This year was our son’s first year dying Easter eggs and I wanted use natural 
dyes from nature’s color pallet. I feel better knowing what is actually in it when he gets is all over him. The dyes can seep into the eggs too and I don’t want him ingesting artificial food coloring just for a few hours of fun. I was prepared with a few natural dye recipes that used foods such as blueberries, beet juice, cabbage and turmeric powder. Then my mom text me from Whole Foods saying they have a natural dye kit for $10. Okay, sold! I have a lot going on right now, so this was a great easy alternative. I could try the homemade natural dye recipes next year and as the kids grow older it can be a fun experiment to see which foods will provide the best colors for the eggs. For now, the kit is great. It included four colors- blue, green, purple, and yellow which were made from fruits, herbs and vegetables. The directions asked to leave the eggs in the dye for 10-20 minutes, but with the patience of a toddler (and his mom, lol!) that wasn’t going to happen. The colors still turned out nice and vibrant and I was pleasantly surprised. This kit and similar kits are also sold on Amazon.
To fill the plastic eggs I like to use toys are other fun things; pretty much anything except candy. He gets enough of that at Easter from school and from his Grammy. Some ideas are stickers, tiny stuffed animals, finger puppets, mini pull back cars, mini wind-up flipping bugs, small water squirt toys, or Annie’s organic cheddar bunnies and bunny fruit snacks. When the kids get a bit older I will use LED finger lights, bouncy balls, sticky hands, and little Lego people too.
For the Easter basket I use the same basket with the same straw each year. I like using paper straw over the plastic straw. It is better for the environment, can be recycled, and it’s sturdier and less messy. I have even used our paper shredding as straw which works great, but I received some colored paper straw from a gift and found it to be perfect for Easter baskets. I also fill the basket with fun, non-candy items such as books, sidewalk chalk, small instruments, art supplies. I even use this opportunity to throw a few things in there that I would have to buy anyway (sunscreen, sunglasses, reusable snack bags…you get the idea). Anything that is small enough to fit in the basket, yet still bright and colorful. Here is his basket from this year: 
Happy Green Easter!