Unique Easter Gifts
to Remind us of the Real Reason of
Easter
Here are some unique Easter gifts and ideas for gifts.
Some of them could fit very nicely in an Easter basket.
The Best Easter Gift
First of all, the best gift you can give is your heart filled with gratitude for the great sacrifice Jesus made for you, because he loves you so much.
Jesus wants to save you from sin and the devil, and hell, and eternal death. He wants you to be his friend.
There would be no Easter without his suffering and death - because he loved us so much.
Read more about this story in the
Easter Bible Lessons and Stories.
A Comment on Toys and Material Gifts
One Tuesday after Easter, I was in a big merchandise store. There was no Easter section left in the store, it was all on clearance in the middle of the aisle. What it was, was worthless plastic junk, food that people eat right away, and baskets many people will buy again next year.
I could hardly believe how huge was another section of the store devoted to plastic toys. Aisle after aisle after aisle. You know, the cheap plastic junk - trikes, bikes, games, etc. that quickly break. It creates a culture of being entertained and getting pleasure.
>>> Toys tend to put the focus on oneself. <<<
I've seen families spend a lot of money to move all that junk every time they move - or rent storage units for it - and the children hardly play with it, and a few months later, they're on to different things anyway.
Maybe you're lucky they even played with it a couple times.
A Culture of Selfishness
Buying one or 2 toys rarely for a child, maybe that's okay.
But spoiling your child, you are helping create a culture of selfishness and laziness in your child, besides cluttering your house with junk.
Just because everybody does it, doesn't make it right. We should never let the world dictate our values.
Gifts to Serve God and Others
Used to be, you went to a store to find stuff to serve others. Like shovels, picks, axes, to work for a living. Good food to stay healthy, serve God and others. Good books to feed your mind. Good modest healthy clothing, stuff that was made well and lasted.
>>> Tools tend to put the focus on working for others. <<<
When will this world stop the illusions, the trinkets, and get real? Don't you be a part of the rat-race.
It is good to stay out of stores - except for necessities like food - before Christmas and Easter.
A Valuable Economic Rule
Used to be, there was this rule, you work, then play.
If you didn't work, you didn't play. And, you didn't eat.
And you don't go in debt on credit cards to buy junk and support your hobbies and take extravagant vacations.
You go in debt only when truly necessary, such as to establish a business, or keep yourself able to work, so as to get out of - and stay out of - debt, and pay for all your reasonable expenses.
The people that think Easter is only to have fun, will find out when tough times come, their life is too shallow to handle when the storms hit. Jesus warned against those who build their house on shallow sands, versus on good foundations. (Matthew 24-27)
What if your physical house burns down with all that plastic junk? It'll be a hazard, and help the fire burn hotter faster.
What if a real emergency hit your house, your city, your country? What good would all that plastic do? Could you raise crops and feed your family? Do you have the shovels, the muscles, the "know-how", to get the job done?
I found out it takes about 4 years to really get the hang of growing your own food.
Or will you be like the people in Rome were, when it fell to far less organized barbarians. They had literally entertained themselves to death.
Applying the Same Economic Rule for Easter
The world treats Easter so commercially, people don't know and live the Easter season. Parents have the duty to find out the truth and teach their children.
First of all, you can't really have a good Easter, unless you've made a good
Lent.
Even Jesus knew the rule about work first, then play. He did his duty first. He suffered and died for us, and so then he was able to rise on the third day alive, and so now he is having the glorious time of his life forever.
Commercial Easter versus the Real Easter Season
The Easter season in the world is so commercial, it's over in the stores the very next day after Easter Sunday.
But for us, it's just beginning - we've just started. There's 40 days we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead until he went to heaven, then 10 days later the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (the date God also gave the 10 Commandments).
Easter is all about believing that Jesus died for us, and acting accordingly. When Jesus rose from the dead, he atoned for our sins. By repenting of our sins, accepting his plan of salvation, and living a life of virtue, we can become friends with God.
How many people know that? How many people live that? How many people even care?
The Best Easter Gifts are Food for the Soul
Kids love candy. But once the candy's is gone, you got get more. And material things will never satisfy.
