Green Gift Ideas for Easter

Who doesn't remember making these adorable Easter baskets from used berry containers as a kid? They are a perfect green idea for presenting Easter gifts. Place some naturally decorated eggs, organic chocolates, or handmade gifts into these decorative baskets for a special touch. The full instructions for creating these Easter baskets are available at MarthaStewart.com

These days, berries usually come in clam shell containers. These can also be repurposed into green gift ideas as an Easter egg basket. Find out how (here).

There are many green ideas for filling the Easter baskets with gifts:
"Green Gift Ideas for Easter," explains how to dye eggs to go in the baskets with natural dye.
Try filling Easter baskets with real grass or hay, rather than plastic grass that will be thrown in the garbage.
Use free-range and organic eggs to be sure the poultry are humanely handled.

These eggs were colored naturally using food. The basic recipe for coloring eggs with homemade food dye is to boil the food in 4 cups of water. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and simmer the eggs in the strained liquid for 30 minutes if they are raw. If they are already boiled, soak them in the strained liquid in the refrigerator overnight. If you do not strain the food it will cause a marbling effect on the eggs. I personally like that, so I didn't strain the food from the homemade dye. My eggs were raw so after boiling the food in the water for a bit, I reduced the heat to simmer and added the eggs and vinegar. After 30 minutes they were the shade seen in this photo.

Pomegranate = Yellow
Blackberries = Light Purple
Black Walnut Hulls = Brown

For more detailed instructions on how to do this see: How to Dye Easter Eggs with Food

So other than eggs, what goes in the basket? How about:

1. Handmade Easter Art:
Salt Dough
Clay Art for Making Fake Easter Eggs

2. Good Quality Organic and Fair-Trade Chocolate
Organic Nuts and Chews Boxed Chocolates - Vegan