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Coloring isn’t the only thing you can do with eggs and simple dyed eggs don’t have to be the only thing in Easter gift baskets. There are lots of different kinds of Easter gift baskets that you can gift and there are a lot of different things you can do with eggs other than just dying them and sticking them in boxes and baskets with fake grass.

Egg Characters

Dying eggs is a good activity for younger kids but for kids who are older and can use more advanced crafts material, go for egg characters. Use felt, tissue, cotton, twigs, grass, cardboard, buttons and candy to make faces on eggs and to dress them up. You can create an entire village of them. Use the crafts to make them nests or hut like homes. They can be used anywhere; on the table, at the foot of lamp posts, in flower beds and on window sills.

Incorporate food into the décor

Easter food and desserts can be very decorative; they shouldn’t just be for eating. Get creative with the food. Don’t try to make everything yourself, visit your local candy store and you’re bound to find something unique. Don’t just put the candy out in trays or stuff it all in the egg; use it to decorate the food. Use Easter fruit baskets or fruit bouquets as centerpieces, you can also give fruit bouquet as a prize to who ever wins the egg hunt.

Costumes and dresses

You can have an Easter costume party; ask friends and family to dress up or to just accessorize for the party. You can hand out bunny ears to all the guests to make sure they’re dressed for the occasion.

The Bunny’s Nest

Create a bunny’s nest where you can put all the Easter gifts. Pile all the eggs around the nest. You can make it in a nice shaded area in the yard and have Easter brunch outside.

Entertainment

Games are a must have for an Easter party; top of the list should be the egg hunt. There are lots of ways of making the egg hunt more fun and a bit more complicated. For adults, you can add as many complications as you want, like hiding hallow eggs that don’t count or using jelly beans as decoys. For kids, things should be kept simple enough for them to be able to enjoy the hunt and the candy at the end.

Easter parties are supposed to follow an Easter theme but surprisingly, eggs, chickens and bunnies don’t cover it for most people. Many can’t make the connection between rabbits and eggs. Here are a few ideas for an Easter themed party.

Barn animals

Everyone knows about Easter and bunnies and chickens but Easter is also associated with spring. That means you can use just about any cute depiction of a barn animal that you like. Take eggs and make sheep and cows out of them if you want.

Colors and decorations

Easter as a holiday isn’t associated with a particular color like Christmas and Halloween are. Dark colors normally aren’t used and decorations are kept light to give a fresh look to rooms and gardens. The decoration involves crafts, flowers and fruits. The only chocolate involved is the giant chocolate bunnies and there aren’t many of them. Candy comes next, with jelly beans being used on just about anything and everything. Pinks, blues and yellows are the colors that are mostly used. Coloring is a popular activity for this holiday and anything that the kids color can be made part of the decorations.

Gifts and favors

Candy is the popular party favor item at Easter parties, but if you want to send someone an Easter gift that isn’t all sugar, try Easter fruit baskets or fruit bouquets. They’re not only a good gift, but instead of making complicated Easter desserts for the party, you can just put them out as centerpieces for the table.

Party Activities

Egg hunts and egg dying are a must have, but there are lots of other activities that you can have at the party. The amount of space you have available usually helps you decide what activities you can have, but crafting is something that can keep guests of all ages happy. Go online and look for instructional videos. You can either download them or just get the instructions down and then teach everyone else how to make a nice little nest for their Easter eggs or maybe a birdhouse using ice cream sticks.

Chocolate and candy

Easter gift baskets with chocolate and candy aren’t the best gift idea, but make sure you have candy to give the kids. It’s an important part of the holiday so make sure you don’t disappoint the kids (or their parents) by not having any candy. Don’t make candy the only food at the party, but make sure that the Easter eggs are filled with it so that no one goes home unhappy.

Party planning isn’t easy and if you’re talking Easter parties where a lot of kids will be in attendance you’ve got a job on your hands. Apart from the cooking and decorating, you need to find a way to keep everyone entertained and keep things organized. Here’s how you can make things easier.

Invites or Facebook events

Are all or most of your friends on Facebook? Instead of spending hours with glitter, ribbons and crayons, why not create an Easter party event on Facebook and maybe even a page for it? You can ask friends and family who are attending to post ideas and tips for the party on it. Once the party is over, share pictures and stories on the page. Keep it alive in the years to come or let other family members use it for any other holiday party that they may be planning.

Egg apps

Believe it or not, there are egg decorating apps available. These apps have everything from egg timers, dying instructions to color wheels to help you pick and create lots of different colors. You can even use these apps to find Easter party supply stores near you. You can find other party planning apps too that will help you keep track of what’s to be done.

Food and supplies

Instead of running around stores looking for the perfect centerpiece for the table or killing yourself trying to find Easter desserts that are easy to make yet presentable, go online and look for Easter fruit baskets or fruit bouquets. You can order anything from centerpieces to Easter gift baskets online.

Games and party ideas

You don’t need to plan all the entertainment off the top of your head. Go online and you’re sure to find a ton of games suitable for both children and adults. There are lots of egg decorating tips available as well so if you don’t find any of the apps useful, you can always look at a few video tutorials. To make the party fun for adults, look for ways to put a twist on the traditional Easter games, like the egg hunt. One popular way of making the hunt a bit harder is to mix the eggs with fake plastic ones or hide empty ones with the ones that have chocolate or prizes in them. You can also find games that parents can play with their kids, there are parent child Easter activities available for children of all age groups.

Easter themes can be boring if you restrict yourself to dyed eggs and fake grass. Here are some simple and creative ways of making your home stand out on Easter.

Eggs, Egg Wreaths and Egg People

Dying isn’t the only thing that you can do with an egg. If your kids are old enough for a real craft project, give them something a little complicated to make like an egg wreath and funny egg characters. There are multiple video tutorials available online, download them or let the kids do it for themselves and surprise you with their egg creations. You can call your guests up in advance and ask if they have an Easter decoration that the kids made that they’d like to see at the party. Incorporate as many creations by the kids as you can and make it into a little exhibition. You can decide on an Easter theme and let your guests know in advance so everyone can bring something to show off.

All those stuffed toys and barn animals

Do you still have bears, bunnies and what not, that your daughter used to play with when she was little? Easter is the perfect time to bring them out. Wash them, dry them and make them a part of an ‘Easter bunny nest’ where you can put all the presents. Easter is a great time to bring out all those big eyed toys that your kids used to play with; they make great decoration for just about any place.

Easter gift baskets and Easter desserts

Food shouldn’t just be for eating, it should be good enough to decorate a table with. Use Easter fruit baskets and fruit bouquets as centerpieces for the table. Use jelly beans to add color to custards and pies. Cover cakes and cupcakes with shredded coconut that’s been dyed yellow so that it looks like chicken feathers.

Easter props and the Easter bunny

If renting props is in your budget, go for some nice archways or a giant stuffed bunny to put at the center of your Easter nest. Use flowers (store bought or home grown) to decorate the arch or use jelly beans, candy and dyed eggs to give it the Easter look.

Games and coloring

Don’t forget about the egg hunt; arrange to have three different hunts, all of which get successively harder. Only the egg hunters that find the most eggs will get to hunt in the more difficult egg hunt. For kids, make sure there are egg dying arrangements and Easter pages to color.