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Like with many other celebrations and holidays you could argue that Easter has become very consumerist and as a result tends to be very heavy on the plastic.
We are all doing our bit to try to move away from plastic so we thought we would pull this list together of a few ideas and craft activities to help you and your family enjoy Easter, and all the chocolate, whilst cutting down on the amount of plastic used.
Tip 1: The chocolate
You have a couple of choices here, you either buy a totally plastic free chocolate e.g. no plastic wrappers/clear windows on the box, such as a Lindt bunny or Vegan alternative (Women's Health Mag has written a great article on Vegan Easter Egg alternatives here) and luckily there are more and more out there. Or you make your own Easter container with chocolates (homemade or purchased).
Each year my mum would bring out the paper mache Easter egg containers and I was so excited to see all the different mini eggs in there, I much preferred it to a larger hollow chocolate egg. They lasted for years (she still gives it it each year and I am 33!) and it was fun so personally that is what I would go for.
You can buy paper mache eggs here, or perhaps make your own.
Photo copyright Jeremys Home Store.
Equally you could buy metal eggs such as this one above, use a cardboard box (and why not get the children to paint it?), a metal bucket or a drawstring bag. Basically any reusable container will do!
But then what do you fill the reusable container with?
Again you have 2 options: 1 buy chocolate or 2 make your own.
If buying chocolate consider buying from a shop, whether online or high street store, that sells in larger containers so that you aren't just buying lots of plastic to then decant into something not plastic!
If deciding to make your own you might want to invest in reusable silicone moulds in Easter shapes. Have a search online and you will find plenty to choose from.
Making home made Easter eggs is another fun activity to do with the children too!
To do it just buy your favourite chocolate bar, melt it carefully in a microwave safe bowl or on a double boiler and pour into the moulds (adult supervision needed at all times!). You could simply do all chocolate or experiment with adding things such as raisins, biscuits or marshmallows! Leave to set over night/in the fridge then pop out and have as 2 halves or place 2 halves together and wrap in tissue paper or tin foil but be careful of the edges. Then pop them into your container, the children will love them.
Tip 2: The crafts/activities
Easter is about spending time with your family and creating memories and you can do this through Easter activities.
A huge hit of an Easter activity is an egg hunt. Over the last few years those huge plastic buckets with loads of plastic hollow eggs that you put things into have popped up and yes I suppose they are reusable but they aren't essential and we can find a plastic free alternative. So instead of hiding them around the garden why not try hiding those foil covered eggs that you have just made instead?
Or why not have a go as a family at painting rocks to look like Easter eggs and hiding those?
You just need stones, paint, brushes and varnish if wanting the paint to last. Remember they will take a day or 2 to dry.
For a more instant solution why not cut out paper or card in to an egg shape and decorate them then hang them in trees/hide in the garden?
Here we used black card and a wet chalk technique which gives a striking look as there is less chalk dust than using chalk normally.
Another lovely option is to create a nature art Easter Egg collage using natural items found in your garden.
Be careful and responsible when picking items (ideally fallen naturally), cut out the egg shape onto cardboard and use glue to stick down!
So there we have it, Easter can be hugely fun without wasting huge amounts of plastic.
Let us know if you have any other tips and tag us in your pictures if you have a go at any of these Easter Crafts @naturemakers.