Momma of Big Kids, Keep Your Easter Traditions

(Inside: Momma of Big Kids, keep your Easter traditions. They provide comfort to our kids throughout the years. These three traditions our family loves.)

Moms of Big Kids, keep your easter traditions.

As our children grow, they give our kids comfort. 

The tween to young adult years holds so many changes for our big kids: responsibilities increase, peer pressure gets tricky, relationships can be heavy, the bombardment of messages received from society is hard to filter, direction sometimes overwhelms, and our kids’ bodies are continually transforming. On top of that, the front part of the brain (emotions) is overdeveloped and the back part (logic) is still growing, so a healthy perspective can be hard to find.

Our traditions provide a constant in an ever-changing life season.

I was raised in a military family. We moved like clockwork, living in places like Iceland and Korea. So many changes for such a young person. And when I look back, what helped me thrive was my stable home life. No matter where we lived, I could always count on getting to choose dinner on my birthday, our summer trip to Colorado Springs to visit my grandparents, and dressing up and going to church on Easter morning. 

So, momma, keep your traditions. As our kids grow, keep them. Even if they roll their eyes, and we have to make them mandatory fun, they provide stability in our kids’ lives.

But family traditions don’t just provide security in the lives of our kids, they also remind moms to pause hectic life and put some of the things we value as priorities.

They provide nourishment for parents, as well.

Here’s what I mean… 

Easter traditions nourish parents by reminding us to take family photos.

Moms of tweens and teens feel with every bone in their bodies how fast time goes. So, our family has always had the tradition of taking family pictures on Easter mornings.

Except, here’s where I have kept my sanity in this process. I have waaaaay lowered my expectations.

Like moved the bar down, then moved it down one more notch.

On the way to church, when we’re already dressed up, we stop somewhere pretty (lake or pretty trail) or trendy (fun building, downtown area) and snap pictures of each other. Sometimes we get fancy and I have a friend meet me there so the whole family can be in a shot. We spend about twenty minutes. What we get, we get. There are always a few photos I love. I pre-decide I’m not going to be super picky and stress myself out when it doesn’t go my way. 

Then, there are so many great filters on our phones and free editing software on our computers. I love playing with that to make our photos look a little more artsy and professional. 

Everyone in our family enjoys the photos, to look back on, to post, whatever.  I love that Easter reminds us to stop and take pictures.

Easter nourishes parents by creating activities that help us laugh and connect as families.

My friend with young adult children put together an Easter scavenger hunt for her big kids. One son even brought his girlfriend home, and they celebrated Easter by going through clues to get their Easter treats

Over sandwiches and salad, she told us how much fun it was. She underestimated how such a simple childlike thing would connect the family as they laughed and talked as they figured out the clues. 

So, I took a page out of her playbook and put together an Easter scavenger hunt for my three sons. (Two are in high school and one in middle school.) I’m going to have them go through their clues and find their Easter basket, then hunt for plastic eggs with candy in them. I think they’ll enjoy it. 

Easter nourishes parents by reminding us to talk about faith as a family.

One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was their faith. I genuinely believe that God is good, is for us, and loves us deeply. I believe he walks every day with us and is intricately in tune with the daily happenings of our lives.

Y’all. That has been a game-changer to my peace and happiness as I walk through life.

I want to share that faith with my kids, and I like that holidays reminds me to do that.

These conversation starters have 100+ faith-filled questions to talk about. 
Download them here.

So, momma of big kids, keep your family traditions.

For your kids.

For you.

Just enjoy the holidays. 

Read more in the Easter Traditions series…

Easter Basket Stuffers That Your Tweens and Teens Will Love
The Powerful Lesson I Learned About Perfectionism in Moms Through Easter

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