An Essential Oil-Filled Easter

Easter has become a commercialized holiday, often involving candy-filled, plastic eggs. Many parents don’t want so much candy but still want a fun and meaningful Easter. If that’s you, take a look at these ideas for a healthier holiday!

Easter Eggs and Easter Baskets

• Fill Easter eggs with small food items such as nuts, berries, dates, raisins, dried fruits, or cereal.
• Fill some of the eggs with small toys, such as flexible beeswax yarn, essential-oil scented play dough, or natural chap stick.
    
• Add fun items to an Easter basket, such as essential oil bunny buddies, bath pals soaps, scented sidewalk chalk, essential oil-scented finger paint, essential oil slime, or scented bubbles.
       
• If you are filling a basket for preteens, teens, or adults, consider adding pampering or practical items such as lotion, shaving cream and aftershave lotion, breath mints, a nail care kit including healthy nails serum, deodorizing toilet spray, all-natural deodorant, or a water bottle.
         

Easter Food

Try some of these delicious dishes for your Easter dinner:

Try making these dessert recipes into Easter-egg shapes for a fun treat:

Easter Egg Decor

This holiday project makes a great Easter decoration: Essential Oil Transfer on Easter Eggs.

These candles are a fun family project, and they make a beautiful Easter centerpiece!

Easter Egg Beeswax Candles

Time: 45 minutes active; 2+ hours inactive | Difficulty: Moderate

Supplies:

• Awl/Knife
• Eggs
• White Vinegar
• Boiling Water
• Food Coloring
• Beeswax Pellets
• Essential Oil
• Waxed Candle Wicks with Metal Base (available at most craft stores)

Instructions:

1. Start by poking a tiny hole in the top of your egg with a sharp object, such as an awl or paring knife. Then carefully chip away the top of the egg until you have a nice, wide opening.
2. Wash out the inside of the eggs and let them dry while preparing the dye.
3. Combine 2 Tbsp. of white vinegar, 1 cup of boiling water, and 10–20 drops of your desired food coloring in a disposable paper or plastic cup (or other container that you don’t mind getting dye on). Submerge the eggs in the dye 1–20 minutes until you obtain your desired color.
   
4. Let the eggs dry. We dried our eggs in the sun on bamboo skewers in a vase, as pictured to the right.
5. While the eggs are drying, melt the beeswax in a double boiler on the stove. A heat-proof glass measuring cup in a pot of boiling water works great for this (and the measuring cup makes it easy to pour the beeswax later). You will need about 1 oz. of beeswax for each egg you make.
6. Mix a few drops of essential oil into the melted beeswax (1–2 drops for each candle). If you want to vary the type of essential oil you use in each candle, you can add the essential oil after you pour the beeswax into the eggshells.
7. Carefully pour the beeswax into the dried eggshells. Then place your wick in the middle of the eggshell and let the beeswax harden. You can put your egg candles back in the egg carton to stabilize them while you pour the beeswax and insert the wick.
8. Once the beeswax has hardened completely, move your egg candles to egg cups or any decorative container that will hold them upright.
9. Enjoy your beautiful Easter creation! These eggshell candles look great as a table centerpiece or on a mantle or shelf.