The night before Easter, my husband and I were determined to foil our children by hiding their baskets in unexpected locations. Our four kids had become quite adept at finding their baskets in no time flat. As I opened the oven door and slid the pink basket onto the rack I thought, “She’ll never find it here.”

 Before my kids awoke Easter morning, I quietly slipped into the kitchen.  While on auto-pilot I preheated the oven for the egg bake and our traditional sour cream coffee cake.

My attempt to be stealthy failed. Downstairs they came ready to find their basket. My daughter’s fine-tuned sleuthing skills and keen sense of smell lead her to the oven. She discovered a steaming hot basket filled with melted candy and a mushy chocolate bunny.

Making memories, even out of mishaps, will draw a family together. Easter traditions that include basket hiding and finding are fun (and usually safe) for all. Basket filling presents a unique opportunity for parents to bring Jesus into the resurrection celebration.

Create a faith-focused and faith building Easter basket for your kids. Include all or some of these 25 items with the corresponding scripture reference in the basket.  Each one represents a biblical story, gives a truth, or provides a promise of God.

Use numbered gift tags with twine and attach the verse provided to each gift.  As your kids unpack their baskets, save the gift tags. For the next 25 Sundays your family can read and discuss the bible passages in numerical order. All the verses are about Jesus’ life, teaching, death, or resurrection.

Parents can encourage their kids to remember Easter every day by creating a basket that can be enjoyed beyond Easter Sunday.

One final note: the oven is meant for baking not for hiding.

He is risen. He is risen indeed!