Our Favorite Non-candy Easter Egg Fillers

Our Favorite Non-candy Easter Egg Fillers

by | Mar 15, 2026 | Craft Tutorials

We have a tradition of hosting a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. We like to fill at least half of the eggs with non-candy treats, so over the years we have gathered lots of ideas. In this post, we share our favorites with you, plus some tips for hosting an Easter egg hunt.

Wishing you a blessed and joy-filled Easter!

Flower seeds

Flower seeds

My favorite Easter egg hunt tradition is placing tiny bags filled with flower seeds in the Easter eggs. It’s such a fun way to welcome in the spring and summer seasons! We wanted to share our wildflower seeds printable with you – it’s free, just subscribe in the form below. The printable has an image of wildflowers on one side and directions for planting seeds on the other. We have used these tiny bags (1.5″x2″).

Tips for preparing the seed bags:

1. Print the flower seed directions (use the sign-up form below if this link does not work) and cut them with a paper cutter or scissors. 

2. Pour the wildflower seeds into a dish.

3. Fold papers and insert them into bags so that directions are visible on one side and the flower image visible on the other.

4. Place a spoonful of seeds into each bag, seal the bag, and place the bag in an Easter egg.

Mini puzzle pieces

Mini puzzle pieces

For the first time last year, we added puzzle pieces to our Easter egg hunt. I was not sure how it would go, but to my pleasant surprise it was a hit! (And all of the eggs with the puzzle pieces were found.)

Here’s what we did:

We placed the mini puzzle pieces in golden eggs. We announced at the beginning of the hunt that if children found golden eggs, they should bring them to a table that we had set out just for the purpose of making the puzzle.

Once all the eggs were found, children could choose to work on the puzzle during our Easter gathering. The child who put in the last piece of the puzzle got to take the puzzle home. 

Tip: Be sure the puzzle pieces are small enough to fit in the eggs you choose. We found the sweet Easter puzzle pictured here from the Shining Light Dolls shop, but another good option with small pieces is a mini bunny puzzle from Mud Puppy.  

More Non-Candy Easter Egg Filler Ideas…

Please note that the links provided in this post might be for an item similar to the one pictured, rather than the exact item.

Finger puppets

We found these fun Easter story finger puppets last year. (These needed to be folded and put into larger Easter eggs.) In the past, we have also used cute little animal finger puppets.

Little "Lego" sets

Little “Lego” sets are so fun to take home to build.

Mini balls

Tiny balls are a fun treat to find.

Wind-up cars

Mini wind-up toys, like toy cars fit nicely inside of eggs.

Mini hair clips or barrets

Girls love to find new hair accessories in their Easter eggs. (If boys find them, they can always make a trade.)

Little critters

Similar to what you might find in a Hatchimal, or just hiding Hatchimals in their own eggs works too.

Parachute bunny

We found parachute bunnies for the first time last year. So fun!

Squishy eggs

Great sensory toy.

Temporary tattoo

Some children enjoy temporary tattoos – we found some with an Easter theme.

Glow in the dark stars

Children can take these stars home and hang them in their room. (You may want to announce at the beginning of the hunt that there will be glow in the dark stars – just in case children don’t know what they are for.)

Stickers

We love to have stickers with messages about God’s love and Easter joy. The stickers shown in this image are from Amazon, but if you are looking for extra special stickers, I would suggest Marigold Catholic Goods and Just Love Prints. 

Coins

This idea is thanks to one of the neighborhood children who asked, “Will there be money in the eggs?” We have not done this yet, but what a fun and simple idea.

Fruit gummies

Not candy, but still a sweet treat. Annie’s Bunny gummies are a favorite.

As I started to write this post, I thought we had 15 ideas, but as I wrote, I thought of a few more ideas we have used that kids love:

Mochi squishies

Cute animal erasers (that can come apart)

Erasers with Easter messages

 

Also, if you are looking for candy treats that are at least all natural (though, we can’t call them healthy), we often get our candy from Natural Candy Store. They also have allergy-friendly options.

Another tradition we love is to hand the children mini bubble wands as they arrive at the hunt. This way they have something to do as we wait for everyone to arrive and for the hunt to start.

