Holy Week Plan!

Well it's finally here - Holy Week 2016!! Yea!!

Here's what's on the agenda around here.

Monday-Wednesday

We're cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!

We take off regular lessons this week. I find this a good time to do any lingering Family Formation activities John still has around. 

(Keeping little hands busy + religious themed + clears out my drawers = holy week approved)

Most of the focus is on decluttering - largely the stuff that really is just junk/recycling. I'm always amazed when I do this how much paper clutter is stuffed in drawers and baskets.  

It's also about setting things up for the more prayerful end of the week.

I set up our little family altar with the blessed palms from Palm Sunday, cover the big Holy Family statue in purple cloth, and take away all of the extra holy cards. I leave our CRS Rice Bowl, Family Formation rosary booklet, rosaries, and candles. (This year I have 3 candles set aside for Tenebrae. More on that later.)

Wednesday is our final choir rehearsal before Easter time. This year, it's also a gender reveal! (#thisisnotanannouncement)

Another woman in the choir just found out the gender of her baby, so I'm making gender reveal cupcakes and making people lighten up in the stress of Triduum. 

Can't be stressed out when you're celebrating babies with sugar, right?

Holy Thursday

And it begins!

The morning is spent doing the last big cleaning push, and doing the prep work for meals today and Friday. Fasting is harder for me when I have to spend a lot of the day working in the kitchen, so I find it better to front load that on Thursday so it's all set for the kids.

I'll often put on The Prince of Egypt (and it's on Netflix!) for the kids while I do things, like scrub the bathroom, that involve using cleaners I don't really want little fingers touching.

This year we're doing a little family washing of the feet with the littles. We also read this book about Passover.

We have a Seder inspired dinner with the young adult group! 

Part of the spread from last year.

If you want to do something like that, this Horseradish Potato Gratin is amazing.

Good Friday

This morning we do our first Tenebrae with the kids!

Tenebrae is a form of the morning prayers (matins and lauds) used during the Triduum. 

I'm using the adaptations I have in my Magnificat magazine. 

These include lots of feet stomping at the end. I can see this being a hit with a certain dinosaur reenactor of mine...

Even though the kids are not fasting on Good Friday, they still will not be eating meat and meals will be simpler. Thankfully I have children who are very happy with simple soups and beans and rice. 

We will do a little kids Way of the Cross after naps - since this is the time least likely to melt down. It also lets me round out a Noon to 3pm Holy Hour. It is normally very doable since the kids both nap from noon until 2-2:30. It's just that last hour or so that's tricky. 

So it might not be quiet, but it is on topic!

We will be hosting the young adult group Fish Fry at our place!

Mostly because I'm the only one who misses southern Lenten fish frys enough to actually put on my own.

Holy Saturday

It's time to hit the road on Easter prep!

Most important activity of the day (according to John): making confetti eggs!

We save most of our eggs through Lent by cracking out about a nickle sized hole on the small end to get out the contents of the eggs. Rinse out and save in empty egg cartons. Then, on Holy Saturday morning, we dye them like regular Easter eggs, stuff full of confetti, and seal with paper mache tissue paper square.

On Easter, we hide them and do an egg hunt before the real confetti egg fun begins.

You crack them in your hand a bit and toss the shell and confetti at people.

Like so.

The cracking in your hand is very important as it allows the contents of the egg to actually go on the other person and not just bounce off them. Then all you've done is handed them more ammo, and why would you want that?