Can You Make This Easter a Green One?

I really didn’t stay on the ball like I should have for Easter celebration planning. The Easter Bunny hasn’t even gone shopping. If I would have thought ahead I would’ve planted some Easter grass for the kiddo’s baskets. Instead I think I will take some grass from the front yard, no cellophane grass for us this year! We also use our baskets year after year. I really can not stand to see those “disposable” baskets lining the grocery and drugstore shelves every Easter season. They are plastic inside and out all the way to their plastic mesh cover. When you take a closer look at these baskets there’s probably not anything in there that your kids are dying for anyway. I don’t make the Easter baskets such a big deal. After all, this is not what Easter is about. We all know that Easter is about Jesus and his resurrection. Its new life, rebirth! As a Christian mom I find it my responsibility to let the kids know this is what is most important, not the candy, chocolate and bunny-eared stuffed animals you see everywhere. Their baskets are usually pretty simple; some chocolate, a few eggs, a dvd or an outfit. No need to make the Easter baskets, toys and trinkets the production.



There’s plenty of things you can do to try to have a greener Easter. This will be better for your family and the environment.






• Please re-use your baskets!! Why buy another basket when you know you have 5 of them in your coat closet?


• If you don’t have any baskets be creative! Flower pots, paint cans, hats, and sand buckets all make great Easter “baskets”.


• Please don’t use the plastic, cellophane grass. Remember that pile of grass clippings your husband left in the front yard? Use them. If you don’t feel like using your own real grass try paper scraps rescued from the recycle bin, cut into strips. For you crafty gals, how about those leftover fabric strips? Maybe some tulle you never used for that school play. If you’re doing a beach theme a green beach towel or bathing suit you were already planning on buying would be great!


• Dying the eggs is something a lot of families like to do for a family activity. This year why not take on the challenge of dying them the green way? Instead of buying the packaged egg dye kits gather up that entire leftover food coloring from last year and your handy dandy white vinegar and get to work the old fashioned way. No need for the extra packaging for those little bitty tablets. There’s other unique dying techniques all of you extra ambitious green mamas might want to try too. Food and spices might be the way for you. Red cabbage, onion skins, coffee, turmeric, and beets make great looking eggs. You can find all sorts of these techniques on Martha Stewart’s website, of course.
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/natural-egg-dyeing-techniques



So, good luck to all you eco geeks like me. Hope you’ll try at least one of these ideas because we all know that one small change can make a difference. It might not seem like it but it can.


Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all feel as blessed as I do this Easter season.