It’s almost Easter and as always, when holidays are near, my mind turns to celebrating them in a green way.
First, you can make your own Easter basket, but you may not be that crafty. I would love to be able to make a cute cloth basket, but I cannot sew, so I just have to settle for purchasing one at the store. You can get a simple basket then allows the kids to decorate it with eco-friendly items such as fresh flowers, bows made from scraps of fabric, and felt eggs and bunnies. If you want to be really green, you can use the same basket year after year.
As for the plastic grass – ditch it. You can fill your Easter basket with plenty of other things including shredded paper or even popcorn. If you want colorful popcorn, let it cool, put it in a Ziploc bag, add a few drops of food coloring and shake. Allow it to dry before you put it in the basket.
You can dye your Easter eggs without buying this dye kits from the store. You can use everyday items found in the kitchen such as cabbage, onion skins, dill seeds, wine, turmeric, cranberry juice, beet juice, and carrot tops. It may take a bit longer to dye the eggs, but they will be beautiful colors you can’t normally find in store kits. One such recipe is two cups of water, 5 red cabbage leaves, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Cook all together in a pan until the eggs are cooked and you notice the colors taking hold. Put the egg and the liquid in a Mason jar and seal tight. Once the liquid has cooled, place the jar in the bottom shelf of the fridge for 20 hours.
And don’t forget your meal when being green! Consider going meatless this Easter, just offering up tasty locally grown vegetables.