Have you ever noticed that the Church spends 50 days rejoicing for Easter? It makes sense for us to go all-in, maximizing that time celebrating Christ’s victory over death. It is such a triumphant victory, it could not possibly be contained in a single day! Christ is risen, indeed! Here are seven ways your family can celebrate Easter more fully, especially during the first eight days:

1. Fill your home with fresh flowers. Though my husband has blessed me with a beautiful garden full of roses, hydrangea, tulips, daffodils, gigantic peonies and all sorts of other flowers, we resist the temptation to bring cuttings into our home until Easter (it’s a major mortification for me, especially when Easter falls later in the spring!). However, come Easter Sunday, our house comes to life with the fresh aroma of fragrant spring blooms. This mirrors the drastic change in decorations within parishes, and since our family is a domestic church, the flowers represent the transformation in our home as well. Whether you’re cutting flowers from the garden or bringing them home from the store, you’ll immediately notice the difference.

2. Pray the Te Deum each day. The Te Deum are prayers of thanksgiving typically prayed on Sundays (outside of Lent), major feasts, Christmas and Easter. If you are not yet in the habit of praying this prayer regularly, make a point of doing so during the first week of Easter. You can find the prayers at EWTN.com/catholicism.

3. Create an Easter playlist, and put it on repeat. Now is the time to blast joyful hymns, like Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, At the Lamb’s High Feast, Sing with All the Saints in Glory, and O God Beyond All Praising, as well as contemporary hits like Because He Lives, Christ Is Risen, and Alive Again (yes, these are all songs from Catholic singer-songwriter Matt Maher).

4. Feast! Feasting sounds pretty good after 40 days of fasting and abstinence, right? Somehow, the tradition of feasting during octaves has faded into history, but Catholics can revive, or resurrect the custom. Add to the Easter ham and scalloped potatoes a new tradition of cooking your family’s favorite meals throughout the octave, letting your kids help plan the menu and delighting in the joy of family around the table together.

5. Spread the Easter activities across the octave. The Easter egg hunt does not have to happen on Easter Sunday; in fact, our kids have been known to conduct their own egg hunts throughout the season. Parents also can offer a small gift each day of the octave versus presenting everything in a basket at once (see good “picks online at NCRegister.com). Easter-themed and spring-themed crafts like building birdhouses, painting flower pots, making tissue paper “stained-glass” window art, and spending time tending the garden together are additional ways to make your home come to life this blessed week.

6. Reflect on how your Lent went, for better or worse. In the words of my insightful husband: “Did your Lent go well? Give praise to God! Did it not go so well? Give praise to God for the humility to recognize that!” We cannot let a season pass without giving thanks to God, especially a difficult season, because God was at work; and if we feel a sting in our hearts that perhaps we could have been more penitential, more prayerful or more perseverant, that can be a huge victory. Our journey toward holiness does not end with Lent, so keep moving forward in faith, trusting in God’s goodness and mercy.

7. Celebrate Divine Mercy with confession and Communion. There are huge graces to receive specifically on Divine Mercy Sunday, the final day of the Easter Octave). In St. Faustina’s diary, Jesus promises extraordinary graces to the soul who receives the sacrament of confession, receives the Holy Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday, and trusts in God’s mercy. This is different from an indulgence, which the Marian Fathers clarify at TheDivineMercy.org. I cannot think of a better way to round out the Octave of Easter than by immersing my entire family in God’s abundant ocean of mercy.

However your family celebrates Easter, I pray you feel the triumph of Christ’s resurrection.