Kids

7 Holy Week Activities For The Family To Do At Home

by Kevyn Gohu
April 1, 2022

When the traffic is just unholy, here are some activities the family can do at home for Holy Week.

Holy Week is one of the most anticipated holidays in the year besides Christmas because of the long weekend, giving families time to travel. But a lot of families have the same idea which makes traffic from the Holy Week travel not worth the stress. Besides, some places still have strict rules about COVID-19 to keep the infection at bay. To spend a peaceful Holy Week in 2022, here are some activities for the family to do at home.

1. Make your own rosary bracelet

A more artsy family activity for Holy Week, rosary bracelets are a lot easier to maintain than an actual rosary because some just get tangled. Plus, the family has a hand in choosing which crystals or beads they want for the rosary. Some rosary bracelets can eventually turn into heirlooms if you’re planning to use mother-of-pearl beads or 18k white gold. But for the kids, it’s okay to stick to plastic beads first so if the string or chain snaps, the beads are easily replaced.

2. Watch some contemporary religious movies or musicals

Movies are always good for a Holy Week family activity. Besides the Prince of Egypt which was a masterpiece in its own right, there are other religious movies and musicals that are family-friendly. Andrew Lloyd Webber has Joseph and The Technicolor Dream Coat which talks about Joseph’s life as he rises from a slave to being one of the most important figures in Egypt. Older kids can watch Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ or The Lady of Fatima.

3. Clean up the altar at home

Some of us have an altar at home that needs a bit of TLC (Tender, Loving Cleaning). A little bit of dusting and wiping ought to make the altar look a lot nicer. Besides it being part of the chores, it’s a bonding activity for the family on Holy Week since it’ll give the kids a chance to see some heirlooms. We’re sure some of us inherited some religious artifacts from our grandparents or great-grandparents.

4. Eat some Lenten-themed meals

If baking and cooking are part of your kids’ homeschool curriculum, turn them into a family activity for Holy Week by making some Lenten-themed meals. Some of these meals include pretzels or more symbolic foods. Some families have made wontons to symbolize the bag of money that Judas’ betrayed Jesus for. Others bake some unleavened bread and serve it with grape juice to re-enact the Last Supper.

5. Polish silver or coins

Silver is what Judas betrayed Jesus for. Having the family polish silver achieves two things: understand that we’re humans and will mess up, and preserve our silverware. Just make sure during this family activity for Holy Week that the kids wash their hands, use the right silver polish (some can be too aggressive, especially on the skin!), and don’t deface the coins (it’s illegal to do so!). After polishing, the family can keep it in a bag and donate it to the nearby church.

6. Easter Egg hunting at home

Easter Egg hunts are the most fun of Holy Week family activities. Instead of using real eggs, you can use plastic ones and store little goodies inside. Or, to get them more motivated – add a monetary value to the eggs. For the gold and silver egg, some parents just wrap them in foil instead of wasting perfectly good eggs. We’re sure once there’s money involved, the kids and even your older ones will be very much interested.

7. Folding palm crosses

This might need someone to go out and get some palm leaves. But the family can weave up some palm crosses as an activity for Holy Week. After that, they can even make it into a scapular or preserve it in resin so that it doesn’t dry up. It can even serve as cute dining and tablescape decors for this Holy Week to add more to the ambiance at home.

Holy Week Activities can turn into Family Traditions, too!

The old adage that “a family that prays together, stays together” still holds water. But for younger kids, prayer services might be a bit too long for them so we looked into something more interactive for 2022’s Holy Week family activities. As much as expressing one’s faith is stereotypically solemn, it’s good to have some nice and fun memories to foster spirituality and religiosity in the family.