Christ-Centered Easter Baskets

31

March 21, 2013 by FHElessons

Note:  New basket filler ideas with corresponding scripture eggs have been added at the end of the post.

Easter is one of those holidays that is supposed to be all about Jesus Christ but frequently ends up being about candy and gifts.  I would love to be able to spend Easter weekend immersed in glorious remembrance of and gratitude for Jesus’ Atonement and Resurrection.  And, as a mother,  I would love to be able to convey that beautiful Spirit to my children – to teach them the true reason that we celebrate Easter, to help them develop a testimony of Jesus Christ and love Him for the gifts He has given us.  That would be the ideal, wouldn’t it?  No baskets or chicks or bunnies, just worship of our Savior!

But then there’s the problem of how much kids enjoy Easter baskets and egg hunts and the Easter bunny.  When I was a kid, I remember being so excited about Easter that I couldn’t sleep the night before.  So, I didn’t want my kids to miss out on the fun or hate Easter because all their friends got Easter baskets and they didn’t.  And, to tell the truth, I never even considered forgoing secular Easter celebrations when my kids were little.  I enjoyed preparing baskets, dying eggs, and taking pictures of them in their new Easter clothes.

Now that 3 of my 4 kids are in college, I still make Easter baskets for them every year.  (In fact, my own mother still makes an Easter basket for me as well!)  But, I have been thinking more and more about how to put the focus of our Easter celebrations back where it is supposed to be.  One thing we have done for a number of years to help remind us of the reason for the season is our Passover Inspired Easter dinner which consists of foods that symbolize Christ and the Easter story.  You can read about it HERE.  If done right, it should generate a discussion of the true meaning of Easter as you sit around your dinner table.

What else could we do?  Fortunately, my sister recently did a round-up on her blog (RemarkableHome.net) of Easter ideas that put the focus on Jesus Christ!  Wasn’t that awesome of her to round up so many ideas?  If you’re interested, you can find it HERE.  One of those ideas was THIS Christ-centered Easter basket.  To make this basket, Detail Oriented Diva created a tag for each toy or gift with a cute little saying such as “Thirst after Jesus” (for a water bottle) or “Clothe Yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ” (for the Easter dress).  I loved the idea of an Easter basket where all the gifts remind the recipient about Jesus.  What a simple way to steer the focus of the holiday back to Christ!

I decided to make that idea happen for my Easter baskets this year.  Since I already had several things purchased, I had to be a little bit creative to add a meaning to some of the things I already had.  I also wanted my tags to include a full scripture, preferably one that was specifically related to or part of the Easter story.  I’m hoping that as my kids remove each item from their basket, they will read the scripture that is attached and thus read most of the Easter story as they open their basket.  At least the scriptures attached to their gifts will remind them of Christ and of why we are celebrating this day.

If you would like to make Christ-centered Easter baskets this year, you’re welcome to use my ideas.  I’ve even made you free printables to make it easy!

Instructions for Printable Scripture Eggs:

• Click on the page of eggs to open the image.
• Right click on the image and select “Save Picture As” to save it to your computer.
• Print each page on colored cardstock so that you will have an array of colored paper eggs in your basket.  There are usually 6 eggs per page, so printing one sheet will allow you to make 6 identical baskets.
• Cut out the scripture eggs, attach one to its corresponding item, and place in Easter basket.

 

 

Here are the things I included:

Plastic Eggs

I always throw a few plastic eggs filled with treats into my baskets.  The egg has long been a symbol of Easter because breaking open the egg symbolizes Christ breaking the bands of death.  The empty shell of the egg can also remind us of the empty tomb that remained after Christ’s resurrection.  I wanted to include two scriptures to remind my kids of both concepts:

Matthew 28:6 – He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Mosiah 15:8-9 – And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death.

 

Click on the image below to download it:

 

Chocolate Eggs

Another reason the egg is a symbol of Easter is to remind us of new life.  Because of Christ’s resurrection, we all can have a new life after death.

Romans 6:4 – Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

Chocolate Lamb

These little lambs are made by Lindt, and they were perfect for this scripture from the Book of Mormon:

1 Nephi 11:32-33 – And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.  And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

 

Music

For my son who is a missionary, I included some new CDs of church music.  For my daughter who loves to sing and is learning to play the piano, I included a book of sheet music.  For this gift, I couldn’t decided between two different scriptures, so there are 2 choices:

1 Corinthians 13:1 – Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

D&C 136:28 – If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

OK – so neither of these has anything to do with the Easter story.  But I already had these gifts, so I had to find a scripture to go with them!