We like to include all of the neighbors in the Easter celebration, whether or not they have young children, so we serve drinks and refreshments after the egg hunt. Friends often bring something to share as well.

We also have a craft table for children who want a calm activity to do after the hunt. Perhaps we’ll make a post in the future about some of the crafts we’ve done over the years. Last year we made paper eggs with dried flowers (we had to do this activity inside so that the flowers did not blow away).

Sometimes we’ve done Easter-themed activities (like sack races and egg and spoon races), but children just enjoy running around and making their own games, too.

This makes for a relaxing and joyful way to celebrate Easter together.

Happy Easter from Sparkles and Sprinkles!

For our daughters’ Easter baskets last year, we found these lovely cards from Just Love Prints… a sweet message from Jesus.

Finding Easter basket treats from artists like Just Love Prints and Marigold Catholic Goods adds a really special touch to Easter surprises. These companies both have beautifully designed faith-filled stickers, cards, and other items that fit so nicely in Easter baskets. I highly recommend visiting these shops for very meaningful Easter treats!

You might also enjoy…

Paper Egg Craft

Gluten-Free Easter Cookies

easter garland

Easter Hymn Garland

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Many Ways to Multiply: Math Curricula We Love

Many Ways to Multiply: Math Curricula We Love

by | Feb 15, 2026 | Craft Tutorials

I distinctly remember sitting in my high school calculus class, and after the teacher explained a concept, a foreign exchange student in the class raised her hand and said, “That’s not how we do that in my country.” I remember being surprised by her comment. It was the first time it occurred to me that math might be taught in different ways in different places.
Homeschooling my children has continued to open my eyes to the many ways that math can be taught.

Having homeschooled for over a decade now, we’ve tried a number of math programs. In this post, we share with you some of the math programs we love. There are so many different ways to learn math, so we find that different curricula have been best for certain children and for certain times in family life. From spiral learning to online programs, from learning through stories to learning through crafts, here are some of the math programs we have used and loved… As there are so many concepts to learn in math, we’ll focus here especially on how each program teaches multiplication, to give a taste of the whole program. (And if you scroll to the bottom, we’ll go beyond multiplying and let you know our top pick for when children get to middle and high school.)

I give the “plusses and minuses” of each program, but please note, we love all of these programs, so there are not really “minuses” of any. Consider the “minuses” to be the challenges we found; however, what we found challenging might be perfect for others.

 

Math by Hand (creative math learning)

The picture below shows a multiplication chart we made when our oldest daughter was doing Math by Hand in 1st grade. This might be the biggest multiplication chart you’ve ever seen – yes, the ruler is in the picture to show it’s 36 inches by 36 inches! This chart hung on wall in our house for many years. What a great way to have a BIG reminder of the multiplication facts! The program came with this very large sheet of paper and directions for how to fold it to make the chart. The child actually fills in all of the numbers with crayon.

The plusses:

Math by Hand is so much fun, and a wonderful curriculum for families who love to be creative! When we used Math by Hand, we found ourselves learning finger weaving, putting on plays (about math characters!), making books about math, drawing pictures, reading stories, and having a wonderful time learning math together.

The minuses:

I found that Math by Hand could practically become our whole curriculum. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but as Math by Hand is such a rich curriculum, I felt that we did not have time to do the whole program, plus do all of the other subjects as the children got older.

Life of Fred (math through stories)

Life of Fred teaches multiplication through the main character, Fred, teaching his students. The program encourages students to create their own multiplication flashcards. Life of Fred makes memorizing the multiplication facts a bit less overwhelming, as it pairs down the facts that actually have to be learned and takes out the repeats (see image below).

The plusses:

Life of Fred is a very unique program. It is a joy to sit down and do math together, as each lesson is woven into the story of the main character, Fred (a very likeable 5-year-old university professor… yes, I said it was unique). As Fred teaches math to his students, and goes about his (very) adventurous daily life, math lessons are learned in the context of the story. I love how this gives children something to anchor their learning to (not just doing a math problem, but seeing the math problems in a “real” situation). My children were excited to do math every day when we used Life of Fred because they could not wait to find out what happened next in the story! Another plus is that even pre-school-age children look forward to listening to the stories in their big sibling’s math lessons.