Why let your children stuff themselves with treats that disappear so quickly?
Why not also get them the food they really need? The stuff our souls are starving for?
If you really care about your children, be sure to include some age appropriate gifts that help feed their souls.
At Easter time, we reflect on the central mysteries of our faith - the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. There is really no better time of year than Easter, to help you and your children grow in the faith and the grace of God.
One Unique and Special Easter Gift is the Holy Bible
A good bible could really be an appropriate gift for adults or older children.
For younger children, it could be bible story books.
There are also many good religious and inspirational books that might help you or your child find true meaning and purpose in life.
More Unique Easter Gifts - Religious Books
Our school scheduled vacation the 12 days of Christmas and the week after Easter. It was a great time for us to catch up on reading, when we weren't doing homework or chores.
During these seasons, in our family, we often received as gifts good spiritual or religious books to read. When we were done with the book, it would go on the shelf or we'd swap with each other, so others could read it too.
More Easter Gifts Ideas - Religious CDs and DVDs
Many children, teenagers, and adults like to listen to music.
Frankly, some of the music and lyrics today are awful, if not sinful. Many singers are terrible examples and a bad influence.
We must counteract the bad with good. Make a difference by giving the gift of good, inspirational, uplifting music CD's.
This goes for DVD movies and videos as well. Such items are small, and might fit nicely in an Easter basket.
Crosses or Crucifixes are a Nice Easter Gift
Easter is also a fitting time to give a gift of a cross, or crucifix, as a reminder what Jesus did for us:
- a family cross, to be put in the home on a wall or special table;
- a personal cross to be placed in a bedroom, office, or other suitable place;
- simple crosses of wood, metal, etc. to be carried or worn.
Crosses of metal last longer, can take more wear and tear, and are more durable.
But simple crosses of wood remind us Jesus died on a wooden cross.
Other Religious Items for an Easter Gift
There are many other items you can find in religious stores, and christian book stores. Some churches have a gift shop as well.
Some examples are Holy Cards, scripture quotes, key rings,
These items may not seem much. But they can mean a lot to the recipient.
And they will have far lasting value than cheap plastic toys.
Special Gifts from my Mother
Growing up, I liked images of the Good Shepherd. My mother gave me a picture of the Good Shepherd once. It was a little color print with a plastic frame, about 8 inches by 10 inches. I remember it hanging on our chimney in the boys room. Jesus was holding a lamb, and the mama sheep was looking up to Jesus.
I told my mom, I'm the lamb, you're the mama sheep.
My mother also gave me a white porcelain statue of the Good Shepherd, which had a light inside it. It made a nice night light, and it was on top the dresser by the window.
My mother prayed a lot. I think she had a premonition that someday I would be a pastor. She died 7 years before it happened. She was like the Good Shepherd Jesus, who gives his life for the sheep. (John 10:15)
Special Gifts from my Parents
One year, I got a little white hollow plastic "Pieta". The pieta is a statue of Mary sitting down, holding the dead body of her son Jesus, right after he was taken down from the cross.
My little plastic model was a small 3 or 4 inch tall likeness of the famous "Pieta" Michelangelo carved, and which is now in Rome, Italy. It is most noted for the calm peace on the face of Mary, while a lot of other pietas, even done by Michelangelo, show Mary in great pain and grief.
I remember my little statue broke at the arm. Just like the madman who broke off the arm of the real Pieta statue years ago.
One time we three boys got a bigger plaster pieta for our room, painted in color. We had it on the dresser by the window.
These Unique Easter Gifts Can Give Us Hope
At some points in our lives, we all experience the death and loss of loved ones and friends.
Some of us have been privileged to assist the sick and dying, attend funerals.
Such gifts remind us that this life is short, and is not our permanent home.
They remind us of the sacrifices Jesus and his mother Mary made to bring us to new and eternal life, and the hope that we too by God's grace, help, and mercy, may reach heaven.
There is a section for
sympathy and funerals on this website.
I'm thankful that my mother and father didn't get us a lot of junk, but things that would help us grow in more ways than one.
They knew the real meaning of life. The gifts they gave - the real value of things - have lasted for decades. Hopefully, they'll continue to last forever.
Thank your stars!
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