Monday 22 March 2010

Thrifty Easter Gifts


Are holidays just too commercial? Fed up of your kids whinging in the supermarket aisles?

This Spring make your own Easter gifts, free of branding and to your own taste - you can even get the kids to help out (or at least lick the spoon.)

Home-made Chocolate Eggs

• Save the plastic casing from a shop-bought egg to use as a mould
• Melt your chosen chocolate in a bowl above a pan of boiling water
• Pour the melted chocolate into both moulds, and tip to cover the whole shape, making sure to keep the texture even and not to leave a thick puddle at the bottom
• Allow the eggs to set, and repeat the process two more times, until the halves are as thick and delicious as you want
• When both halves are cool, use a small amount of melted chocolate around the edges to glue into a whole egg

If you’re feeling creative, use white or dark chocolate as well to create a marbled egg, or fill your eggs with sweets. Try to use Fairtrade chocolate where possible.

Dyed Eggs

To liven up your kids’ Easter breakfasts, colour hard boiled eggs:

• Soak a paper towel in water and vinegar, before dropping on food colouring of your choice
• Place the paper around your egg, and wrap the whole thing in clingfilm
• Leave for half-an-hour, then enjoy

Cress-Head Eggs

Let your kids enjoy their colourful egg– then tell them you can bring the shell to life!

• Put the empty egg shell into an egg cup, and draw on facial features with a marker pen
• Wet a small piece of cotton wool, and place it in the bottom of the shell
• Sprinkle cress seeds onto the cotton wool
• Protect your egg with a piece of paper until the seeds begin to sprout
• Move it next to a window
• Gently water every day until Mr or Mrs Egg has a lovely green head of hair
• Give it a ‘hair cut’ and have some delicious cress sandwiches – eating their greens has never been so fun!

4 comments:

  1. I'm so getting me a Mr and Mrs Egg!

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  2. Hey, why not try melting down white chocolate and adding in crushed ginger nut biscuits! It's my favourite 'home-made' chocolate, quite sickly but to die for!

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  3. easy way to make a cheap and amazing easter present for the one you love:

    1. casually remark in the supermarket that commercial eggs are crap, because they come with a packet of chocolate buttons (or whatever) ALONGSIDE them, not INSIDE them.

    2. purchase crap commercial egg (best bet = smarties, buttons, jelly tots, mini eggs).

    3. purchase supplementary packets of smarties/buttons/jelly tots/mini eggs.

    4. chill egg in the freezer until v cold.

    5. unwrap egg, preserve wrapping. carefully crack egg along the seam into 2 perfect halves (score round first with a knife).

    6. fill egg to the brim, using chosen supplementary sweeties as filling.

    7. using hot water (or a little melted chocolate) stick 2 halves of the egg back together as neatly as possible, and wrap back up in original wrapping / packaging.

    8. present egg to loved one in a casual manner.

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  4. ha! bless your too-much-free-time little heart x

    ReplyDelete