How to Decorate Eggs for Easter

Decorating Eggs for Easter

Decorating eggs for easter is a fun way to spend time with your children, and connect to a range of ancient traditions. All sorts of people across history have been decorating eggs; from the Ancient Egyptians decorating easter eggs to the gold leaf covered eggs that were popular with medieval kings. In the UK, children have traditionally decorated eggs for Easter. While this has previously been an exclusively Christian tradition, it is now practiced by all sorts of people.

What you need to decorate eggs for easter

• Eggs – any size will do, but try for a mixture of sizes to fit different sized hands.
• A pin for piercing shells
• Two bowls, one filled with soapy water
• A straw or a baby aspirator
• Decorating materials – to be discussed later

Prepare the eggs

You can’t decorate eggs for easter without some preparation. You need to remove the yolk and the white from the egg, without breaking too much of the shell. The traditional method to remove the contents of the eggs is to blow it out with your lips or a straw. However, some people may wish to avoid touching the raw egg. This may require the use of a baby aspirator.

To remove the contents of the egg, you need to pierce the shell of the egg at both top and bottom. Make the hole at the bottom of the egg slightly wider than the hole at the top. Then, while holding the egg above a bowl, blow the white and yolk into the bowl from the top hole.

Once the egg feels like it is empty, put it into a second bowl filled with soapy water, and allow the egg to partially fill with water. Then blow this out using the same technique.

Allow the egg to dry, and it is then ready to decorate for easter.

There are as many different ways to decorate eggs for easter as you like. However, we’re going to focus on two popular ways of decorating.

Dying the eggs

One of the oldest ways to decorate eggs is to dye their shells. Traditionally, this would be done with natural dyes, but it is equally possible to use modern dyes. To dye egg shells, you need to:

• Mix the dye – take a tablespoon of white wine vinegar to 250ml of cold water. Then add a few drops of food colouring and mix thoroughly.
• Draw the design of your choice onto the eggs with a wax crayon.
• Lower the eggs into the dye, and leave them fully submerged for around 10 minutes.
• Remove the eggs with a spoon, and your design will remain marked on the egg.
• Rub a small amount of oil over the eggs with a paper towel to preserve the colour for longer.

Decorating the eggs

Decorating eggs externally is simpler than dyeing, but can cause a lot more mess! Decorating eggs for easter this way is enormously variable. Younger children might be best sticking to sticking things on their egg. If you can cope with the mess, glitter is a very popular option! Older kids can start to use paint, personalising their eggs with designs and drawings of their own. Alternatively, use a range of coloured magic markers to decorate the eggs if paint might prove too messy.

To add additional eggs to your order, just complete a change your order form.