Easter Traditions – How to Dye Your Own Easter Eggs

Kitchen Fun for Everyone

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
C. S. Lewis
(1898 – 1963)

Dyeing Easter eggs is a beloved family tradition for many!

Eggs contain the promise of new life, just as Easter reminds us of prophecy fulfilled, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Children of all ages (even adults) enjoy creating colorful eggs to celebrate Resurrection Sunday. In our home, we like to dye hard-boiled eggs, as they hold up to handling (particularly by little hands) much better than the blown-out ones.

Here's how to dye your own Easter eggs at home.

 

Hard-Boil Your Easter Eggs.

Place several eggs in a large saucepan. For the best results, use a pan that is large enough to accommodate all of your eggs in one layer on the bottom. Cover the eggs with lukewarm or cool water. (Stop filling once the water level is about an inch above the top of the eggs.)

Bring water to a full boil on the stove. Boil eggs over high heat for 10 minutes before removing pan from heat. Allow the water to cool completely before handling the eggs.

Chill hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Follow these 7 simple steps for dyeing Easter eggs.

1. Prepare Your Work Area. (Clear the decks.)
2. Mix Your Easter Egg Dyes. (Add a little vinegar for best results.)
3. Play With Pretty Colors. (Mix primary colors to make more!)
4. Dip Your Easter Eggs. (A big spoon often works better than those wire loops.)
5. Enjoy Egg-ceptional Dyeing. (It's OK to get a little messy!)
6. Finish Up – Over Easy. (An empty cardboard milk carton is ideal for this!)
7. Dry Your Dyed Eggs. (Let them sit in the fridge until serving.)

Hints from our house: 

• We like to draw on hard-boiled eggs with crayons before dipping them into the dyes. This creates a creative batik-like effect. Sometimes we write words on them. 
• As another option, it's fun to roll just-dipped eggs in a flat shirt box with powdery chalk dust, glitter, or shaped cut-outs from craft hole-punchers. (Ours punch out tiny hearts, stars, or butterflies.)
  
• Or you can give kids small stickers and let them beautify their dried dyed Easter eggs.

Here’s Another Egg-Dyeiug Option:

You can place your food coloring or dye mixtures in little spray bottles, and allow children to mist their eggs with color. This is a super outdoor activity, if weather permits, as it can get a little messy!

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