When it comes to selecting a plastic Easter egg to fill with candy for your child’s basket, you’ve got a LOT of choices. From Hello Kitty to Spider-Man, the options are endless for holding all those jelly beans, chocolate candies and, if you’re lucky, a little bit of money. But what about an egg that will last a bit longer? As fun as those shapes are, once the candy has been removed, that plastic shell often heads for the recycling bin or trashcan. Taking a cue from the White House, though, you can make an egg that will last for years to come.
For the past few decades the White House has offered a commemorative wooden Easter egg to celebrate the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. The bright wood-turned eggs are stamped with signatures from the President and First Lady. There’s even a special egg dedicated to First Pups Bo and Sunny! The wooden eggs are a wonderful non-candy alternative and a fun collectible.
You can make your own special egg for your family by heading to the wood aisle at your local craft supply store. These ready-to-decorate eggs are easy to work with and can be used in a variety of ways.
Materials
- Wooden eggs (see image at right)
- Craft paint and brushes
- Painting tape
- Markers
- Eye hooks
- Drill
- Ribbon
- Scrap paper
- Glue
- Additional decorating embellishments
Instructions
| To paint your egg with a half-and-half look, mask half your egg with painting tape. The tape will create a crisp painting line – and also act as an area for you and your child to hold onto while painting. |
Once the paint is dry on your eggs, it’s up to you and your crafters how you’d like to decorate them.
| To aid in drying your painted eggs, look to those familiar egg-decorating kits! This kit from Target worked perfectly for keeping the eggs in one spot while drying. Bonus? It was filled with extra stickers and embellishments! |
Plain and SimpleLike the simple look of the painted eggs? We do, too! Add these to a centerpiece on your dinner table or in a pretty bowl for an easy decoration. |
Egg Tree OrnamentIf your family has a tree for all kinds of holidays, this egg is easy to convert into an ornament for it. |
| We used a smaller drill to start a hole in the top of this painted egg. |
| Once the hole was started, a small eyehook was screwed into the top. Add a piece of ribbon and it’s ready for hanging. |
Egg CharactersGrab a fine-tip marker and add a nose, eyes and whiskers to create a bunny creature. Scraps of construction paper can quickly become a pair of ears when glued to the back of the egg. |
How else can you decorate your egg?
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Add your child’s name with paint markers
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Polka-dot it!
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Cover with glitzy embellishments
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Paint comic book word bubbles for a superhero theme
- Swap craft paint for chalk paint and let the egg become a doodle space
