7 Easter Crafts for Parents Who Don't Pinterest
Whatever your religion, Easter is a time for resurrection. It’s a time for new beginnings, for eggs and chicks, for baby bunnies. And of course, it’s also a time for crafts, because we here at Free to Be Kids believe it’s always a time for crafts. But none of us around here is that mom. We have no stocked craft closets, nor discount cards for all the arts and crafts stores. None of us can parse the differences between types of glue. We're not the mamas who look at a pin on Pinterest and think, “Pipe cleaners - oh yeah, I have plenty of those!”
We are not those moms. And we know you are probably not that mom either. We are the types of moms who look at Easter-themed Pinterest boards and feel a deep well of pastel-colored inferiority bubbling up inside. So we picked seven Easter crafts that you and yours can do -- and enjoy! -- without complicated materials or techniques. We field-tested a few of them for you with Free to Be Kids families -- and the results, you’ll agree, were fab.
It’s important we mention, though, before we get started: this isn’t just art for your kids. This is art for you. Yeah, you might feel silly Q-Tipping a paper egg at first. But you need, deep down in your soul, to create. And creating in community with those you love is the best kind of creating. You’ll remember it forever, and the kids will love that you got messy with them.
Back and Forth Easter Egg Drawings: The Artful Parent
This is super fun to do with one-on-one with a toddler or tween, or in a big group of kids. We had a blast starting out with three kids. Two dropped out to do their own thing, and one mama and her eight-year-old traded eggs back and forth. The results turned out great, but more importantly, they had a wonderful time playing together. You’ll treasure this art more than most other stuff you’ve made, because you'll do it together.
Q-Tip Easter Egg Decorating -- Clare’s Little Tots
Okay, this looked so simple, even the most craft-averse parent could manage. Cut eggs out of white paper -- and no, you don’t need special white paper. Use printer paper. Grab your Q-Tips, because you always have a metric ton of them lying around in your bathroom (c’mon, you can only clean your ears out so often). Dixie cups of paint? Try dollops of it, on one or a series of plastic lids you’d just toss in the trash anyway. Or in an old Amazon box with low sides. Or wet and use watercolors for minimal mess. Preschoolers and older kids alike could get super into this one.
Paper Strip Eggs -- Architectural Art Designs
Scroll down, down, down, past the crafts that make you feel inferior, til you get to this little gem. And you’re thinking, lady, I don’t have nice paper like that that. To which we at Free to Be Kids say, Whatever, honey. This is a craft you can do with construction paper. We actually cut out the strips but the kids got sick and didn’t get around to the craft; the cutting wasn’t as much of a pain as we thought it would be, even making them pretty narrow. Make sure you use lots of bright colors (though we snuck in black for one budding six-year-old goth kid). Glue-stick those thingies onto the egg you traced, then use the egg stencil (made of paper) to trace it again and let the kids cut it out, probably wonkily. It’ll look awesome, we promise, and will keep them quietly glueing for quite some time. This is important for toddlers.
How to Make a No-Sew Sock Bunny -- Home and Gardening Ideas
Yes, this looks daunting. Yes, it involves string, but you have it, and it’s called kitchen twine (that’s what we used). You may not, however, have enough rice, so if you plan to do this craft, we used a Target 69 cent bag of rice and a half per bunny. We highly recommend a funnel so you do not create The Great Rice Mess of 2018.
Your bunny, if you follow directions, will not turn out looking like Simon’s beloved Baby Bunny Baby (“He only has one tooth because he is a BABY!”). He got SO EXCITED he skipped all the other steps and drew a face on his, effectively ending the project. We made one too, but the neutral twine didn’t play well with the black sock, so we recommend sticking to white ones. Warning: The bunnies will not hold up to hard play. Simon's mama is now forever taping Baby Bunny Baby back together because she is too lazy to sew him. But the kids got a thrill out of making their very own stuffed animals.
Pom-Pom Easter Egg Painting - Crafty Morning
But - but - I don’t have any pom-poms! you say. Yes, you do. They’re called cotton balls. Clothespins? Maybe you got ‘em. If not, Here’s a revolutionary idea: your kids can pinch the paint-soaked balls with their fingers. I know, it’s not as cute, as equipment-heavy, or as Pinterest-y. But we’re simple people here. You kids will luuuuuuurve dipping cotton balls soaked in paint on egg shapes and making pretty Easter eggs. This craft will go fast unless you stretch it to make a small garland. And again: construction paper if you got it, printer paper if you don’t.
Bunny Butt Paper Craft -- Easy Peasy and Fun
Super easy. You have a paper plate (even you super hippies have one stashed away, and if you don’t -- just use a circle of white paper!). You don’t need to paint the bunny if you don’t want to -- we think it look perfectly fluffy and cute white instead of gray. Just cut out those feetsie parts, glue, and glue on a cotton-ball tail!
Rice Krispie Nests -- Crafty Morning
One of us at Free to Be Kids is notorious for her inability to cook -- and she and her kids managed this one just fine! It’s really glorified Rice Krispie treats you stick into greased (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!) muffin tins, push down in the center (Pam- or buttered fingered worked better than a spoon) and add Robin’s Eggs. As for the edible grass, we had a) never heard of it, b) had no idea where to procure it, c) felt the nests looked perfectly cute without them. These were dessert for several nights running and only got better when refrigerated. Peanut butter Reese’s Eggs highly recommended.
So that’s our holiday craft round-up. What do you think? Which one will you try? Do you have any suggestions for us to add? Post ‘em for us -- and make sure you add pics of your creations, or at least tell us how they went!
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