 

Chocolate Fish

I had already purchased these chocolate fish, just because I thought they would be funny instead of a chocolate bunny.  But, of course, they fit in perfectly as a symbol of Jesus!  You could also use Swedish Fish or any other fish shaped candy or gift.  Here’s the scripture:

Matthew 4:19 – And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

 

Peach Rings

My missionary son has a companion who loves peach rings, so I decided to include them in his basket.  For this scripture, you could use any fruit flavored or fruit shaped candy or you could even use some delicious fresh fruit.  One year my mom put mangoes in my basket, and I loved it!  Dried fruit would be another good option.

1 Nephi 8:10-12 – And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.  And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted.  Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.  And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit….And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!  Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?  And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

Since this scripture was so long, I could only fit 2 eggs per page, so you’ll have to print more if you have more than 2 baskets to put together.

 

Jelly Belly Candies

I always like to include jelly beans in my Easter baskets, and the best tasting jelly beans are made by Jelly Belly!  For this scripture, I used the “belly” portion of the candy name to go with a scripture about how Christ will spend 3 days in the tomb just as Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of the whale.  Jesus gives this scripture when the Pharisees ask Him to give them a sign.

Matthew 12:40 – For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 

Spices

My college-aged kids appreciate any gift that they would otherwise have to buy for themselves, so I included a jar of spices in their baskets.  You could also use any kind of spicy snack (garlic pretzels, spicy chips, chili mangoes, etc).

Mark 16:1-6 – AND when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.  And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.  And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?  And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.  And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.  And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

 

Popcorn

I had already purchased these cute popcorn cones at Costco, so I had to find a scripture to go with them.  You could use any kind of popcorn (bags of already popped kettle corn, pouches of microwave popcorn, Cracker Jacks, etc) for this gift.

John 12:23-27 – And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?  Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

 

Breadsticks

Have you ever had these little packs of Nutella and breadsticks?  They are so yummy!  I was trying to get my baskets made ahead of time, so I needed food that wouldn’t spoil, but if you were making your baskets the night before Easter, you could use some fresh bread in place of the breadsticks.  I saw some packages of Naan at the grocery store that looked good that I would have liked to have used.  You could also just get a pack of seasoned breadsticks if you wanted something less sugary.

John 21:12-14 – Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.  And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou?  knowing that it was the Lord.  Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.  This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

 

Hair Accessories

What I actually put in my daughter’s basket was the chalk pastels you see below with some instructions on how to do hair chalking.  She loves to color her hair and dress in colorful and different ways, so I know she’ll love the idea of chalking her hair, but you could use any kind of hair ornament, hair bands, or hair accessories for this gift.  For boys you could even use hair gel or a hair dryer.

I couldn’t decide between 2 scriptures for this gift either, so I used both of them.  I liked this one because it was about the Easter story:

John 12:3-7 – Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.  Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,  Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?  This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.  Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.

And I thought my daughter would like this one because it describes how much God loves us:

Matthew 10:29-31 – Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?  and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

 

In case you missed it above, here are the instructions again:

• Click on the page of eggs to open the image.
• Right click on the image and select “Save Picture As” to save it to your computer.
• Print each page on colored cardstock so that you will have an array of colored paper eggs in your basket.  There are usually 6 eggs per page, so printing one sheet will allow you to make 6 identical baskets.
• Cut out the scripture eggs, attach one to its corresponding item, and place in Easter basket.

I hope your kids, whether young or old, enjoy your Christ-centered Easter baskets this year.  Actually, my sisters and I go in together to create Easter baskets for our parents every year as well, so you could use this idea to create baskets for anyone of any age.  If you would like to find your own scriptures to go with whatever gifts you have chosen for your baskets, here is a printable of blank eggs.  Just print it out and write in the scriptures by hand.

May your Easter be filled with remembrance of Jesus Christ and with gratitude for His gifts to us of the Atonement and the Resurrection!  Without His sacrifice, we would be unable to return again to live with our Heavenly Father.  But because of Him, we can live again, be with our families eternally, and live with the God we love.  Happy, Happy Easter!

Want to read more?  Check out this article in this month’s Ensign on different Easter traditions that focus on the Savior: Christ Centered Easter Traditions.

 

Need more ideas for basket fillers?  My awesome sister who blogs over at Remarkable Home has created a few more for you:

Here’s another option to use with money.  It’s not a comforting scripture like the one above, but it is from the Easter story:

Another one of my sisters called this morning to suggest a scripture to go with chick shaped peeps (or any chick shaped candy).  I did the eggs two ways.  The first scripture is from the Bible, and I’m pretty sure Christ said it during Passion week, which makes it an Easter scripture in my mind.  However, it’s not a very happy scripture.  So the second one is from the Book of Mormon and has a happier message. 

 

And one more: I used this one with beach towels, but you could use it with any item made of cloth.

 

Also, as requested by one commenter, I have combined the scripture eggs so that there is just one of each per page.  If you are making just 1 basket or if you don’t have any colored cardstock and don’t mind using your colored printer ink, you can print the pages below in place of the black and white ones above.  Enjoy!