If your family has not already established some form of family prayer, Lent is a good time to begin. We are prepared to do something special during this season. Praying together as a family, in our busy times, is difficult, so do set aside some time this Lent to do it. A gathering of family and friends to celebrate on last time before midnight when our Lenten fast officially begins. A pot-luck dinner with each family bringing an especially delectable dish is one suggestion.
Children can make simple decorations or funny hats and help make pancakes for the evening meal.
Whatever the decorations, they should be taken down at the end of the party. An impromptu neighborhood Mardi Gras parade of children, with fancy paper hats and decorated wagons and tricycles is fun and fairly simple, if you're up to organizing it and the weather permits. On a large sheet of poster paper, draw a crooked path. At the top of the path draw a cross. In the morning they will begin their observance of Lent in anticipation of Our Lord's Passion and Resurrection.