Take a break from studying and try one or more of these fun hands-on Easter activities!
Make Your Own Natural Easter Egg Dye
Purple: 1 (15 ounce) can sliced beets OR 1/2 cup grape juice concentrate
Yellow: 1/4 cup ground safflower OR 1/4 cup ground turmeric
Blue: 1 cup canned blueberries (with syrup)
Red: 1 cup canned cherries (with syrup)
Arrange a layer of eggs in a pan or pot. Cover the eggs with water. Place one selection (color choice from above) into the pot; bring the water to a rolling boil. While the water is boiling, stir 1 teaspoon of white vinegar into the water. Let the eggs boil for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat. For light pastel-colored eggs, let the eggs sit approximately 3 hours before removing them from the dye and letting them dry. If you would like your eggs a darker hue, transfer the eggs and hot dye into a bowl, then cover and refrigerate until the eggs are the color you desire.
Cascarones
According to Spanish tradition, breaking these on someone’s head brings good luck! You will need: empty eggshells, markers, paper punch, colored paper, glue, scissors, tissue paper, funnel.
1. Carefully put a small hole in raw eggs. Pour out the insides and rinse the shell with water and let dry.
2. Cut out confetti from colored paper or old gift wrap using a paper punch.
3. Decorate the eggshells with markers, being very careful not to break the shells.
4. Fill each eggshell with confetti using the funnel. Glue a small piece of tissue paper over the hole and let dry.
5. Now the fun begins. Smash these on your family’s heads for loads of luck and Easter fun!
Easter Mints
This is a no-cook recipe that you can mix by hand. Flavor it with peppermint or any of the liquid flavorings in the supermarket, such as lemon or strawberry. If you want, you can divide it into three portions and add a few drops of food coloring to tint it green, yellow, and red. Then knead a small amount of flavoring into each one. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 lbs of candy.
You will need:
- 1/3 cup soft butter
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon flavoring
- 3 1/2 cup (1 lb.) sifted confectioner’s sugar
- large bowl
- wooden spoon
- paper plates
Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl. Keep stirring it with the wooden spoon until it becomes too stiff. Then knead it with your hands. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth. Put a portion of dough on a plate. Pinch off pieces, roll them into balls, and press them lightly with a fork to make a fancy butter mint. Or you can make snakes, cut the snakes into pieces, and press the pieces with a fork. Leave the mints on the plates and refrigerate them for 30 minutes, until they become firm. Cover with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator. Easter Mints taste even better the second day, if you can keep everyone from eating them all on the first day!