Easter and Alternatives to the Holiday of Plastic
by Heir Chloe McKenna
Orange County, CA
Easter is a holiday where most kids enjoy hunting down plastic colored eggs. In 2015, US News released that “Americans are expected to shell out a combined $16.4 billion on multicolored plastic eggs, chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps and other holiday staples, up from $15.9 billion in 2014.”[1]
The plastic ultimately finds its way to our oceans as it doesn’t decompose.
To help reduce the amount of plastics getting into our oceans, consider these alternatives to a plastic egg hunt. There are other egg-tastic and crafty ways to celebrate:
- Felt Easter eggs. Simple and easy to make!
- Naturally-dyed eggs. A fun activity for young children. Some natural dyes include: turmeric (yellow), paprika (orange), blueberry (blue), grape juice (purple), coffee (brown), and beets (pink).
- Knitted Easter eggs. This tutorial suggests putting a polysterene egg inside, but a wooden egg or real egg will work just the same and cause less damage.
- Egg pockets. These pockets are great and easy to fill with candy, money, and other treats and goodies!
- Ditch the eggs! Instead hunt down candy (buy in bulk or non-plastic packaging brands), snacks, money, colored pencils, and more!
[1] Soergel, Andrew. “5 Numbers to Know for Easter.” US News. April 3, 2015.