Good Friday is tomorrow! Are you ready? If not, don’t be overwhelmed; there is still time to get everything that you need and pull off a fantastic holiday. The first thing you need to do is make a list. Take the time to think about everything that you may need; from the big things like a new Easter basket down to the small things like holiday napkins. After your list is made, the next things is to figure out how to accomplish all of your errands in as few stops as possible and as quickly as possible. If you can try to get your errands done tonight; the stores will be incredibly busy Friday and Saturday. Before you head out you might want to check online to confirm the hours that the stores are open. Some stores may offer extended hours this weekend. I would caution against any last minute trips to the store on Easter morning, some stores are closed on Easter.

I recommend starting your shopping at your local grocery store. Many grocery stores have a seasonal or holiday department. Chances are that while you are doing your food shopping, you will also be able to get your Easter flowers and baked goods as well as any baskets, candy, holiday plates and napkins that you need. Another reason that I recommend doing your shopping tonight is for the best selection. The longer you wait, the more likely you will encounter items being sold out. Shopping early helps to ensure that you can get everything you need all in one place and eliminates the extra trips like the florist and the bakery.

If you are hosting a big family dinner and your house is a mess, don’t panic! Take a little bit of time and cover a few cleaning basics – vacuuming, wiping down the bathrooms, emptying the trash and dishwasher and you will be amazed at the results you see.

Looking for ideas to help entertain the children at your gathering? An egg hunt is quick and easy to put together. Remember to have a plan for an indoor hunt in case it should rain or be too cold. If you are worried about hurt feelings over one child finding 10 eggs while another one only finds 2, there are a couple of ways you can avoid an uneven amount of treats. First, assign each child a color – Bobby you hunt for blue eggs and Susie you hunt for green eggs. Another way of handling it is write numbers on the eggs and assign each child a number – Susie you look for eggs with #1 on them and Bobby you only hunt for the eggs with #2. Stickers and trinket toys are a nice alternative to candy.

If an egg hunt seems too common to you, you could pick out 1 or 2 crafts for the kids to make. When choosing activities try to keep in mind and plan for some children to be wearing dress clothes; suits and fancy dresses, etc.

There are a lot of fun things that we can do with our children at Easter time; we visit the Easter bunny, color eggs and have egg hunts. If you would like to talk to your children about the religious aspects of Easter; a fun book is always a good idea. There are Easter books for children that are stories about the death and resurrection of Christ without going into graphic detail.