The minuses:

Life of Fred does not like the idea of what it calls, “drill and kill.” However, extra practice problems might need to be added by the parent if the child seems to need some repetition. (Upper grade levels in the series do offer supplemental books of extra practice problems.)

CTC (online)

CTC is an oline program that children can use (mostly) on their own. Multiplication is taught with visuals (see images below). The program also offers online multiplication quiz games: “Speed skills” and “Times table shoot ’em up.”

The plusses:

In a season in life when we had a baby and older children, CTC was so helpful! CTC math is completely online. Short videos explain the math concepts, then children complete the math problems. The problems are instantly corrected with feedback given online. Record are kept of all of the scores and course progress automatically in a simple online system.

The minuses:

While having everything instantly corrected and records kept online is very helpful, we found the drawback of this system is that if the child gets stuck on a problem and the parent is not available to help at that time, the child either has to stop, or just move on without getting help. For some of my children, this was very frustrating. This is not a fault of the program, it’s just the nature of everything being online – it’s not possible just to circle the problem in the book and move on to the next one and ask for help later.

The Good and the Beautiful (spiral learning)

The Good and the Beautiful math program is true to its name. What more beautiful way to learn multiplication tables than with a lovely and image for each multiplication fact! The booklets are accompanied by peaceful songs to teach the multiplication facts, too.

The Musical Multiplication booklets and songs come seperately from the grade level math programs. I was so delighted when I first opened up one of the grade level books… the books are truly beautiful. Filled with lovely watercolor illustrations to accompany the math problems. Just like the beautiful songs, the beautiful books don’t make math learning a breeze every day, but opening up a beautiful book is certainly a lovely way to be greeted by math problems each day.

The plusses:

  • It’s beautiful! What a delight to be able to open up a math book each day and be greeted by lessons with lovely illustrations!
  • This is a spiral learning program. What is spiral learning? Rather than simply doing a long unit on shapes, for example, and then moving to the next concept, concepts are introduced and then circled back to in future lessons, spaced out throughout the book.
  • For the upper grades there are video lessons that introduce each new concept to the child. The teachers in the videos are cheerful and excited about math. They often use visuals in the lessons as well.
  • There are 120 lessons in each book. For us this works really nicely, as we tend to do “book lessons” 4 days a week and then go to our homeschool group on the 5th day. We put about 120 days (with a few extra) of “book lesson” days on our school year calendar.
  • My 5th grader just mentioned the other day that she also likes that the answer key shows mini images of the question pages, so it is easier to correct the work.

The minuses:

We find that in the upper grades (beginning in 5th grade or so) there are too many problems to fit into what we think is a reasonable amount of time to work on math each day. I find myself either telling my children to only do some of the problems, or they take two days for one lesson. I wish that the problems were arranged in such a way that there were “mandatory problems” and “if you need more practice problems.” I explain to my children that when I was in school, I remember the teacher sometimes assigning “just the even number problems” if there were too many in one lesson. They get frustrated and feel like they are not completing the lesson when I have them do just some of the problems, and yet doing all of the problems makes them frustrated because it takes too long. So my suggestion would be to have a talk with your child about what is expected (that they might not have to do every problem, and that’s okay). Or perhaps set a timer for the amount of time that math is in the schedule and just do the number of problems that fit in that time (this might mean taking more than one day on each lesson).

 

Climbing Higher (middle school and high school math)

We are just beginning the journey into high school level homeschool math, and we are so grateful to have found the Climbing Higher Math program. This program is taught by wonderful homeschool moms who explain math in a beautiful way! For Algebra I, they use the book, Elementary Algebra by Harold R. Jacobs. I love this book… It reminds me of the books I used when I was growing up (in a good way!). It is simple and straightforward, while also encouraging students to really think about and understand the “why” behind the math they are learning.

Climbing Higher Math offers live classes, asynchronous classes, and self-paced classes. This variety allows for families to choose what is best for their children and family schedule.

