Festive Decorations for an Easter Party

You may be hoping to host your party outdoors this Easter, but regardless of rain or shine, we have some fantastic decorations that will brighten your day!

Outdoor Decorations:
• Start by welcoming your guests to your party by posting an Easter Yard Sign along your sidewalk or using a personalized Easter vinyl banner. You can add your own wording!
• Hang some of Outdoor Easter Egg Decorations in your trees and on your front porch. These work great to define the Easter egg hunt boundaries as well!
• If your party will be in the evening, place a Lighted Welcome Bunny sign out front to welcome your friends.

Indoor Decorations:
• Create a beautiful focal point for picture taking with a large Easter Basket filled with Balloons.
• Always include a lot of spring bulbs in your decorating, particularly on a buffet table - bright yellow daffodils and pink tulips are some favorites!
• Line the walls in your party location with an adorable Egg Hunt Tape.  Or cut bunnies out and hang them individually on your walls, cabinets, or podium for a cute touch!

Table Decorations and Napkins:
Cover your tables with pink, yellow, and blue tablecovers. Consider using an alternative to your fine china this holiday and make it easy on yourself with Easter Tableware. Since the plates are only 7″, create the “charger plate” look by layering them on solid pink or blue plasticware!
• Bundle up your napkins and silverware with a wired sheer pink ribbon along with a Bunny and Eggs Wire Garland. This is a very sweet look!
• For a unique placecard this Easter, decorate eggs with dye and write the names of your guests on the eggs using a paint marker. Make your own egg holder out of egg cartons (cut out each section and spray paint it gold or silver). Place one egg in each holder and put them at each placesetting. You may want to add a touch of Easter grass under each one!
• Don’t forget to place some bunny print floor decorations on your floor leading up to the buffet line - you are sure to catch a few giggles for it!
• Offer personalized napkins that complement your theme. There’s a large selection of dinner, luncheon and beverage napkins in an impressive palette of 20 colors. We also offer a wide range of ink colors, as well as a metallic foil, holographic foil, prismatic foil or a traditional ink imprint.
• Napkins can be laid out on a buffet table, or can be displayed at each place setting. Place napkins in the center of each place setting at an angle, or unfold them and place them in glasses for a tall dramatic look. The napkins can also be tied (and bundled with plastic cutlery) with a multitude of items to match your theme.

Easter decorations are great for bringing some spring into your home even if you’re not hosting a party.

Invitations for an Easter Party

Whether you are hosting a neighborhood Easter egg hunt, or just celebrating the holiday with friends and family, sending out invitations really magnifies the excitement and anticipation of the event. Many times a handmade Easter egg cut from construction paper is the perfect way to invite guests to the party. If, however, you are looking for other ideas, here are a couple of suggestions:

• Send out a plastic Easter Egg to each person with their name printed on it. Inside the egg, roll up a pastel colored note stating the party details.
• Hand deliver a small pastel cellophane bag filled with real mini shortcut carrots and a small amount of green tissue shred. Tie a note to the bag with curling ribbon saying that you are inviting them to come visit the Easter bunny.
• Write your party details on a pastel colored latex balloon. Guests can inflate the balloon to find out when the party will be!

Check out our other tips for hosting an awesome Easter party.

Fun Family Activities for an Easter Party

The highlight of an Easter party is, without challenge, the Easter egg hunt! Here are some simple ideas to make your hunt a foolproof success!

• Divide the kids into three age groups - Ages 3 and under, ages 4 to 6, and ages 7 and up.
• Have color-coded eggs for each age group - especially if your space is limited. For example, have pink and blue for the younger children, purple and green for the older kids.
• Use small plastic eggs and stock each with one small toy or piece of candy - no need to stuff them full!
• For a twist, instead of hiding eggs, hide spring-colored crayons! Once the hunt is over give each child a new Easter coloring book.
Other Easter Activities
Balloon Egg Wrap Wrap colored yarn around a blown-up Balloon to make these giant eggs. Try blowing up different sizes of balloons and use a multitude of colors of yarn. The results are delicate, so be sure that you handle the eggs carefully.

