Homemade Easter Decorations that Last
Making Easter decorations together that can last for years is a special treat! In this post, we’ll show you how to make an Easter scene with peg dolls, hand painted wooden eggs, and an Easter garland.
Easter Story Peg Dolls
Our family really enjoyed creating an Easter peg doll scene a few years ago. Having an Easter scene provides a tangible experience for children to imagine the details of the story of Easter, like a manger scene does at Christmastime.
We chose 2 3/8 inch size peg dolls, but you could choose any size. We loved looking at the ideas on Catholic Icing. for inspiration on how to paint the peg dolls. If you are not up for painting, Catholic Icing also has printable decoupage designs to make creating the peg dolls even easier.
Catholic Icing also has a very well done resurrection story that combines the multiple gospel stories into one to make it easier for children to understand the details.
We found that getting some extra peg dolls was helpful so that our toddler could paint the dolls however she wanted to while the older children and mom and dad worked on the details of the Easter figures. She loved painting and playing with these dolls!
We originally made our Calvary Hill and tomb using air dry clay. We found that the clay crumbled over the years. This year, we remade Calvary Hill and the tomb using Model Magic. Modle Magic is much sturdier and lightweight, so we think it will hold up better to playing.
We used a plastic container for the base of the hill, then covered it with Model Magic. We then placed real stones on the hill, and secured a wooden cross into the clay. Finally we pained the Model Magic and stones with a watered down light brown acrylic paint. For the tomb, we began with a cardboard structure, and covered it with Model Magic, then added rocks and paint. Our 4-year-old had so much fun placing the rocks in the clay! It takes quite a bit of model magic to make the tomb and Calvary Hill, so we recommend a large tub of Model Magic.
We also remade our crucified Jesus figure this year. (Once again, air dry clay did not hold up over the years, but we think Model Magic will.) We used a wooden bead for the head to make the head about the same size and look as the peg dolls. We used floral wire to form the body, and then covered the wire in Model Magic. In order to easily attach the figure of Jesus to the cross on Good Friday, we tied a string under the head that fits around the top of the cross.
We wrap the Jesus figure in a small cloth and place the figure in the tomb on Good Friday. On Easter Sunday morning, the children wake up to find the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty. We like to hide the figure of the resurrected Jesus somewhere in the room so that the children have the experience of looking for Jesus, like his friends did on the very first Easter morning. We also place flowers near the tomb as a reminder that the tomb was in a garden… and to add even more Easter joy!
Painted Wooden Eggs
We made this set of nesting eggs many years ago, and it is still a favorite to display when we decorate. Even the youngest children can decorate eggs… our newborn at the time used her fingerprints to make dots on the egg. It’s fun to paint names on the eggs, as well as the year the eggs were painted.
To create your set of eggs, find a wooden egg set (or multiple sets) that allows each member of the family to paint at least one egg.
We used acrylic paints to paint the eggs, and then gave them a coating of Mod Podge.
The year my parents had their 12th grandchild, each grandchild painted a wooden egg, and we presented them with a carton of a dozen eggs on Easter. We got two sets of these wooden eggs (which are already painted white).
Rather than use an old egg carton, we found cute colorful cartons to store and display the eggs.
Joyful Easter Banner
Creating an Easter garland together can be fun, as each member of the family can create a part of it. If you are looking for something simple, consider coloring our Easter hymn garland (an instant download on Etsy). For full details on creating this simple, garland, click here. Or use your own ideas to create your own beautiful banner to celebrate Easter… so many possibilities! Have fun!
Happy Easter!
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