Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Archive for the ‘Easter’ Category

When we think of Easter, we think of spring, bunnies, newly hatched chicks, fun pastel colors, warmer sunshine, green grass, the Easter Bunny, and, of course, candy!  There are so many great colors and themes to work with during the Easter season; it is a great time to get children involved with the holiday.  These craft ideas will help keep your child busy, happy, entertained, and in the Easter spirit.  It’s time to think spring!

Easter and baskets go hand-in-hand.  Instead of buying a new Easter basket for your child or as an Easter gift, why don’t you make one together?  It is easy, the results are fantastic, and you will have fun doing it.

You will need:

• Half gallon milk or juice carton
• Stapler
• Scissors or craft knife
• Glue
• Hole punch
• Pipe cleaners
• Googly eyes

To make:

Remove the panel of the juice/milk carton that is on the side with the spout.  Set this aside; it will be used to make the handle.  Staple the spout shut.  Using glue, cover the sides of the carton with construction paper (any color you like). Trim it so it fits neatly.  In the center of the spout ridge (the top of the carton) punch a hole and insert pipe cleaners.  These are the bunny’s whiskers.  Glue the googly eyes just above.

Cut out paper ears in the same color as the bunny’s body, and then cut smaller pink ear shapes to fit inside.  Staple the ears to the base of the bunny so they stand up.  Almost done.  All you need now is handle.  Take the panel you’ve cut and trim it to the correct size.  Cover it with construction paper (to match the body, if you want. Otherwise, in a color of your choice).  Staple this to the basket.  You now have a colorful, homemade basket to fill with goodies.

If you decorate eggs at Eastertime, you likely have a few empty egg cartons lying around the house.  This next craft can help you put those to good use.  You will make a grass-sprouting caterpillar  A week or two before Easter, mix ¾ cup of potting soil with 2 tablespoons of grass seed in a bowl.  Moisten it with water.

Prepare your egg carton by cutting out a section of three cups in a row (or four, or five, or even six).  Trim it so it is even on both sides.  At the front of the section, draw on a cute caterpillar face.  You could get crafty and decorate it with googly eyes, pompoms, or pipe cleaners or paint the egg carton.  Either way; simple is just as good.  Put the soil mixture into the egg cups.  Find a sunny spot for your “grassapillar” and keep the soil moist.  In a week or so, the grass will spout, and you will have a cute, living, centerpiece.

It’s not Easter without Easter eggs.  If you have an older child, try making an egg still life.  You will need blown-out eggs, grass, glue, and a miniature baby chick (a candy chick will do if you can’t find a plastic or ceramic one).  Start by dying a blown-out egg a simple solid color.  When dry, use a knife point to chip a hole in the side of the egg.  It should be about one inch in diameter.  (If your child can’t do this, step in and he/she can do the rest.)  Inside the egg, make your still life.  Put grass and your little chick inside and glue in place.  You have a simple, fun centerpiece that guests will love.  Your child will be proud that she made such a unique egg!

Coloring pages and card templates are great for children of all ages, and this can be a good table craft to occupy the kids before dinner.  Disney’s FamilyFun site has a variety of great pages to print and color.

Your kids will enjoy these Easter crafts – and so will you!

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at making a special Easter bunny cake, this year you can. Why not make an Easter bunny-shaped carrot cake? You’ll need a good pan and a good recipe for carrot cake. And you’ll want to use all fresh ingredients for your batter. Oh, and when it comes to the frosting, don’t skimp. It’s the best part!

First, search online or in a hobby and craft store for a bunny-shaped cake pan. Many online retailers sell bunny pans. You can use a traditional flat pan with a bunny shape, or one that has more raised surfaces and details. Just be sure that you prepare the pan by greasing and flouring it so the cake won’t stick when you unmold it.

Follow the directions below for making the batter and the icing. But add your own flair when it comes to decorating your Easter bunny cake. Use coconut for fur by sprinkling it all over the frosting. Then do a ribbon out of licorice and eyes out of jelly beans. You can make the bunny appear to be sitting on grass by coloring coconut with green food coloring, or by placing shredded wheat across the bottom of the plate after you frost the cake to make it look like he’s in a hay field. Use pink frosting for the inside of the bunny’s ears and cute little bunny nose. It depends on how fancy you want to get, but you can bake a 3D version as well. Wilton is one company that offers a 3D bunny pan. It’s less than $15 and worth a try if you’re creative. When working with a 3D cake, you’ll need to pipe the icing on with a bag and icing tip to get the fully decorated effect.

