Easy French Easter Craft for Kids
Make a Church Bell Filled With Chocolate Eggs
Discover springtime customs in France with this international, cultural craft.
The French have a unique way of celebrating Easter, or as they call it--Pâques (pronounced "pock"). Kids will have fun learning about France's flying bells.
French Customs
The Easter Bunny does not deliver eggs to children in France; that job belongs to the church bells. France is a predominately Catholic country. On Holy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, the bells in every church and cathedral across France stop ringing. It is said that the bells' chimes, so sad over Jesus' death on the cross, fly away to Rome to see the Pope. They return on Easter morning, joyously ringing in celebration of His resurrection. On the way back home, the bells drop Easter eggs for French children to find.
Kids can make their own French church bell to hold yummy chocolate Easter eggs. This international craft uses inexpensive, easy-to-find materials and makes a great gift.
Materials
- A paper or Styrofoam cup with a lid, or a yogurt cup with a lid
- Washable poster paints
- Jingle bell
- Pipe cleaner
- Scissors
- Springtime stickers (optional)
- Chocolate Easter eggs
Directions
- Paint the outside of the cup in a pastel springtime color of your choice. It might be necessary to apply several coats.
- When the paint is dry, turn the cup upside down and add some additional Easter decorations. Paint springtime symbols such as flowers, chicks, bunnies, eggs, or a cross. Stickers work well, too. You can add the words "Happy Easter" in English, or in French: Joyeuses Pâques.
- With the scissors, carefully poke a small hole in the bottom of the cup (which is now the top of the Easter bell.) The hole needs to be in the center, just big enough to fit a pipe cleaner.
- Take one end of the pipe cleaner, and attach it to the jingle bell by twisting firmly. You should now have one long pipe cleaner with a bell on the end.
- Put the pipe cleaner through the outside of the lid. If you are using a regular paper or Styrofoam drinking cup, you can just slip it through the slit that was meant for the straw. If you are using a yogurt lid, you will need to poke a hole with the scissors. Gently pull the pipe cleaner through the hole until the jingle bell rests on the top of the lid.
- Take the cup in your hand and turn it over into its original position. Drop some chocolate Easter eggs inside the cup. Attach the lid, but first push the pipe cleaner through the hole you made in the bottom of the cup.
- Turn the cup upside down again. (The jingle bell should now be on the outside of the lid, on the bottom of the bell.) Twist the pipe cleaner that is poking out of the top of the cup into a loop. You can now hang your bell as a decoration. When you want to eat a chocolate egg, simply turn the bell over and carefully remove the lid.
Kids will enjoy making, giving, and receiving this yummy French Easter bell craft.