I find that choosing a math curriculum is about so many things: the child, the parent, and the whole family. We love all of these math programs. The fact that we have moved from one to another just means that our life circumstances changed, so we looked for new math programs that suited each child at the time.

Praying for you as you and your children learn math together!

This post is dedicated to my dad. Though I was not homeschooled, I always say, “My dad was my math teacher.” I often did not understand what the math teachers were explaining in school, but I always knew I could come home and ask Dad. He joyfully explained math to me in a way that clicked. Thank you, Dad, for your help back when I was in school. Your example helps me as I teach my children today.

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

12 Days of Christmas Garland

12 Days of Christmas Garland

by | Dec 22, 2025 | Craft Tutorials

Many years ago, though I remember it like it was yesterday, I was teaching an English class for middle school students in France. Around Christmas time, I thought it might be nice to teach the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The students really enjoyed learning the song, though I think they wondered about the very unique gifts in the song (I don’t think we talked much about the rich symbolism in the song).
Inspired by this memory, I decided to create two different 12 Days of Christmas garlands this year. One has “The 12 Days of Christmas” translated into French. The other lists the symbolism of each of the 12 gifts. The printable garlands are available in our Etsy shop.
“The 12 Days of Christmas” is, of course, a very English song (however, it may actually have French origins). But why learn the words to an English song in French? Studies show that knowledge of vocabulary in learning a second language is very beneficial for enhancing comprehension, fluency, and confidence. Plus, having knowledge of new words in a second language is fun. We hope learning vocabulary in French for words we are so familiar with in English will add a little extra joy in this joyful season! (You can learn the pronunciation of the French words with our short YouTube video. Please note that the translation is for the sake of learning vocabulary in French, but the translation does not fit into the melody of the song.)
The garland with the symbolism of the gifts is in English. I often forget the meaning of the symbolism of the gifts, and if you are like me, you might enjoy this festive little reminder too. While celebrating the 12 days, starting on December 25th, you might also enjoy the ideas suggested in this article about the “12 Days of Christmas” song from dynamiccatholic.com.  
The printable garlands are available in our Etsy shop. Simply print and cut out the cards, then hang them, using mini clothespins. If you like, you can face them all forward right away, or you can turn them over one-by-one on each of the 12 days of Christmas

Joyeux Noël! Merry Christmas!

Bon Voyage: Passport to the Francophone World

Bon Voyage: Passport to the Francophone World

by | Jun 16, 2025 | Craft Tutorials

Ready to take an imaginary trip around the French-speaking world? Our printable francophone world passport adds joy to the journey!

We suggest some possible ways to use the passport (but your own inspiration is totally okay too!). See our video for a preview of how to use the passport. The printable passport is available on Etsy.

FRENCH CLASSROOMS: If you have a classroom of students, students could be divided into groups and each group assigned a French-speaking country to research. Each group could then present their research to the class. When the presentations happen, the presenters could have the audience pretend to go through customs and “stamp” the passports (with our printable stickers that come with the passport printable) as they begin their presentation. Then the audience could take notes on the presentations in the appropriate passport pages.

HOMESCHOOLERS: If you are a homeschooling family (or a family who just loves to learn together), we suggest (see below) a Charlotte Mason-style feast of books that you can enjoy for 5 different countries in the French-speaking world. Before you begin each country, give your children time to write what they know and what they wonder about the country. Then give your child a passport “stamp” (stickers that come with the passport printable). As you read the books, children can narrate (with drawings or writing) some of the things they remember from the books in the “What I learned” page for each country. You can read as many (or as few) books as you like, and go at your own pace. Enjoy the journey!

FOR EVERYONE: To make your journey even sweeter, consider making a food from each country too. We suggest one food idea for each country. Movies could also add a lot of fun to the imaginary trip. I hesitate to suggest movies, but I am including some. Please do your own research to see if the movies are appropriate for your children before you show them.

Below is our suggested list of books, movies, and foods (with links). Bon voyage!

La France

There are so many lovely books about France, we found it hard to narrow down our suggestions. If you have other favorites, please use those as well. The books we chose have a Paris focus, while the movie takes place in the south of France. (Please use the links to find out more about the books, food, and movies.)

