Well, maybe not this year. $5 for a dozen eggs might make us rethink or at least rework our traditions. So we came up with a list of activities you and your kids or grandkids can do using affordable and reusable plastic eggs. You can find them almost anywhere, and they’re perfect for a variety of activities that go beyond the traditional egg hunt.

One of my favorites is to make your own resurrection eggs. You can buy these commercially, already made, but it isn’t very hard to make your own. Put an object relating to the Easter story in each egg (ex. a stone, a nail, a tiny cross, a silver-colored coin, etc.). You can find ideas on the internet and even little cards to print out. Each day, leading up to Easter, you can hide one of the eggs, then talk about what role each of the objects played in the death and resurrection of Jesus, or you can talk about them all at one time and read the Bible passage with your kids. This is a great hands-on activity that allows children to “see” parts of the story.

Another idea is a scavenger hunt with eggs. Hide eggs with written clues leading to the next egg, ending with a basket or prize. You can do this inside or outside.

One variation on hiding eggs is to make the eggs glow-in-the-dark for a fun nighttime hunt. Put a small glowstick or an LED tea light in the egg for a totally different egg hunt experience.

The last activity we have is a great one to not only teach your kids about God’s love, but also to share it. That is to egg your neighbors – in a good way! You will probably need larger plastic eggs for this so you can fill them with small treats and notes encouraging them in Jesus’s love. Perhaps your church has promotional materials for an Easter service or tracts that tell the good news of Easter for those who may not know. Secretly leave them on your neighbors’ doorsteps with a note saying, “You’ve been egged – with love and blessings from our family!”

Of course, Easter is so much more than determining what kind of eggs to use. The reason we use a symbol of new life is that we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ enabling us to have new life as well. So prioritize teaching the children in your life the reason why we celebrate, but if that is all you can handle, there are several local egg hunt events you can take part in:

Local Egg Hunts

Jon Pemberton & Associates Easter Egg Drop

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025

Location: Miami Valley South Stadium, Bellbrook, OH

Details: Experience a helicopter egg drop with thousands of eggs. Registration is required.

Easter Egg Hunt at Grace Community Church

Date: Saturday, April 12, 2025

Location: Grace Community Church, Huber Heights

Details: Easter egg hunt and activities

Easter Egg Hunt at Young’s Dairy

Date: Sunday, April 20, 2025

Location: Young’s Dairy, Yellow Springs, OH

Details: This is a free event where over 10,000 eggs are ready to be picked. Come early, this is a popular event!

Easter Egg Hunt at Medway Church

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025

Location: Medway United Methodist Church

Details: 30,000 eggs and a visit from the Easter Bunny

Vandalia Easter Eggstravaganza

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025

Location: Vandalia Recreation Center

Details: This family-friendly event includes egg hunts, a baby goat petting zoo, arts & crafts, face painting, vendors, games, and photos with the Easter Bunny.

Wright-Patt AFB & Fairborn Chamber Community Easter Egg Hunt

Date: Sunday, April 20, 2025

Location: Central Park

Details: A community egg hunt featuring 10,000 eggs filled with candy and surprises. Open to the public.

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I think a lot of us wear new clothes at Easter or at least have fun dressing up our kids or grandkids in brand new Easter outfits. But have you wondered why we wear new clothes for Easter? It is a long-standing tradition that goes clear back to the early Christians. It is believed that people wore white linen to identify with the resurrection of Christ. It’s easy to see how it can symbolize purity and the leaving behind of the dark, sinful past, looking ahead to a heavenly future made possible through Christ’s death and resurrection where our sins are washed “white as snow.”

In the early years of the fourth century, Emperor Constantine was responsible for setting a fixed date for the celebration of Easter. Before that, the dating of Easter was disputed and observed at different times of the year throughout the Roman world. Easter was an important holiday to Constantine, and he believed that such a sacred day should not be a cause of division but should be celebrated by all at the same time. Furthermore, Constantine is said to have required his court to wear all new clothes on Easter, and over time, wearing new clothes on Easter came to symbolize, for all Christians, the newness of life given to us by Christ.

Sometimes, the meaning may get lost in the pageantry. Irving Berlin’s famous “Easter Parade” song was inspired by churchgoers in New York City after the Civil War. People in their Sunday best would all leave the many churches that lined 5^th Avenue and walk down the street to dine, visit others, or just go for a stroll. This stroll was especially popular on Easter Sunday when dressmakers would actually sit on the street to sketch the latest fashions and reproduce them for stores soon after.

While those people most likely had forgotten the meaning behind new coats and dresses, I found it sad to read that the interest in the Easter Parade has died not because of an awareness of consumerism and pride, but because of a lack of interest in religion at all. So don’t let clothes, new or not, keep you from joining with others to celebrate the most important day of the year. New clothes can express our joy on Easter Sunday, but a new heart proclaims it every day of the year.

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