to do this, and the stuff can be found around your home :-) It worked for me! To see other Works for me Wednesday posts or particiate yourself, click here.

Click here to see pictures of my last minute Easter Party!

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