Things to Give Up for Lent

Lent might not seem a child friendly time of year.

But I think we big time under estimate kids … even littlies … if we think they won’t “get” it.

Kids are actually really good at all the old rituals.

Giving things up for Lent, totally makes sense to them after the wild party of Mardi Gras or the face stuffing gluttony of Pancake Day.

And they get that Easter Sunday will be much more joyful, after 40 days of “giving up”.

So, Lent is actually a great opportunity for the whole family to pull together in a common challenge AND totally reset the family’s habits and behaviour whilst you’re at it.

In 40 days, most new habits will become pretty sticky so all that great new behaviour won’t just go straight out of the window on Easter Monday.

And our body will naturally help us out because in the 40 days of Lent

• Our taste buds will regenerate so we can totally change the foods we prefer
• AND blood sugar levels can be reduced enough to break the sugar craving cycle

Obviously, you need to get everyone’s buy in but even that process is valuable, as it gets the whole family to think about what they would like to change in family life, whether it’s

• spending more real time together … i.e. minus TV, computers, phones etc
• being more healthy
• saving up money for something really important
• helping out others as a family etc.

Oh and don’t forget you do get a dispensation to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and if you’re a Brit eat huge quantities of cake on Mothering Sunday 🙂

30 Things to Give Up For Lent

1. Chocolate
2. Sweets
3. Cakes & Desserts
4. Cookies
5. Sodas
6. Fast Food
7. Take Aways
8. Ready Meals
9. Meat
10. Chips / Crisps
11. Salt on table & added to food
12. Ice Cream
13. Pizza
14. Caffeine
15. TV
16. Computer Games
17. The Car
18. Magazines, Comics & Newspapers
19. Paid for Trips
20. Non-Essential Spend
21. Toys
22. Arguments
23. Shouting
24. Late Nights
25. Messiness
26. Texting
27. Twitter
28. Facebook
29. Pinterest
30. Cell Phone

Good luck with your efforts for Lent. Don’t forget to check out our Mardi Gras Activities for Kids post and our 100 Pancakes Toppings post for more inspiration. 

Luci McQuitty Hindmarsh

Luci is the founder of Mums Make Lists. She has written about all aspects of organising family life for ten years. Her main areas of expertise are family finance and budgeting, simplifying housekeeping and family admin and kids’ party planning. Read more.