Easter decorating (I have opinions)

I've been trying to make a better effort at decorating for Easter. It's my second favorite holiday but I don't really decorate for any holiday besides Christmas. I don't find any holiday's decorations esthetically pleasing or my style. Plus it seems dumb so spend money and time on things that spend 11 months of the year in storage.

But I want to make a bigger deal out of Easter and this is one way I'm putting in more effort.

My rules are: no bunnies, no chicks, no cheesy sayings, no crosses, and no cutesy things. That rules out 90% of what passes as Easter decorations in stores and online.  A quick search online for Easter decorations brings up all bunnies. Add the world "religious" and it's all crosses and pocket Jesuses.  I want a Christ-centered, abstract, less on-the-nose but still spring look so think out of the box I must. Here's what I've got so far.

1. Artwork

I have been scouring Etsy for illustrations of Christ's final week. I go to Etsy because I don't like art that everyone else has that they all get from Deseret Book. This is what I have from last year. I bought this frame last week at Hobby Lobby and a lady stopped and asked me what I had planned for it. I explained a I had a watercolor of the last supper printed out and I was going to hang it in my dining room. She put her hand on my arm and said, "Oh that is just wonderful." 

Also from last year. I love how the frame looks like a tomb.

And the addition for this year. Sorry for the glare.

I think I will add a new picture each year until I have all the elements represented.

2. Flowers

I don't love fake flowers but I do love tulips and these ones I found on Amazon look pretty real. Tulips are the first flowers of the season, breaking the winter, the first sign of life. I have tons of tulips coming up in my yard and I'll bring some of those in too in the coming weeks. Vase is from TJMaxx.

I also swapped out the candles (Walmart) for a spring/summer color. Wooden tomb from Amazon.

3. Lamb

Why, why, why are there not lamb figurines for sale? Pagan bunnies galore but no lambs to commemorate the Lamb of God. I had to send Sarah all the way to Africa to bring back this stone carved lamb and she had to search and ask for help in finding it. "A lamb for Jesus!" the Kenyan merchant rejoiced. It stays out all year long. I hope she can find more when she goes back to Kenya this summer. 

4. Eggs

Despite our name, we don't dye eggs; we've been painting wood ones since 2020. Here's the link to the ones I bought last (2.5 inch ones). They've gone up in price so maybe there are better options out there. Six painted and added to the collection every year. We are up to 42 eggs and not all are pictured.

These are the ones we painted this year.

After they are dry, I take spray them with a clear coat.

These nesting eggs I got in Ketchikan, Alaska last summer.

I also have something new planned for Palm Sunday but I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. 

And this garland will go back up on Palm Sunday and we will clip a new felt symbol to it each night during Holy Week.

So there you have it. My interpretation of a bunny-free Easter. Except for peeps and chocolate. Those are okay in bunny form.