Easter Planner
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Easter is the hardest date on the calendar to plan around because it moves - the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox, which is why it hops between March 22 and April 25 across the years. Easter 2027 lands on Sunday, March 28, early enough that the prep runway starts in late January while winter still owns the windows.
Bottom line: the planner above starts at 60 days out because Easter travel books like a holiday - the flights and trains to family towns price up exactly when spring-break demand stacks on top. Everything else in the timeline (menu, decor, outfits, groceries) is backward-dated from the day itself, and every row moves if you set a different date.
The honest part: no planner survives contact with a full Lent of school schedules and work travel - the value is not the checklist, it is the dates next to each row. Print the timeline or copy it to your calendar once, and the season runs itself; the 40-day Lent runway ends at the table either way.
How to use
- Keep the default date (Easter Sunday 2027, March 28) or set your church's or family's own target - every row re-dates backward instantly.
- Work the top row first: travel and the butcher booking are the two things that punish waiting most, at 60 and 42 days out.
- Copy the rows into your phone calendar with the dates attached - the timeline only works if the dates live where your reminders do.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter 2027?
Easter Sunday 2027 falls on March 28. The date comes from the computus - the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after March 21 - and it sits in the early band of Easter's possible range (March 22 to April 25). Orthodox Easter 2027 falls five weeks later, on May 2, the Julian computus running on its own moon - so mixed households may well celebrate twice.
How far in advance should I plan for Easter?
Sixty days for anything that books: travel, tables for ten, the butcher slot for the ham or lamb. Forty-two days for menu and guest list. Thirty days for decor and supplies. The week before is only for the fresh parts of the meal and the eggs - everything freezable or storable was handled three weeks earlier by the timeline above.
What is the traditional Easter menu sequence?
In most American households the anchor is ham or lamb with spring sides; the timeline treats it as two carts - a shop-now cart (staples, wine, frozen bake goods) and a fresh-week cart (produce, bread, the fish for Good Friday). The 7-day row is where the traditional work lands: dyed eggs, the freezable bakes, and the good dishes out of storage.
Why does Easter change every year?
Because it is defined by both the solar and lunar calendars: the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after the spring equinox (fixed as March 21 in the church tables). The earliest possible Easter is March 22 and the latest April 25 - a 35-day window, which is why a planner that re-dates itself beats a printed checklist.