Eco-Friendly Easter Ideas
By Eco-Expert Emily Anderson for GalTime.com
Like most parents, my time is limited. When it comes to the holidays, I always make an effort to be eco-friendly. But even I have my limits. After all, holidays is about being together, and for me the most precious resource is time.
I love doing craft projects with my children that we can also enjoy when we celebrate the holiday. Of course Easter has a lot of different ways to get creative, and I'm not just talking about dying eggs. And I am definitely not going to make my own natural dyes. Making our own home-grown dye for the Easter Eggs falls into the category of "um, yeah, like THAT'S going to happen." First of all, you don't eat the dye.
Second of all, it is food safe, and not what I consider eco-friendly, but it's not that bad for you. I just think that there are so many other ways to "Eco-My-Easter" without adding something that's too time-consuming to actually do.
On the other hand, I'd hate to tell you not to do some of the traditions that make your Easter unique, like jelly beans. Listen, I've had my share of Pink Peeps. In fact, I may or may not have purchased a package recently. It's tempting, the store displays beckon with their cheerful Spring Colors, chocolates, jelly beans, Cadbury Eggs…I know how it is. But before you fill up your shopping basket, let me give you a few fun and ideas so that you can make your Easter a little more green.
1. Lollipop Flowers
Get you kids to help you turn a bag of low-sugar, organic lollipops into Easter-Basket worthy treats. Get a bag of loose silk-flowers at your local craft store. Glue one flower on each side of the lollipop, tie a brightly colored bow and you have a cheery bloom to plant anywhere you like. In fact, these can pull double-duty as Easter Decorations too.
Related: 5 Egg-cellent Ways to Save on Easter
2. Lollipop Bunnies
You can also make little bunny ears out of felt, glue them also to the plastic wrapped lollipop and voila-you have a hopping treat your kids will have fun making and eating. Be sure you keep the plastic wrap on the lolly until it's time to eat the treat.
3. Shoe Box Easter Basket
Instead of buying a cheap plastic Easter basket destined for the trash, you can just make one out of shoebox. I simply wrapped my box with some of my daughter's art. For the handle, a wire hanger was cut apart with wire cutters, and I used a pair of small pliers to turn the end over. Then poke a whole in each side of the box and this is where each end of the wire goes. Use the pliers to pinch the wire ends in place, otherwise you will have a very disappointed Easter Egg hunter if the "basket" comes apart. I wound a brightly colored scarf around the wire handle to make it extra-pretty.
Related:
Easter Trifle: Strawberry With Lemon and Mint
4. Don't Buy Plastic
This is a good thing to remember really for all holidays, but when it comes to Easter it seems that there is a particularly high-quantity of plastic, disposable stuff. One of these I find particularly loathsome is that plastic green "grass". First of all, once you bring that stuff into your home, it will never leave. Somehow those little strands of green plastic find their way into every corner of your house. And then of course you try to use the vacuum, and if you have a roller on yours, that green grass has a tendency to wind itself around it. So there are lots of reasons to skip the grass-one of them is the eco-impact all of this wasteful, non-recyclable holiday décor that's really not that great in the first place. Try using yarn as an alternative. It's really easy to shape and mold, and it will always do what it's told and stay where it's supposed to be.
For more tips on living green, check out my blog: goodwithstyle.com.
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