You will need:
• Balloons
• Yarn
• Liquid starch or white glue
• Paint brush

Blow up the balloon and tie a 2-foot piece of yarn or string from the knot end. This will be used to hang the competed project to dry. Carefully brush the whole surface of the balloon with the liquid starch or watered down white glue. Next, be sure you work quickly before the glue dries. Wrap the yarn around the balloon in one direction leaving small gaps of about 1/2-inch wide so that the surface isn’t completely covered.

Brush on another layer of starch or glue right over the layer you just did and wrap another layer but this time go in a different direction. For example, if the first layer was wrapped horizontally from side to side, this time wrap it vertically from top to bottom. Brush on glue and wrap one more time, varying the direction again. The balloon should be pretty well covered at this point, but you should be able to see spaces, like lace.

Hang the covered balloon from the string and allow it to dry for about 24 hours. When it is completely dry, pop the balloon and very gently pull it out through one of the gaps. And there you have it! Make a dozen of them and hang them all over.

Broken Egg Riddles
You will need:
• Large eggs cut in two
• Riddle written on the first half of the egg
• Answer written on the second half of the egg

Have the children go around the room and ask the riddle and the second child will give the answer. If the answers are correct, the two children who are matched up then sit down. The game is over when all children have matched up the riddle to the answer.

Pass It On
For this activity you will need a hard-boiled egg for each person and a collection of colored markers. The smaller tip permanent markers work best.
Have everyone gather around the table. Each person takes an egg and draws hair on it. Then each one passes their egg to the person next to them. That person draws the eyebrows. Pass the eggs again and draw the eyes. Keep passing and drawing until all the parts of the face are done. You can include cheeks, nose, mouth, ears, or any unique features like freckles and moles. Then everyone can admire the results!

Easter Egg Relay
Make 2 large eggs out of pink Corrugated Paper for each team.

Divide guests into teams. The first person of a team takes the 2 eggs and lays one of the eggs out on the floor. The child steps on the first egg and then places the second egg in front of them. The child steps on the second egg, reaches back and picks up the first egg and then places that egg in front of them. Continue to the end of the course and then run back and tag the next team member.

Bunny Game
Make bunny faces for all of the children out of Corrugated Paper. Each bunny will need a white head, two white ears with pink inside, and two eyes made of any color. The nose is a black circle on a pink oval with black whiskers drawn on. The mouth is a black smile shape with two large white teeth. You can make a bow tie for each bunny out of yellow. The object of the game is to make a bunny face. Using a die, for each number rolled you get a piece of the bunny’s face. For example, roll a one and get a head, roll a two and get an ear, roll a three and get an eye, roll a four and get a nose, roll a five and get a mouth and roll a six and get the tie. Keep rolling until all have created a bunny face.

More Games
• Pin the Tail on The Easter Bunny (Use a cotton ball and a simple picture of the bunny).
• Blow the Egg - Have a start line and finish line set up. Place a small plastic Easter egg at the start line and give the child a cardboard “fan”. Have the kids try to “fan” the egg across the finish line. It is harder than it seems, since the eggs aren’t round!
• Bingo - use jelly beans as your markers and let the kids eat them when they yell, “Bingo”.

Crafts

Tie Die Eggs
Kids are really into tie die these days, so they will love the results of this activity! Make up several colored dyes with food coloring or egg dye. Be sure they are fairly strong solutions (about 2 tablespoons of water to a tablet of dye). Add two or three drops of vinegar to each color to help the color stay. Now, dampen a piece of cloth with water and wrap it around the egg. With an eye dropper, drop spots of different colors of dye on the cloth. Twist the cloth tightly around the egg so the colors bleed together. Gently unwrap the egg and let it dry for totally groovy eggs!

