Use the Holy Week countdown activity to help your family focus on the story of Easter. 

The Holy Week countdown activity is a great way to talk about Easter with your family at home. We have such a great opportunity within our homes to teach our kids in simple ways. This activity is an intentional way to do this as we lead up to Easter!

Get the printables to use with this activity! 

How to Use the Holy Week Countdown

Starting on Palm Sunday, you will go through these bags until Easter Sunday. This is a mini family devotional time. You can do it at whatever time of day works best for you! It may be during breakfast, in the afternoon, at dinner, and so on. Just pick out a time that works for you! 

When you open each bag, you will pull out the verse card and look up the Scripture. Read it together as a family and talk about the item that is in the bag and what it means. There is also a simple family activity suggesiton.

Get your supplies together. 

• Sandwich Bags (or you can use envelopes, boxes, etc)
• Printable Labels and Verse Reference Cards (download them here)
• Palm Branches (I just grabbed a leaf from outside)
• Light (Use a candle, battery-operated light, etc)
• Small Towel
• Coins
• Bread or Cracker
• Cross (I used some sticks from outside and glued them together)
• Rock (We could not find a rock, so we have playdough in there)
• Put together the bags and then fill the bags with the items. 

You will attach the label for each day to the outside of the bag. The day’s instruction card goes on the inside.  Then fill the bags with the other items. On the verse cards, is the passage to look up plus the main point and action point. 

I did not type out the scripture because I was hoping you could open your Bibles with your kids. Depending on their ages, you can read or paraphrase it. 

The Instruction Cards

The instruction cards have been updated to include the Scripture to look up, the main point, and the action step! Download here.

Day 1 Palm Sunday

Item: Palm Branches (some type of leaf or grass)

Verse: John 12:12-19

Main Idea: Palm Sunday is remembering the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Everyone was shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” They waved the palm branches and laid their coats on the road for Jesus to ride over! They did not fully realize what was to come yet. 

Take Action: Have your kids act out the Triumphal Entry. They can wave palm branches and lay out their coats shouting “Hosanna!”

Day 2 Monday

Item: Light

Verses: John 12:20-36

Main Point: After the Triumphal Entry, Jesus told his disciples to put their trust in the light so they may become sons of light. As he spent His last few days with them, He continued to encourage them that they would carry on the light to the world. 

Take Action: Turn off the lights and turn on the battery-operated light or candle. Talk together about how one teeny light can help get rid of the darkness. This is the same way that we can be lights in the darkness of the world. Take some time to talk about ways we can be a light to others. 

Day 3 Tuesday

Item: Small Towel

Verses: John 13:1-20

Main Point: Back in the Bible days, people’s feet would be so dusty from the dirt roads and walking around. It was usually the lowest servant’s role to wash peoples’ feet when they entered a home. Jesus took on this role and washed His disciples’ feet showing them how to serve one another. 

Take Action: Wash each other’s feet and talk about what it means to serve others. 

Day 4 Wednesday

Item: Coins

Verses: John 13:21-30

Main Point: Judas agrees to betray Jesus for coins. Eventually, Jesus will be arrested and crucified. 

Take Action: Take a minute and talk together about betrayal. Depending on your child’s age, you will go to different depths with this conversation. 

Day 5 Thursday

Item: Bread

Verses: Luke 22:7-23

Main Point: This is considered the Last Supper and it is when Jesus broke bread with his disciples. We now practice this as communion as a way to remember the sacrifice of Jesus for us. 

Take Action: Have communion as a family.

Day 6 Good Friday

Item: Cross

Verses: John 18:1-19:37

Main Point: Good Friday is when Jesus died on the cross. 

Take Action: Make your own crosses together using sticks. Talk about what Jesus did for us. 

Day 7 Saturday 

Item: Rock

Verses: John 19:38-42

Main Point: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared Jesus’ body for burial. They laid Jesus in the tomb and a large rock was rolled in front. 

Take Action: Look for a rock together or make one out of play dough. Talk about how big the rock must have been. 

Day 8 Easter

Item: Nothing

Verses: John 20:1-18

Main Point: Jesus has risen! The tomb was empty!

Take Action: Celebrate together as a family. 

This simple Holy Week countdown can be a special time for your family to celebrate Easter together. Make sure to download the printable!