“Green” Easter

How do you celebrate Easter? At our house, it’s a time to enjoy the rebirth of Nature, the renewal of our spirits, and the arrival of a long-anticipated Spring. We try hard not to get caught up in the commercialization of this holiday and don’t go overboard making big flashy Easter baskets or buying lots of junk. This year, I’m getting new ideas for green Easter decorations and treats from my green sister bloggers, who offer a wide variety of thoughtful ways to make green Easter meaningful.

Green Easter Tips

Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green suggests several natural alternatives to conventional egg dying – including using red cabbage and onions, and dying ceramic eggs for veganistas.

Kristina at the Greening of Westford offers a very useful, step-by-step guide for dying eggs using spinach, blueberries, coffee and chili powder. One smart suggestion: make the dyes early in the morning or even the day before. Another, especially for someone like me who is somewhat artistically challenged: wrap rubber bands around the eggs to make stripes and other designs on the eggs when you dye them.

If you don’t want to deal with dying eggs at all, how about covering them? Lisa at Condo Blues uses Japanese Washi paper to cover her eggs, something I think I’ll try this year after seeing a picture of how Lisa’s eggs turned out (photo left)

Ronnie at Eco Nesting has done something similar with beautiful old silk ties her father-in-law gave her. I never would have thought to use fabric like that, but it makes perfect sense!

If you prefer to give your kids small gifts rather than baskets filled with candy, Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green offers a few suggestions here.

Speaking of candy alternatives, check out Trina’s post at O’BoyOrganic. She and her husband put together Easter baskets full of toys and books that their boys can play with over and over.

Amanda of The EcoFriendly Family also suggests looking outside the candy aisle for items to tuck into an Easter basket, like natural bubble bath and beeswax crayons.

Michelle at Everything’s Abuzz suggests several fun and easy ways to green your kids’ Easter baskets. Here’s one useful tip: replace plastic “grass” with shredded paper from home, or buy grass made from recycled paper.

Brenna at Almost All the Truth has some smart suggestions for natural Easter baskets and toys, too. I appreciate the links to the organic chocolate bunnies!

Speaking of bunnies, don’t miss this sweet story of the bunnies that grew up under Karen’s back stoop over at Best of Mother Earth.

Shane at Environmental Booty gets her girls making crafts at Easter, especially if it overlaps with spring
break and the kids need something to do other than watch TV. Here’s a photo of the Easter Bunny change purse her daughter made out of recycled juice boxes. I never would have thought of that!

If you really want to get crafty, there’s a link to decorations you can knit in my Big Green Purse blog on making Easter Earth-friendly.

Meanwhile, Amber at Strocel.com also recycles at Easter, from decorations to Easter baskets. “My kids have had the same Easter baskets for years,” she reports. “During the year they live in a closet, and every Easter we leave them out for the Easter Bunny, like we leave out our stockings at Christmas.”

Betsy at Eco-Novice makes food the centerpiece of her Easter celebration. This year, she’s planning on serving up whole-grain pancakes topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Check out her blog to get the recipe.

Diane at Turning the Clock Back recommends shopping second hand if you need spiffy duds to wear to church or to dinner. This is especially good advice if you have small kids who will only wear a frilly dress or fancy pants this one time this year.

How do you celebrate Easter? Let us know!