For years, one of the most meaningful ways we’ve centered our Easter has been through a simple Holy Week devotional for our family.
It’s nothing fancy—just a set of yellow laminated cards we hang in our kitchen—but it has helped us come back, day after day, to the events of Holy Week and the life of Jesus Christ.
We started this tradition when my kids were little, and somehow it has grown with us through every stage of family life.
If you’ve been looking for a simple way to create a Holy Week devotional for your family, this has been one of the easiest and most meaningful traditions we’ve tried.
Background on our Holy Week Cards
These yellow outlines have adorned the walls of our house during Holy Week ever since then.
What Is Our Holy Week Devotional?
Each day of the week has it’s own card. Instead of our regular scripture routine in the mornings the week before Easter, we read the scriptural passages that go along with that day.
- Read the scriptures that correspond with that specific Holy Week day
- Have one of the kids put up the word strip of each event that happened on that day
- Talk briefly about how that must have felt, ask questions, try to get kids involved
Why This Simple Devotional Works for Families
- It’s a visual reminder of Holy Week that helps us stay focused on the true meaning of Easter.
- It’s so easy-peasy!
- This is a repeatable tradition, which is a powerful tool to bond families
- This devotional idea works for all ages (you could add small pictures for younger kids so they can visualize better)
How to Create Your Own Holy Week Devotional
- Write out daily events in whatever way works for your family
- Pair with scriptures (again, you can find correlating scriptures on our church website)
- Hang/display in a prominent spot in your home
- Keep it simple – we all want that, right?
I love that something so simple as eight yellow laminated cards have anchored our hearts for so many years. Even as our family has grown and changed, this little Holy Week devotional idea has stayed the same—quietly reminding us, day by day, of the Savior and the story that matters most.
Is your daughter wearing a cast on her arm? What happened? Did I miss something?
P.S. Thanks for sharing the links. Looking forward to Easter. Happy Easter to your sweet sweet family, Shawni!
I love your weekplan for easter week! It inspired me to take some time to sit down with my daughter and talk about what happened this week.
I absolutely adore your blog! It inspires me to be more active in talking about the Christian message to my daughter. We do not attend church regularly but confess to christianity and live in a community that base much of our ethical rules on the bible. When I was a child we where more regular churchgoers. (Most people did back then.) Your writing inspires me to find little activities to incorporate our religion in our consumer society and busy living.
Thank you ever so much and lost of happy easter wishes to you and your family!
We have that same Easter lesson (from the same FHE group) that we love and use each Easter as well, although I never really thought to leave it up all week. I like that leaving it out would help them to keep it on their mind all week.
By the way, I have the Easter Symbols lesson (with the bunny and the eggs) digitized and on my FHE blog:
http://thegoldenseven.blogspot.com/2010/03/symbols-of-easter-fhe-lesson.html
Yay! Thanks so much! I love it!
Love your blog and commitment to motherhood–go Shawni! Question: How does your family do morning devotions and prayers? Do you huddle together in a bedroom, around the kitchen island or table, etc? You always inspire me and I'd like to get better about regular morning devotions with my kids. Thanks.
Love this!
I just love having a visual reminder all week of all the important stuff to help us stay focused on the true meaning of Easter.