“Mom, come on. It’s almost Easter, and we need to color the eggs.” These words were spoken in a voice of desperation and a full two weeks before Easter. Out came the huge soup pot. In went 5 dozen eggs. Out came 15 cups, vinegar, and boiling water. In went the dye. (Cake decorators have a lot of colors!) Fifteen large spoons followed. Nine chairs around the table. Very tight!
“I want blue.” “No, I want blue.” “Guys, guys, you can all do blue.”
“Barry!!!”, as six, yet to be colored, eggs hit the floor. “Don’t worry, guys; these will be cool, tie-dye eggs. You’ll love them”. Said with all the enthusiasm I could muster.
“Quick, grab the paper towels. Run!”, spoken in a voice of slight hysteria by one child as pink dye moved slowly across the tabletop and onto the floor. I ran for the towels.
“Kate, you must remember to put the lids back on the markers. They’re going to dry up.”
“Stop that, you’re bumping my elbow. Now my tree is crooked.”
“Look, Mom, you really can see my name. You couldn’t see my name before, and now you can. How does that work?”
“Hey, we’re running out of eggs. I only got to color six. Not fair. Can we boil some more?”
And so, it went each year of the forty years that we colored eggs. Nothing changed much, even when we were down to just three at home, Kate, Don, and me. There were still spills, and someone would think we didn’t have enough eggs.
I love holiday traditions, and this egg-dying ritual was one of ours. Some years went better than others, but each one brought us closer as a family. Each one tied us together in a bond that exists today. Traditions matter to children. These are the things that they can depend on: certain foods on the table at holidays, special activities done year after year, and favorite people gathered together. Family traditions were important to me, too.
Let me share some Easter egg-dying tips I learned as our family established this tradition. If you keep them in mind when dying Easter eggs, things will go smoother.
Egg Dying Tips
1. Less is more. Keep it simple, nine cups of dye, not fifteen. Have one cup per person in your family and rotate. If you have fewer family members than colors, rotate anyway.
2. Keep all the eggs, un-dyed and dyed, in egg cartons. They can’t roll; much safer.
3. Cover the table top with two or three layers of newspapers, the whole table. You will save paper towels!
4. No rugs anywhere within a four-foot radius of the table. This is a must. LOL
5. If you don’t live in Montana (as we did), and the weather is good, do it outside! : )
How to Dye Easter Eggs with Water and Food Coloring
1. Before you begin, you’ll need hard-cooked eggs that are completely dry and at room temperature.
2. For each color of dye, find a container that won’t stain or that you can discard when finished. Make sure the container is large enough to submerge an egg or several eggs.
3. Place an egg in the container. Turn it with a spoon. The longer the egg sits in the dye, the darker the color becomes. Remove and place on a paper towel or put into a cardboard egg carton. If you are using Styrofoam cartons, make sure the egg is dry before placing it in the carton.
How to Dye Easter Eggs with Natural Ingredients
- Lavender – Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice; Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice; or Red Zinger Tea
- Violet Blue – Violet blossoms boiled in water; boil a small quantity of red onion skins; Hibiscus Tea; Red Wine
- Blue – Canned blueberries, use the juice and smash the berries for more juice, heat and strain; boil red cabbage leaves; purple grape juice
- Green – boil spinach leaves; Liquid Chlorophyll
- Greenish Yellow – Boil yellow Delicious Apple peels
- Yellow – boil orange or lemon peels; Boil Carrot Tops, Boil Celery Seeds; Boil Ground Cumin, boil Ground Turmeric; Chamomile Tea; Green Tea
- Golden Brown – boil Dill Seeds
- Brown – Strong coffee; Instant coffee; boil black walnut shells; Black Tea
- Orange – Boil Yellow Onion Skins; boil Cooked Carrots; Chili Powder; Paprika
- Pink – boil beets; boil cranberries or use cranberry juice; red grape juice, juice from pickled beets
- Red – boil lots of red onion skins; canned cherries with juice, smash cherries for more juice, strain; pomegranate juice
You can get detailed instructions for natural egg dying HERE.
Why not be brave and make some Panoramic Sugar Eggs with your family!
Share your egg-dying experiences, along with tips to help us all have more fun this Easter.
