Easter Prep

Well, guess who just realized that it is April! (That would be me.)

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and then it will be Easter! Time for some serious Easter prepping.

I just found all four of the baskets from last year (little ones for the older girls and a very big one for Zac) and two bags of paper Easter grass (one green, one purple) in my office.

I have Zac's Fagus car carrier from Nova Natural set aside for him, since happily it came in a box separate from the rest of his toy order. And I thought, oh, duh, I should save this for Easter!

I have a packet of natural Easter egg dyes.

And I have a bag in the kitchen cupboard of saved onion skins. Now what?

Oh, and I happen to have a box of books recently ordered from Amazon. (These books were NOT meant for Easter but luckily I have them! I weirdly seem to always shop for the children right before a holiday and give them the presents and then I have to run around thinking of something new once I realize Valentine's Day is coming, etc. This time I should be set UNLESS they have already looked through the box of books on the kitchen table -- which they probably already have -- in which case all they will have done is ruined their own surprise.)

for Zac, almost 2

Edward the Emu
by Sheena Knowles


Vegetables in Underwear
by Jared Chapman

for Becca, 12

The Golden Bull: A Mesopotamian Adventure
by Marjorie Cowley

for Leah, 13

Son of Charlemagne
by Barbara Willard

for Natalie, 15

Legends of King Arthur
by Isabel Wyatt

Oh, and I just bought Zac that gorgeous rainbow toddler broom from Camden Rose. I always wanted to have that broom for my girls when they were little! I have seriously lusted after it for 12 years. I'm so excited... he will LOVE it! So that's going in the save-for-Easter-morning pile too.

Obviously I don't want to spend any more money, but I want to do more (and have handmade things in their baskets), and so I have two strategies. The first is to scour Pinterest for cool new ideas; the second is to remind myself there are several crafts already on my personal craft wish list and for which I have the associated craft supplies already in my stash.

Here are my thoughts; feel free to chime in with your favorites and/or what you're currently working on late at night while the kids are asleep.

Nourishing Tallow Hard Lotion Bars with Essential Oils
thanks to the family who gave us some lovely tallow!

Needle Felted Mushroom Pincushions

Felt Play Kitchen Foods - I've pinned a LOT of ideas for this to my Early Childhood and Waldorf Toys board on Pinterest...
now I need to narrow down some favorites

• a stack of pancakes with syrup and sliced bananas
• fried egg
• a collection of pasta shapes
• snow peas
• slices of bread and assorted sandwich fixin's
• sandwich cookies
• pizza!
  and toppings!




EGG DYEING IDEAS

beautiful stenciled eggs dyed with onion skin

shaving cream eggs

Sharpie dot silhouette eggs

dyeing eggs with old silk ties

and one more...
Easter bunny eggs - these are too stinkin' cute

I love the idea of books and lotion bars and play kitchen foods and dyed Easter Eggs for everyone!

(And a pincushion for each of the big girls, and a broom and a toy truck for my little guy.)

To be honest, I think the girls will love the play foods in their Easter baskets just as much as he will. They sure have enjoyed the Lincoln Logs I got back out. So many of the things he has I saved from when they were little. But I gave my Elves and Angels play kitchen and all of our handmade foods away to a friend when she became a grandma. So we are starting all over again in that dept.

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