How To Have A Green Easter

Ready to have an eco-friendly Easter this year? I sure am.

Right now, it’s everywhere; retail stores are an explosion of pastel plastic. There’s plastic colored grass, plastic eggs, piles of easter bunny toys, plastic egg wreaths for the front door…it’s endless. I walked into Marshall’s the other day looking for a stainless steel pan and was almost bowled over by the sheer amount of Easter decorations they had.

If you’re getting tired of being snowed under with plastic every Easter, then it might be time to start looking for ways to have a green Easter celebration.

Eco-Friendly Easter Decorating

Having an eco-friendly Easter is not only good for the planet, but it’s also a great way to save money. Why? Because you don’t have to buy tons of “stuff” to pull it off! If you do decide to buy some festive decorations, then try to go natural and local.

Here are some environmentally-friendly Easter decorating ideas you can consider instead of buying something made in China out of plastic:

• Bring the outdoors in- Most of the country is starting to see signs of spring at this point. So, go on a scavenger hunt. If you have a forsythia bush in your yard, cut some of the branches off and put them in a vase. The warm indoor air will force the flowers to bloom in about a week.
  

  Apifera Farm, OR

• Buy local flowers- Visit LocalHarvest.org to find all the local farms in your area. Many have greenhouses and are growing flowers right now. This is an eco-friendly way to get your flower fix because when you buy local flowers, they haven’t had to travel anywhere. Most flowers that are in large nurseries and grocery stores have travelled hundreds or thousands of miles to get there.

• Buy an Easter tree- Go down to your local nursery and buy a small potted tree you’d love to have in your yard. Then, decorate it with colored, empty eggs on string (learn how to empty eggs here), and other festive things you have around the house. After Easter is over with, plant the tree in your yard.

Naturally Dye Easter Eggs

Here’s some good news: you don’t have to buy those packages of chemical dyes to color your easter eggs.

What can you use?

Mother Nature Network had this great list of natural ways to dye easter eggs:

• Yellow: Onion skins, turmeric, lemon peels, saffron
• Red: Beets, cranberries, paprika, raspberries
• Purple: Red wine, red cabbage
• Green: Spinach
• Blue: Blueberries
• Brown: Coffee, tea

They advise boiling each ingredient in water (with a little vinegar added) for about 15 minutes. Let the mixture cool, and then strain it to get the bigger parts out.

You can also add oil to your dyes to make a cool marbled effect.

And, if you want to watch a great video on how to naturally dye your Easter eggs then you’re in luck; I found one on YouTube (what can’t you find on YouTube?):

Create An Eco-Friendly Easter Basket For Your Kids

Your kids probably have tons of plastic toys already. So, why not create an eco-friendly treat for them this year?

Eco-Friendly Art Supplies- One great resource is Stubby Pencil Studio. They make eco-friendly art supplies just for kids. And, they’ve got some really cool baskets put together for the Easter holiday.

You can also pick a basket (or cool reusable shopping bag made for kids) as a base, and then add your own eco-friendly art supplies and toys to create your own.

Support An Artist- Another option is to support an artist by purchasing toys and baskets off Etsy.com. Do a search for “Easter” or “Easter baskets” and plenty of unique creations will come up.

Courtesy GlobalExchange.org

If you’d like to support basket weavers in Ghana, then check out these cool baskets from GlobalExchange.org. They’re only $35 each, and you’re helping support young men and giving their families much needed income.

Have A Green Theme- What kid wouldn’t love to get an easter basket full of seeds, a seed starter kit, and a few tools to start their own garden?

This would be a great way to teach them how to grown their own food, and give them some outdoor time as well.

Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Basket- If you want to save money and make your own Easter basket versus buying one, then why not use a bucket? No, seriously, hear me out on this one…

You can wrap the bucket in a swath of spare fabric you have lying around, or you can even use some old wrapping paper. Tie some ribbons around the handle, glue on some Easter-themed pics you can print off the Internet, and fill it with shredded paper or natural rafia.

Frugal and eco-friendly. Fabulous!

Buy Organic Candy- Tasty, organic candy can be found at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and any other organic/natural food store. If you don’t have any resources close to you, here are some online options:

Courtesy SweetEarthChocolates.com

• Natural Candy Store

• Yummy Earth Organic Candy

• Sweet Earth Organic Chocolate

• Global Exchange

Save Trees By Nixing The Easter Cards

Paper cards cost money (for both the card and the stamp to send it), and also cost trees.

Make your Easter more eco-friendly this year by ditching the paper cards. Instead, send an e-card, or use that telephone you’ve got sitting around the house somewhere.

Last Word…

There are plenty of ways to celebrate Easter while still keeping the planet in mind.

If you have any tips, tricks, or suggestions for more ways to have an eco-friendly Easter, please write in and share! I’m sure there’s tons of ideas I haven’t thought of yet…

Republishing Policy:

Like this post? Great! You’re welcome to reprint anything that’s posted on TheGreenestDollar.com, as long as you link back to the original article. Please see my Republishing Policy for more information.

Be Sociable, Share!

•