Martie's Easter Ideas: Speckled Egg Dye Techniques, Easter Menus, Deviled Egg Bar and more!

    

Easter is early this year and if you are just beginning to think about what to do next weekend with your children, family and friends, here are some easy ideas for Easter recipes, Easter egg dying techniques, and Easter egg hunt party ideas.... you get bonus points if you can convince a friend to dress up in a big bunny suit! 

 EASTER EGG DECORATING PARTY AND EGG HUNT

Want to have some fun with the kids and make memories that will last a lifetime? An Easter Egg Hunt that includes egg decorating along with a craft station is interactive and creative... much more fun than simply stuffing plastic eggs with candy and throwing them around the yard.

Set up a table with lots of decorating supplies... the dollar store is a good source. I usually dye the eggs in advance since that is the messy part and simply let kids decorate their own. Think Fabrege eggs... the kids use paint, glitter, felt, fabric scraps and beads to create their little jeweled masterpieces.

Use items you have or can easily get for decorating. I used bunnies, birdhouses and nests and a few daffodils in colorful little pails to tie the theme together.

 

Hide a few eggs and other inexpensive prizes and let the kids hunt for them afterwards. I also love to get those wind up bunnies and let the kids race them.

One fun tradition is to have the budding author in your group write an Easter story and read it to the kids. My niece even illustrated her story and I made copies of her "book" for the other children to take home. She even did a book signing for the kids. I still have my copy, of course.

EASTER EGG DYING TECHNIQUES: SPECKLED EASTER EGGS

Speckled eggs give your decorating an organic appeal... these eggs colored in a rich blue and speckled using tea are to dye for! For Easter Sunday, these natural looking speckled Easter eggs make a lovely table decoration and you can eat them! Bonus! The French often have a bowl or wheel of hard-boiled eggs on the table as a starter to a meal. One of my favorite French bistros always has a wheel of hard-boiled eggs at the bar. Guests are invited to simply crack them open and season with a little salt, pepper and perhaps a dollop of Dijon mustard.... yum! Here's how to make speckled Easter eggs: Read more...

Always have trouble getting your hard-boiled eggs just right? Click here to see how!

If you don't feel like dying eggs, try this virtual egg dye app from Heinz PAAS Easter's website! No muss, no fuss, and a lot of fun! Best of all, the Make-a-Wish Foundation will receive $1 from each decorated egg you make and share using this app! Get started now, it's free and for a great cause. heinzpaaseaster.com

EASTER MENU IDEAS

One of my favorite things to do for Easter Sunday is to have a deviled egg bar where guests can dress up their eggs in a very different way... by topping deviled eggs with with all sorts of favorite flavors and condiments. Here's how to do it...

Another Easter favorite is my Bourbon Baked Ham. Once you've tried it, this one will become an instant classic on your holiday menus. Get the recipe...

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