Decorating Easter Eggs

Growing up, decorating Easter eggs was an annual tradition. We tried all kinds of different kits and techniques as kids.

This is the first year that Alexie is really old enough to decorate the eggs. We decided to start with the classic approach and do a more traditional technique.

Last year, a few weeks after Easter, I was wandering through my local Michael’s craft store when I noticed a bin of discount bags. Each bag was filled with random Easter stuff and cost $10. I sifted through the bin until I found a bag that was worth my money. It had 6 Easter egg decorating kits as well as 2 cake pans (a cross and a bunny). Well for $10, I couldn’t pass it up. I stored the kits in a cool dry place until we were ready to use them this year.

I hard-boiled a dozen and a half eggs earlier in the day so they would be cool enough to work with, especially for little hands. We used some regular crayons to decorate the eggs with our own special designs. Then, following the instructions, we made the dye. We placed an egg into each cup of dye and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. We pulled them out and let them dry. Then we added either the shiny paint or the glitter to the eggs. These were the bonus items in the kits.

Decorating eggs may seem like a strange thing to do, but it’s actually very educational. We counted eggs and cups of dye, learned about colours and how dyes work. And then there’s the artistic side of things. The kids got to express themselves on an egg. It’s really the perfect blend of tradition and art.