I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the Walk in the Light Family Easter Event, so I decided I’d give you a closer look at how our event went and answer some of the most common questions.
A couple years ago, I was tired of hosting ANOTHER egg hunt for Easter. Even though our Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt events were pretty awesome, I was ready for something new. Plus, I got word that our local community was hosting a lantern parade on the same night as our scheduled Easter event. So after some prayer and talking with my Parent Council, we decided if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and Walk in the Light was created!
We invited families to join us for 2 hours on a Saturday morning for worship, a short lesson, and a time of lantern-decorating. We tied the lesson into 1 John 1:5-7 and talked about how we could “walk in the light” this Easter because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Then we released families to a time of lantern-decorating!
As families finished up their lanterns and headed home, we passed out take-home sheets with an invitation to meet us at the local park for the city-wide lantern parade. We met early to enjoy the food trucks, music, and fellowship before the parade, and then kids loved showing off their lanterns with the other hundreds of people there. I brought some glow sticks and glow necklaces for our kids too just to add to the fun. It was also a great opportunity to be a church presence in the community. We had a blast!
Now for those questions…
Let's be real. How much do the lanterns cost?
Great question! The cost of your lanterns depends on the size of your lanterns, but using the supplies I used means each 12-inch lantern costs about $4, and each 16-inch lantern costs about $6. This includes the paper lantern, a bamboo pole, 3 LED lights, and the tissue paper/glue for decorating. (I provide Amazon links directly to the supplies I used in a Lantern-Making Guide in the Walk in the Light Easter Event resource.)
What about littles (ages 3-5)?
Littles love this event! When I hosted Walk in the Light, I invited all families nursery-5th grade. We had 2 of our nursery families come who had 2-year olds. One 2-year-old did great and totally enjoyed helping his parents decorate. The other 2-year-old was more interested in trying to eat the glue than decorate his lantern. 🙂 We actually had more preschoolers (ages 3-5) show up than our older kids, and they all thought it was so cool. Littles definitely need more help with decorating, but they were still so excited to make their own lantern. So I’d say it really depends on the personality of your littles, but yes, littles CAN (and want to) participate in this event! Just look at some of our littles and their lanterns below.
We have a large church. Would this event work for us?
Yes! This event is definitely scalable for whatever size church you have. You’ll just order more lantern supplies and provide more space for people to decorate.
We have a small church. Would this event work for us?
Yes! You can host this event no matter how many participants you have. The “parade” might have a different feel, but you can still make it work for your church. Just know that the paper lanterns are typically bought in bulk of at least 8, so you’d want at least that many participants to make it worth the budget.
What if my city isn't hosting a lantern parade like yours did? Is this event still worth it?
Still worth it? Most definitely! Our city-wide lantern parade was just the cherry on top. The real sweetness of this event came from the event we hosted that morning that included the worship, lesson on 1 John 1:5-7, and time of lantern-making. If your city isn’t hosting a parade, you have the option to host your own parade at the church or encourage families to host a parade on their own in their neighborhoods.
Want to host your own Walk in the Light Family Easter Event? I shared all the details (and tips and links and graphics) for hosting this event here.
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