Easter Question for the Non-religious Families

We have the Easter bonnet parade through town. My children love making Easter hats and decorations.

most cultural easter traditions AREN'T religious. for me the big deal is the spring equinox, but we've always enjoyed the social and cultural aspects of easter. dyeing eggs went on until the boys moved out (and if they're home for easter weekend they still do it with me.) easter egg hunts of course!
they always got things like kites in their baskets, as well as seeds and little garden tools, and they had their own sections in the garden beds. if it's too cold for them to plant their seeds, get them some pots to start in.
and if you're so inclined you could share some cross-cultural spring myths like persephone, idunn, brigid, fairyspotting and so forth.
i've got over a hundred plastic eggs hanging from trees. i'm VERY ready for some spring blossoms to decorate the trees along with 'em.
:) khairete
S.

We usually do spring-oriented things, along with the traditional "Easter" things- egg hunt, dinner, Easter basket with spring-themed and outdoor toys. We also tend to either go on a short hike or walk the Greenway and look for ducklings (which we have found every year since my dd was born...) then get some ice cream. :)

The funny thing is that you are looking for non-religious ways to celebrate Easter, yet Easter originally wasn't a "religious" holiday. It (like Christmas...) was hijacked and re-branded as a way to merge the local traditions with Christian views when they started moving into the new world. Originally, (depending on which culture you draw from...) it was a festival to celebrate Oester (pronounced the same as Easter... She is the Goddess of Fertility...) and the spring equinox. It was a celebration of new life and the return of the sun.

We always have an easter egg hunt. When we lived in Alaska we would get together with many of our friends. The kids would all dress up. It was a potluck brunch so we all brought delicious foods to eat. We would hold an easter egg hunt in the snow. You could do it on cross-country skis or snowshoes. Each color was worth a certain number of points but the white egg was worth 100 points! Everyone got bunny ears and at the end we tallied up the points. Then we had a bunch of little silly prizes to give out. Then we would all eat and hang out together.

We do an egg hunt, hike or mini golf & picnic lunch.
But in nclement weather you could:
-do an indoor egg hunt
-go for a mini walk around the house in warm clothes/boots to end at
your house w/hot cocoa, rabbit marshmellows & a fire
-do an indoor scavenger hunt
-do indoor games like a carnival
-blow up balloons w/little treats inside for them to pop
-have an easter bunny drawing/coloring contest
-have them help you bake cookies for Easter. They get to decorate them.
-Take eggs, blow out the yolk, hv them decorate & put in tiny Mason jars
-Have a pinata (can do in garage)
-do you have a firepit? Make smores.

We went on a nature walk last weekend. Wear boots. DS looked for new signs of spring and nature things (seeds, sticks, feathers, etc) to collect.

We love Easter - after our winter, we use it to celebrate spring (all I can see is snow out my windows) :)

We decorate the house - every year we make crafts (bunny banner this year, cotton balls for tails) and so it's added up over the years.

We pick tulips, etc. at grocery store to put on table and kids arrange chicks for centerpiece.

Older kids dye eggs, younger ones 'help out' and they usually make eggs (just not real ones). One year we made eggs to look like us (googly eyes, yarn, etc.). One year we died them with tea (nice brown) and stuck cotton balls on them (our sheep family). We've kept them all - they go on mantle. Kids love seeing them again year after year.

We are into baking and food so we add every year a new cupcake or cookie recipe to our list. My older ones sort of take the lead on this. The younger ones decorate. We do some with icing - they younger ones pipe it on (huge mess) but that's their thing :)

Our friends do an Easter party kids go to - bingo, egg races, etc.

We do an egg Scavenger hunt (to find the eggs Easter morning). Older kids are now the ones to come up with the clues - very fun. The younger ones love this - and gives us old people a chance to have our coffee and sit back while they all run around.

Happy Easter :)

We still dye eggs. All of mine are teens and older, but we still hold on to that tradition :) And the goofier the decorating kit, the better ;)

Build large snow balls and use food dye in spray bottles to decorate them like Easter eggs.

Decorate pots and plant flowers for the window or try your hand at seeds in the pots. Or have them make flowers out of paper or "stained glass" out of tissue paper.

We went to a large community egg hunt at a church, but a lot of local farms also have a "bunny patch" or egg hunt of their own. We've done those, too. Last year we "hunted" for peeps and did the tractor ride and all that.

Even if you aren't religious you would be welcome at most churches for Easter morning service. Most churches will have fantastic music and special fun activities for the kids. Our church does an Easter breakfast before the service and after the service we go home to do our egg hunt and then we go to the zoo.