Make it a tradition each year to bake up a tasty bunny carrot cake. It’s one that’s sure to please young and old folks alike.

Carrot Cake III (courtesy of Allrecipes.com)

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ready In: 2 Hours

Servings: 18

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

1.            Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour pan.

2.            In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

3.            Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

4.            To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

If you're looking for a new way to decorate your Easter Eggs this year, here are 2 more fun and easy ways to create unique looking Easter Eggs.  Don't forget to display your gorgeous eggs on a special tiered egg display tree or in a beautiful Easter basket!

Rubber Band Tye Dyed Eggs

Wrap several rubber bands around a hard-boiled egg (careful to not crack the egg!) Dip the egg into a bowl containing the mixture of food color, vinegar and water. Let it sit for a while for the color to intensify. Remove the egg, pat it dry and take off the rubber bands. The areas covered by rubber bands will still have the original egg shell color and have a tye-dye effect.

You can dye the eggs a solid color before applying the rubber bands, or leave the eggs their natural color.

Tape or Sticker Designs

Use simple shape paper punches to punch out shapes from masking tape (or cut out your own design), then stick tape to egg. Dye the eggs with the tape on, let them dry, then remove the tape to reveal great designs!

Other ways to get fun designs is to use white crayon or clear nail polish. Color designs, names or anything else, then dye the egg. Wherever you applied the crayon or polish the dye won't stick.

Check out this Squidoo lens for even more ideas....Easter Egg Decorating.

If you're looking for a new way to dye your Easter eggs to create a little pizazz, try marbling your Easter eggs!  It's easy to do and creates spectacular results.

To create a "Marbled" look to your Easter eggs, add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to your cup of egg dye.

You can start with a white egg, or one that has already been dyed a base color.

Quickly dip your egg in and out of the dye. The oil causes only some areas of the egg to get the dye, creating the marble design. Keep dipping for more intense colors. You can also let the egg dry and re-dip in a second color. Repeat as many times as you wish. When the egg is dry, blot with a paper towel to remove the excess oil.

Different amounts of oil will result in more or less marbling. Experiment to find the mixture that you like best. Remember you can always add more, so start conservatively.

Curious to know what other cultures do for Easter eggs around the world?  Some cultures decorate hollow eggs, some dye eggs like Americans, but many celebrate in other ways.  Get the scoop on this Easter Eggs From Around The World article!

P.S. If you don't have time to make your own Easter eggs, don't worry, you can buy a beautiful Easter gift basket at Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets that is filled with foiled chocolate eggs....pretty sure no one will complain!

How to make a perfectly hard boiled egg.

The first step to a great Easter egg is boiling the egg. You don't want your eggs to crack, because then they don't look as nice, and aren't as appealing to eat when the dye seeps into the egg. Try to avoid picking the "Extra Large" or "Jumbo" sized eggs.  The shell tend to be thinner on larger eggs, with a better chance of cracking while cooking or dying.

Egg Boiling Instructions
Put a single layer of eggs in a large pot, and cover with COLD water (about 1-2 inches above eggs). Turn the heat on under the eggs and as soon as they come to a full boil, remove them from the heat and let them sit in the hot water for about 15-20 minutes.

After the 15-20 minutes, either remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place in a colander, or drain hot water from pot then rinse eggs with cool water until eggs feel cool. Place on paper towels to dry.

Wait until eggs feel room temperature before dying.

Basic Dye Instructions

There are many kits out there with creative ways to dye your Easter Eggs.  They may be convenient, but they're not the most economical choice out there.  Here is a basic dye recipe.

In small cups or bowls (that can withstand boiling water) use 1 cup boiling water, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and a few drops of food coloring.  The more coloring you use, the more vibrant the eggs will be.

For a basic colored egg, place an egg in the dye mixture and let sit for 1-2 minutes.  The longer you let the egg soak, the more vibrant the color will be.

Remove the egg and place on a paper towel, plate, or in an egg carton to dry.

In the following weeks I'll show you some of my favorite dying techniques for creating unique Easter eggs.  If you want to decorate the eggs today, you can find some great Easter egg decorating tips on this All About Easter lens at Squidoo.  You can find all kinds of craft ideas for kids as well as tips for making your own kids Easter baskets as well!