Non-fiction overview book:

France (Enchantment of the World series by Scholastic)

Picture books:

Madeline

The Girl and the Cathedral: The Story of Notre-Dame de Paris

Kiki and Coco in Paris

The Red Balloon

Novels:

The Family Under the Bridge A heart-warming story about caring for others that also gives a window into the scenery of Paris.

Family Sabbatical   This book is laugh-out-loud hilarious! So much fun as a read aloud!

Food:

Crepes

Movie:

My Father’s Glory   One of my favorite movies, as I spent some of my college days in the south of France. The landscape is beautiful, and the story is endearing as well.

Le Canada (Québec)

 Our family has had the opportunity to travel to Quebec in the lovely summer months, but it’s probably no surprise that there are a number of picture books about Quebec in the winter months. (Please use the links to find out more about the books, food, and movies.)

Non-fiction overview book:

Canada (Enchantment of the World series from Scholastic)

Picture books:

F is for French: A Quebec Alphabet

The Sugaring-off Party

The Hockey Sweater

The Lion and the Bird  – This book is by a Quebecois author and tells the story of a lion who hosts an injured bird over the winter. Of course you would want to mention that lions don’t live in Quebec, but this books is so lovely, I had to include it in the list. (Our family has this book in French… it’s a great story for children learning French, as there are very few words.)

Novel:

Shadows on the Rock  – This book really brings to life Quebec in its early days. I’ve read it and listened to it more than once, and I would read it again!

Food:

Maple Syrup Taffy

Movies:

Blizzard  This movie uses Quebec City as the setting for the North Pole.

 

Le Sénégal (and other Francophone African countries)

Some of the books suggested here are for countries in French-speaking Africa, in addition to Senegal. (Please use the links to find out more about the books, food, and movies.) The novels we suggest here are quite intense, so please preview them to see if they appropriate for your family. 

Non-fiction overview book: 

Senegal (Enchantment of the World series by Scholastic)

Picture books: 

The Red Bicycle   My daughter was inspired to donate her bike to Bikes for the World after reading this sweet and inspiring story!

The Water Princess  We have free printable activities to accompany this story. Find them here.

Senegal: On the Way to School

Novels:

One Shadow on the Wall This novel has a sad beginning (parents dying) and tells the story of many difficulties faced by children in Senegal. The overarching message of the book is the love of family and community. However, parents should read this book before deciding if it might be appropriate for their older children (not appropriate for younger children). This book could provide an opportunity for great discussions on morals and facing difficult situations.

The Bitter Side of Sweet This novel, about slavery in cocoa production, tells a very important story. However, the violence is graphic and intense (I found I had to skim some parts), so it is definitely not a book for young children. Parents should read it before possibly considering sharing it with teens.

Food:

Chicken Yassa

Movie:

Kirikou – Back in my days as an au-pair in Paris, the kids were singing the song from this movie and it still rings in my head, “Kirikou n’est pas grand… mais c’est mon ami…” I have not watched the English version of the movie, but I imagine it still has catchy songs. The movie can be watched for free in French through archive.org.

 

La Polynésie française

Books that take place in French Polynesia seem to be hard to find, but hopefully these can provide a starting point. Some of the suggestions here are not specifically about French Polynesia, but Polynesian culture and geography in general. (Please use the links to find out more about the books, food, and movies.) If you are looking for books in French that take place in French Polynesia, we suggest looking for books at Lire en Polynésie .

Picture books:

Animals of Tahiti This book is simply contains photographs and names of animals in Tahiti, but my children said they enjoyed it.

The Swimmers: Paper cut-outs with Matisse  Matisse spent time in Tahiti, and his time there is said to have inspired the vibrant colors and shapes in his cut-outs. This book does not mention his time in Tahiti, but the reader could add in this information. The book gives directions for how to make cut-out art of your own.

The Brilliant Deep  This book is about the corals in Florida, but also about the need to save corals around the world. I am including it here, as there are beautiful corals surrounding Tahiti as well.

Novels:

Call it Courage  A Newberry Award classic. Be aware the story begins sadly with the death of the main character’s mom.

Treasure in Tahiti  This book is out of print, and we have not had the chance to read it, but we mention it as there are not many books about Tahiti available in English.

