Easter came and went in what seemed to be a blink of a very sleepy eye. As I try to clean up the mess that looks like pretend Easter bunnies exploded everywhere on my living room floor, I began thinking about what I could do as not to waste so much.
Every year, I am still finding the fake grass in strange places around my house. Not to mention the fact that I paid for plastic eggs, there has to be more uses then just Easter day for them.
I began to device a plan. A plan to prolong the family craft time passed the one day. A scheme to make my family think we are doing fun activities, but in essence just a way for my house to get back to order after the holiday. I love being a mom.
Here are a few activities I am doing to reuse the endless items I bought for Easter.
Plastic Eggs
There a few different activities you can do with the plastic eggs after Easter. The first is to allow the kids to put beans or rice in the egg. Hot glue it shut and you have made some musical instruments. The kids love shakers and buying them cost a fortune. It is just very important to remember to hot glue it shoot or you might spend the rest of the day cleaning up beans or rice around the house. You can even wrap the new instrument in construction paper and allow the kids to decorate the instrument.
A second idea is to use them in crafts. A few years ago, I saw a craft in the Family Fun magazine in which they used one half of an egg as the center of a flower. They cut petals out of foam and then glued the egg to the center. It made a very cute picture. As an added idea, you can draw or make a bee to stick on the top of the egg for an extra 3-D touch! You can also paint circles by dipping the half eggs in different color paint and stamping them on paper.
You can also pack up the eggs and store them until the next year so you won't have to buy eggs. If you store them in a very accessible area-you can have egg hunts throughout the year as a rainy day activity or something spur of the moment to offer instant fun.
Dyed Eggs
I love hard-boiled eggs. What better breakfast for going back to school as well? The dose of protein does great for getting the kid going early morning. You can also pack them in their lunch box. Kids love showing off their creations at school to their friends and it gives them extra protein at lunch as well. Warning: Be prepared for a messy lunchbox to come home if you don't explain the importance of putting the shells in the trashcan.
Boiled eggs also go great on Tuna sandwiches. Mix a can of tuna with a chopped up egg then add mayo to taste. Very protein oriented lunch. Salads are also great with boiled eggs chopped up on top. Finally, a final idea is to make deviled eggs as a snack for co-workers. Cut eggs in half, take out the hard yolk. Mix the yolks with mustard and chopped pickle slices for an easy stuffing. Garnich with paprika or poppy seeds and you have a snack.
Easter grass
Of all the left over Easter material, the grass is what drives me the most insane. Somehow, it gets on my kids feet and it is tracked all over the house. Endless cleaning. I now immediately put the Easter grass out of the baskets into a Ziploc or container. One craft you can do with Easter grass is to glue it in the bottom of a shoebox or on construction paper to make a nest. Then make a bird out of paper or use the peeps or other type of little chicks to glue inside. You can also take a shell from the dyed eggs to glue inside as well. It makes a great spring centerpiece for the table.
Funny faces. Have the kids draw pictures of people. Then use the Easter grass as hair for the people. They will have fun getting to be creative. This is also great activity if you have different color grass.
Baskets
I always try to reuse my baskets from year to year. Unfortunately, some years my husband refuses to climb in the attic to get the ones from the year before. In that case, I try to buy baskets that go with their room décor so that they can be used throughout the year. For instance, my son received a sport basket this year. I plan on putting it in his room and filling it with those little balls like the ones he gets from the machines at those restaurants that I always end up tripping over in the middle of the night. My daughter's basket will be used to hold her hair bows, clips, etc.
Another way to reuse the basket is to cook dinner for a needy person in the community and pack it in the basket. It is a nice way to give and your family will enjoy coming together to give to someone else.
These are just a few examples to get your creative juices flowing. Feel free to share any activities that you do as well in the comment section. I would love to have some more.
