4 Ways To Reuse Plastic Easter Eggs Year-Round

Don’t put your plastic Easter eggs away just yet. Put them to good use more than just once a year with these simple ways to reuse plastic Easter eggs other than for the Easter holiday.

Although Easter has passed, we still have our Easter eggs hanging out in the kitchen filled with jelly beans. We are steadily snacking on those jelly beans and emptying eggs, but I won’t put them away until they’re all empty. 

In years past, I’ve researched more eco-friendly Easter eggs options to no avail. I have seen options in the past, but they were all substantially more expensive than typical alternatives. There’s not really a sustainable or realistic alternative for most people. 

These silly plastic Easter eggs are kind of the best option despite being made of cheap plastic. So here’s my thought: If we are going to have them, let’s put them to good use more than once a year and make them last.

4 Ways To Reuse Plastic Easter Eggs

Before you put away your plastic Easter eggs, I’ve got a few ideas for you to reuse them throughout the year. 

Simple DIY Easter Egg Bird Feeder 

Using twine or string and half of a plastic Easter egg, make your own DIY macrame Easter egg bird feeder. (I’ve got all the instructions coming later this week!) Fill the Easter egg with birdseed, hang on a tree branch, and watch the birds flock for snacks. Just be sure to keep this where squirrels can’t easily access it or they will steal all the seed before birds have a chance to get to it. 

Seed Starters

Our Easter eggs have small holes at the top and bottom which make them perfect for tiny seed starters. Cut off the top of a tissue box to create a tray for the seedlings. 

If you don’t have an empty tissue box, you could also cut off the back of a cereal box and use the remaining front and sides of the box as a tray. Just be sure to leave the sides of the box to create edges for the tray. 

Set several half eggs inside of the tissue or cereal box tray. Fill each egg with potting soil, drop a seed in each egg, and wait for them to grow.

If you want to make your tray a bit sturdier, add a layer of cardboard on the bottom. A layer of aluminum foil can also prevent water from seeping out of the eggs, through the box, and on to the surface where the tray resides. 

I’ve got lots of tips on the blog for growing seedlings with kids to keep it fun and do your best to help them flourish. Seedlings are sensitive babies. They require a good bit of love and attention to grow up big and strong. We’ve made lots of mistakes along the way, so learn from our seedling mistakes and don’t repeat our blunders. 

Homemade Bath Bombs

We made these homemade bath bombs a couple of years ago, and they have been my most popular blog post for a while. We make them a few times a year, and my boys love it every time. 

DIY Slime and Play Dough Holder

If you’re brave enough to endure the mess, make homemade slime or play-doh. Use the egg to store the slime or play-doh. This book has lots of recipes for homemade slime, edible play dough, and many more ooey, gooey recipes that kids love and can live in a repurposed plastic Easter egg.

DIY Projects That Don’t Go To The Landfill

Do you know what my favorite part of each of these projects is? Once you complete the DIY and enjoy it for a period of time, you can clean out the egg and put it right back on your shelf for Easter next year.

Sometimes I struggle with DIY projects with cardboard, for example, that turn perfectly compostable cardboard into something that ends up in the trash. Maybe it’s covered in paint or glue or whatever, but it no longer cycles back into the world. Instead, it ends up in a landfill, and I’m not sure that’s really a zero or low waste DIY project.

There’s a time and place for those projects, don’t get me wrong. But I really love that for each of these projects, we’re only using the plastic Easter egg in a different way for a period of time without altering its value for its original purpose. That’s really a zero waste DIY!

Now go put those plastic Easter eggs to good use and give them a little love more than once per year. Do you have any other great ways to repurpose plastic Easter eggs? Share in the comments. I’m all ears (Easter Bunny pun entirely intended).