More Craft Ideas
• Make bunny ears by cutting white craft foam into ear shapes. Color the insides of the ears using a pink marker. Staple them to a white headband for the kids to wear home.
• Make Easter bonnets out of paper plates and paper bowls. First, place a paper bowl on top of a plate. Trace around the bowl and remove it. Cut the circle out of the plate using the traced line as a guide. Glue the two pieces together and have the kids decorate the hat with silk flowers and ribbon. They could also use markers or paint to color the entire “hat”.
• Again, use paper plates to create a cute bunny face. Cut one plate in half to be the ears. Staple the ears onto another paper plate. Have the kids make the face out of jelly bean eyes, fruit rollup bow ties, licorice whiskers.

Food Ideas for a Yummy Easter Party

Just like the egg hunt, the expected traditional Easter lunch would consist of ham, au gratin potatoes, veggies, rolls, and don’t forget the fruit salad complete with mini marshmallows! Here are a couple of suggestions for a fun, festive treat to “spring” on your guests this year!

Peter Cauliflower Tail
The Easter bunny loves fresh, crisp vegetables so check out this hummus-filled bunny bowl.

Ingredients:
1 4-inch roll
3 raisins
6 chives
1 loaf of French bread, halved
1 8-inch loaf of round bread
Hummus Dip (See below)
Medium-size cauliflower floret
Raw vegetables, such as baby carrots, celery and radishes

Hummus Dip:
6 tbsp. tahini paste
6 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 14-oz. cans chickpeas, drained
10 to 12 tbsp. water

1. For the Bunny Bowl:
Make slits in the roll and insert raisins for the bunnies eyes and ears. For whiskers, poke holes with a toothpick and insert the chives. Place the cut ends of the French bread onto the top of the roll for ears; secure with toothpicks. Cut and scoop out a 3-inch hole in the top of the round bread and fill the well with hummus. Add a cauliflower tail and surround the bunny with veggies.

2. For the Hummus Dip:
Place tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, and drained chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add water as necessary to make the mixture creamy. Place in the bunny bread ‘bowl.’

Bunny Pops
Ingredients:
14 wooden pop sticks
28 OREO Spring Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
2 pkg. (6 squares each) BAKER’S Premium White Baking Chocolate
1 to 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
35 assorted jelly beans, for decorating
PLANTERS Slivered Almonds, for decorating

Insert lollipop stick into creme center of each of the 14 cookies. Split remaining cookies for “ears,” leaving filling on one side of each cookie. Halve split cookies with filling; set aside. (Reserve plain split cookies for another use).
Place chocolate and 1 Tbsp. oil in small heavy saucepan; cook over very low heat, stir constantly just until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in additional oil if needed to make pourable consistency.

Dip each cookie pop into melted chocolate to coat cookie completely with chocolate and supporting cookie with fork to prevent cookie from detaching from stick. Place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet.

Dip points of halved cookies into melted chocolate; press two halved cookies against each head for ears. Decorate “faces” with jelly beans for “eyes” and “noses” and almonds for “whiskers.” Let stand until set. Wrap in plastic wrap. Decorate with festive bows for gift giving, if desired.

Easter Bonnet Cake
Ingredients:
15 OREO Spring Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 can (16 oz.) ready-to-spread vanilla frosting
1-1/3 cups BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut

Split 11 of the cookies in half, leaving filling on one side of each cookie. Reserve split cookies with filling for brim of hat. Coarsely chop plain split cookies and remaining 4 whole cookies; set aside. Beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in chopped cookies.

Pour 3 cups of the batter into greased and floured 9-inch round cake pan and 3/4 cup batter into greased and floured 10-oz. glass custard cup. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Divide remaining batter evenly into 6 to 8 paper-lined medium muffin pan cups. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Place cooled 9-inch cake layer on serving plate; frost top of cake with some of the frosting. Place cake round from custard cup, top side down, slightly off-center on top of cake layer. Reserve 1/3 cup frosting for cupcakes; frost side and top of bonnet with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with coconut; press gently into frosting.

Halve reserved split cookies; place filling side up and rounded edge out around brim of hat. Decorate cupcakes with reserved frosting and candies.