Easter is six weeks away, and I’ve already started a list. Two lists, actually — one for the menu and one for the things I keep forgetting until the morning of, like whether we have enough eggs for dyeing and if Wyatt’s church shoes still fit. (They don’t. They never do.)
I love Easter the way I love Sunday mornings — not because everything is perfect (it never is), but because for a few hours, everyone is in the same place, wearing something halfway decent, and the kitchen smells like something warm. We have a whole Easter hub with planning and celebration ideas if you need them. That’s the whole point. Not perfection. Just full. Jake will be home this year. He told me last week — he’s putting in for the time off, and even if they need him, he’s coming home. He missed Christmas Eve service two years running, and he said he wasn’t doing that again. I believe him. When Jake says something quiet like that, he means it.
The Menu (So Far)
Easter dinner at our house isn’t complicated, but it’s non-negotiable. There are recipes that show up every year because they’ve earned their spot — and because the kids would riot if I changed anything. All of these come from our Easter recipes collection. Here’s what I’m planning:
Jake’s Easter Ham with Honey-Herb Glaze — Jake carves. He’s been doing it for twelve years now. Wyatt is finally old enough to stand next to him and learn, which means this might be the year I cry a little at the dinner table and pretend it’s allergies.
Resurrection Morning Cinnamon Rolls — We prep these Saturday night and bake them Easter morning. The house smells like cinnamon before anyone’s eyes are open. Mason always stumbles out in his pajamas asking about his basket, but then the cinnamon rolls distract him.
Easter Brunch Casserole — This is the one I make when I don’t know exactly how many people are showing up. Last year it was seven. The year before, twelve. This year Jake’s parents are driving from Michigan, so I’m planning for at least ten.
Nana Ruth’s Classic Deviled Eggs — Clara makes these now. By herself. She lines them up on the plate with the precision of someone arranging museum exhibits, and I don’t interfere. This is her dish. She earned it.
Mason’s Spring Garden Salad — With the edible flowers from the garden, if they’re blooming in time. Mason picks each one like he’s selecting a diamond. It takes forever. It’s worth it.
Clara’s Lemon Icebox Pie — From Nana Ruth’s faded recipe card. This pie is sunshine in a graham cracker crust, and it’s become Clara’s signature.
NEW this year: Wyatt’s Strawberry Shortcake — Wyatt declared this at the farmer’s market last week. If the strawberries are as good as they were yesterday, this might become a permanent addition to the Easter table.
The Saturday Before
The Saturday before Easter is my favorite day of the whole weekend, and I don’t think enough people talk about it. It’s when I get to enjoy the kitchen and all the recipes I’ve planned. Sunday gets all the attention — the service, the meal, the gathered family. But Saturday is when the real work happens, and I love the work.
We’ll dye eggs in the morning. I set up the kitchen table with newspaper underneath (the old comics section, if I can find it) and cups of vinegar-dye in every color. Wyatt goes for the darkest shades possible. Clara creates pastels with careful timing. Mason dunks his in every color until they turn brown, declares them “camouflage eggs,” and moves on satisfied.
In the afternoon, I’ll start the cinnamon roll dough. Clara will help me roll it out, and Mason will handle the cinnamon sugar — with supervision, because last year the cinnamon ended up on the counter, the floor, and Duke’s back. (Duke didn’t mind.) The rolls go in the fridge overnight, and Saturday night ends with the house smelling like yeast and possibility.
Jake will hide the eggs after the kids go to bed. He’s surprisingly competitive about this — he maps out the hiding spots in advance, and there’s always one egg nobody finds until July.
Easter Morning
The alarm goes off at 6:15, which is painful but necessary. Cinnamon rolls in the oven by 6:30. Coffee on. Jake stumbles downstairs and leans against the counter with his mug, and for a minute it’s just us in the kitchen while the house wakes up. These are the moments I keep. The quiet ones before the chaos.
Sunrise service is at 7:00 at First Community Church. We won’t make it on time — we never do — but we’ll be there by the first hymn. The kids in clothes that mostly match, hair that’s mostly brushed, hearts that are fully there. That’s enough.
After church, the egg hunt. Then brunch. Then the big dinner. Then the kitchen is a disaster, and Jake and I will clean it together while the kids crash on the couch with Duke, sugar-drunk and grass-stained and happy.
What Easter Means at Our Table
I’ve been thinking about this more than usual this year. Maybe because Recipe #25 just went up on the blog — strawberry shortcake, of all things — and it hit me that twenty-five recipes is more than a hobby now. It’s a body of work. It’s a record. It’s proof that a family sat down together, again and again, and something good happened at the table.
Easter is about resurrection, of course. But in our house, it’s also about return. Jake comes home. The garden comes back. The light stays longer. The strawberries show up. And we gather around a table that’s too small for the number of people who want to sit at it, and we say grace, and we eat food that someone loved enough to make from scratch.
That’s the whole point of this blog, really. Not the recipes — though I hope they’re good. The gathering. The coming back. The table that’s always, always full.
Happy Easter, from our kitchen to yours.
— Maggie
Our Complete Easter Recipe Collection
Everything you need for Easter, from sunrise to dessert:
- Resurrection Morning Cinnamon Rolls (Saturday night prep, Easter morning bake)
- Easter Brunch Casserole (feeds a crowd, minimal morning work)
- Jake’s Easter Ham with Honey-Herb Glaze (the main event)
- Nana Ruth’s Classic Deviled Eggs (Clara’s specialty)
- Mason’s Spring Garden Salad (with edible flowers)
- Clara’s Lemon Icebox Pie (Nana Ruth’s recipe)
- Wyatt’s Strawberry Shortcake (NEW — the spring addition)
Browse the full Easter Collection →
Before we sit down to eat, we always say grace. If you’d like to read the prayers we say at our family table, visit our Daily Grace collection — words from our kitchen to yours.
More From Our Kitchen
If you liked this, you might also enjoy:
- Maggie’s Make-Ahead Easter Brunch Casserole
- Jake’s Bourbon Maple Glazed Easter Ham
- Clara’s Spring Herb Deviled Eggs
- Resurrection Morning Cinnamon Rolls
