“Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Romans 15:7
Easter is the perfect time to throw a party. We have the best reason in the world to celebrate—Jesus is alive! Not only that, he has made it possible for us to be in right relationship with God the Father. Hosting a gathering can be overwhelming and intimidating no matter how great the reason is; I am here to tell you it does not have to be that big a deal. Single, married, rich, poor, young or old—everyone is capable of putting together a merry little fête with their community to celebrate our risen Savior!
Party #1: Make it a game
I’ve written before about my parents’ tradition where part of the Easter celebration being a competition to bring the wine that pairs best with ham. It’s harder than you think and is a great way to break the ice with people who don’t know each other. Build an afternoon of sport and games. Set up a bocce ball court or cornhole in the backyard for casual games. For the more serious gamer, set up a badminton tournament (no one is excellent at badminton, so it levels the playing field between your guests). Set up a table to the side with snacks and beverages and you are all set!
Party #2: Backyard barbeque
There’s nary a man who doesn’t love cooking outdoors, and this is a great way for a single guy or guys to host a party. (Credit to all the lady grillers out there, too!) It doesn’t have to be lamb shanks and mint jelly—grill burgers or barbeque chicken. This can be fairly inexpensive and a great way to pull your friends together for a casual, enjoyable meal. Add a potato or pasta salad, and you are well on your way to celebrating Jesus and the hope of summer.
Party #3: Picnic at the park
This one is for the families, especially ones with a bunch of pipsqueaks. There seems to be an increase in manic energy in little ones as soon as the adults outnumber them, which can make hosting a big event challenging, to say the least. So take your Easter feast to the park!
Inviting other young families to join you for a picnic in a local park is a great way to accomplish two things at once: (1) it gives the little ones a place to run and play and exert all that energy, and (2) the adults have time to fellowship together. Make it a potluck and ask everyone to bring a dish to share. *Bonus: no mountain of dishes to do afterward.
Party #4: Teach the traditions
Those of you with grown children have years of celebrating Easter under your belt—don’t hide that light under a bushel, let it out! Have you perfected biscuits? Do you have a chocolate cake to die for? Is your rack of lamb remembered fondly for the next 11 months? Share your wisdom and skills with some young college students you know. Chances are they are, if they’re too poor to head home for the holiday, they’ll be eating dry Top Ramen in their dorm room. Take the opportunity to nourish a student in body and spirit.
Party #5. Celebrate with service
Major holidays are always a great time to head over to a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter and help feed others. They perpetually need the help and it’s a great opportunity to act like Jesus serving the needs of those less fortunate (Luke 14:13–14). Gather your Community Group and sign up to go after church. Plan to stay a while, eat with the guests if you can, or help with some additional maintenance if needed.
Party #6: Meet and greet and eat
Those of us living in the city generally find ourselves in condos and apartment buildings sharing the same plot of land with a large number of people we’ve never met. Does your building have a common room that you can reserve? Host an open-house style gathering for your building in the common room. If you live in a large building, you may want to limit your meal to appetizers and crudité with beverages. If your building is smaller, or you have deep pockets—go all out! Ham, au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole, etc. Offer nametags at the door to help residents identify each other, scatter some Table Topics around to help start conversations and keep the party casual.
Do you have to host a party for Easter? No, but love is active so why not get the exercise?
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