Food:

Tropical fruit inspired treats

Movie:

Moana or Moana 2  Animated Disney movies that show the island landscape of Polynesia.

 

La République d’Haïti

We found many sweet books about Haiti ! (Please use the links to find out more about the books, food, and movies.)

Non-fiction overview book:

Haiti (Enchantment of the World series by Scholastic)

Picture books:

Tap Tap

My Day with the Panye

Haiti: My Country

Freedom Soup

Novel:

Serafina’s Promise  This book is lovely and inspiring. It is written in the form of a long poem. Despite very difficult conditions, the story is full of faith and hope in the Lord. My girls (6 and 10) wanted me to keep reading it any time it was time to stop reading… “Just one more page, Mom?”

Food:

Soupe Joumou (Freedom Soup)

Movie:

Egalite for All: Toussaint L’ouverture and the Haitian Revolution  This in an informative documentary. I listened to it without watching it, as I can’t handle watching violence.

Ready to travel? You can find our Francophone World Passport in our Etsy shop. It’s an instant download, so you can print as many copies as you need for your family or your classes. Watch the videos below to learn how to assemble and use your passport. If the video images to not load, please use these links:

How to print and assemble the passport

How to use your passport to take an imaginary trip

 

Bon Voyage!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

A Hug from Mary

A Hug from Mary

by | May 29, 2025 | Craft Tutorials

The past few months I’ve been reading Catholic Mom Calm by Sterling Jaquith. In this lovely book, the author suggests many ways to come back to calm in stressful situations, such as breathing, taking a walk, praying, and listening to calming music.

A few weeks ago, I was blessed to learn an additional way to come back to calm: asking for a hug from Mama Mary. In this month of May, a month to celebrate Saint Mary and all moms, I am sharing with you a little reflection on how I came to learn this beautiful way to come back to calm.

A Hug from Mary

I often think that anything good I do in my mothering is by the grace of God and by the beautiful example of Saint Mary and of my own sweet mom. As a child, my mom was always there for me, holding my hand when I did not feel good, listening for hours as I told her about all my concerns, giving me a look of love and compassion.

Last week when my parents happened to be visiting, my little six-year-old had a very rough night. She tends to have difficulty sleeping, and she often wakes up with what could be called night tantrums. She is really asleep, but she is having a temper tantrum, and perhaps a bad dream, at the same time.

As this was going on for quite some time, my dear mom got out of bed and came upstairs to see if she could help. I said she could pray, but that was probably all. We seem to just have to wait this out, and my daughter eventually fully wakes up and calms down.

Of course, my mom was happy to pray, but she also gave me a loving hug and said, “This is hard for you.” I responded, “No, this is hard for her.” That is what I always think, because my daughter is the one going through this terrible night tantrum, and that must be hard. My mom continued to hug me and said again, “This is hard for you.”

And I started to cry. Yes, I guess it is hard for me. Outwardly, I stay pretty calm through these storms, but my mind is actually full of worries. It’s hard to get up multiple times a night and wonder how to face the next day so tired. It’s hard to have your child cry out “Mama! Mama!” but she tells you to get away because she is not really awake and does not realize you are there. It’s hard to try to console your child, but nothing seems to work. It’s hard to worry the rest of your family will be mad that they are woken up by the tantrum too, because you feel like it is your responsibility to calm things down. It’s hard to wait to see the answers to prayer.

Later that night, my daughter calmed down (as she always eventually does). Then, before going back to bed, we cuddled together on the couch. We began to look at a beautiful book my parents had given us. In the book, there is an image of Mary greeting Elizabeth. Mary’s hands are gently on Elizabeth’s shoulders and Mary is giving her a look of love and calm.

Seeing this image of Mary made me think, “Mary is always there for us to give us a hug.” I was blessed that night to have a hug from my own mom in the middle of the night. We moms need hugs from our mom, and acknowledgements that we might not like to admit, “This is hard for you.” Normally, though, our own mom is probably not there in the middle of the night to give us a hug and sweet, reassuring words.

But Mama Mary, the very best mom, is truly always there for us. We can ask her for a hug in hard times, and she will surely give us one, any time of day or night, along with a look of love.

