Sustainable Easter Egg Tips
February 12, 2010 – 1:09 pm by MarinaHanes
Decorating Easter eggs is a hands-on activity that children can’t resist, and there is an endless number of ways to color them. Some kids enjoy the tie-dyed ones while others turn the eggs into their favorite characters like Spongebob Squarepants. However, after the eggs have been transformed into works of art, where do they sit? Most likely at the kitchen table for a few days until they need thrown away. If you color eggs or have an egg hunt, there are some ways to make these activities less wasteful.
When dying your eggs, choose natural dyes as opposed to the ones that come in the egg coloring kits. For example, use items you already have in your house to create the colors. This includes purple grape juice/blueberries (lavender), spinach/grass clippings (green), pomegranate juice/cranberries (pink), paprika/chili powder (orange), red cabbage/blackberries (blue), lemon peels/ground cumin (yellow). All you need to do is boil your eggs in water and vinegar with one of your natural dyes for 15 minutes. Then your kids can use nontoxic crayons, markers or pens to add personalized details—when using crayons, it’s best to have them draw on the egg before boiling them.
Keeping the decorated eggs in the refrigerator enables you to eat them or transform them into egg salad or deviled eggs. By using natural dyes, you don’t have to worry about the colors contaminating the inside of the egg.
If you have a traditional Easter egg hunt for your children as well as the neighborhood, skip the plastic egg containers or make sure you reuse the ones from last year. An alternative to the plastic is cutting out the individual egg holders from egg cartons. These can be filled with candy, and you can use leftover holiday ribbon and wrapping paper to jazz it up. Instead of candy, fill a selected number of eggs with money or personalized coupons (“Redeemable for a movie night,” “Redeemable for a trip to the zoo”).
By thinking more creatively and using common household items, you can turn your Easter eggs and egg hunt into a unique experience that you friends, neighbors and children won’t forget.