Mama Mary, pray for us!

If bringing calm to your mothering is something you hope for too, Catholic Mom Calm is a wonderful read!

The book my daughter and I looked at that night also brings calm: Our Father: Our Prayer of Hope. This coffee table worthy book is filled with beautiful reflections and art, including Ghirlandaio’s painting, The Visitation.

You may also like…

blossoms

Hearing God's Voice with Children

blossoms

Blossoms on the Sidewalk: a reflection on creative messes

Parent-Child Special Time Planner

Thank you for stopping by sparklesandsprinkles.blog today.

May God bless you abundantly today and every day.

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Peg Dolls for Holy Week and the Easter Season

Peg Dolls for Holy Week and the Easter Season

by | May 28, 2025 | Craft Tutorials

A number of years ago our family painted a few peg dolls for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Last year, as we were having our Seder meal on Holy Thursday, I thought, “It would be wonderful to have peg dolls for the Last Supper.”

It took me a year to get around to figuring out what they should look like. I wanted each of the Apostles to have a symbol to signify who they are. There are many possible symbols for each Apostle seen in iconography, statues, and paintings. We chose symbols for each Apostle for their simplicity for children and their connection to something memorable in the Apostle’s life. (Scroll down for a free PDF guide.)

This Holy Thursday we worked together as a family (including grandparents!) to create the peg dolls for the Last Supper scene. While given a specific symbol for each apostle, everyone was encouraged to choose their own colors and styles for the apostles they chose to paint. For the table, we are just using a simple block of wood. Perhaps we’ll paint some food on the table next year? (The book pages shown behind the peg dolls is The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith.)

I’m so excited to share with you our ideas for the Last Supper peg dolls, but I’m even more excited to share another beautiful and unexpected joy…

All throughout the Easter season, the peg dolls have been on our dining room buffet, and our children play with them almost every day! This has truly become a way to naturally encourage the celebration of Easter all 50 days. When my children play with the peg dolls, the dolls talk of Jesus having risen from the dead, and it’s as if we can feel the Easter joy and excitement of that very first Easter, everyone abuzz of this joyful news! Seeing my children play with these Easter peg dolls makes me think we might want to add more, like the many different people in a French Santons de Provence scene at Christmastime.

Would you like to make a Last Supper peg doll set? We have a FREE printable for you with possible symbols for each Apostle. Use the symbols as a starting point, and use your own creativity to make them your own. I think children especially love to play with the dolls they have made themselves. Encourage each artist to choose his/her own style, clothing and hair color, etc.

Click on the image below for a link to the FREE PDF.

aplostle peg dolls

We also added Matthias to join the group in the Easter season. We chose two symbols for Matthias, a heart with a cross in it (as a reminder that Peter prayed, acknowledging that God knows everyone’s heart), and some sticks (to represent being chosen by casting lots).

 

“Then they prayed, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.’
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.”
 – Acts 1:24-26

I used a permanent fine point pen to write the name and symbol of each Apostle on the bottom of each peg doll.

Wondering what supplies we used? We used 2 3/8  inch size peg dolls, Apple Barrel acrylic paint, and paint brushes in a variety of sizes. It’s also helpful to have toothpicks (for the eyes and other small details), paper towels (to dry the brushes), and a plastic table cloth to protect your work surface. Mod Podge is optional (but recommended) to protect the paint.

For more ideas on creating peg dolls for Holy Week and Easter, please visit our post, Homemade Easter Decorations that Last. Other peg dolls you may want for the Easter season include resurrected Jesus (showing the wounds in his hands and feet), Mary the Mother of God (we made her with happy smile and a heart), Mary Magdalene (with a jar of oil), Mary the mother of James, and some angels and soldiers.

If I had the woodworking skills, I would love to build an upper room as we near Pentecost. For now, we are building an upper room out of blocks.

Reading beautiful picture books helps to enrich understanding of the Easter story. Some of our favorites, which we like to place near the peg dolls, are The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith, and The Holy Spirit and the Greatest Adventure by Gracie Jagla.

 

 

May God bless you in this Easter Season and always!

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