Celebrate Green for Easter

Easter is a time when families come together to celebrate in a secular way or embrace the start of the spring season. At a time when so much focus is put on rebirth and a new start, it may seem fitting to think about celebrating in an environmentally friendly manner.

* Choose a recycled material for Easter basket fill. Skip the environmentally unfriendly plastic grass for Easter baskets. Instead use shredded pieces of magazines or newspapers that you've run through a home shredder. Later on gather the paper strands to recycle them. You can also purchase recycled paper "grass" in different colors.

* Go for minimally packaged products. Chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks are common treats in Easter baskets, but they generally have a lot of unnecessary packaging. Why not try making your own candy creations from chocolate molds?

* Hide papier-mache or clay eggs. Plastic eggs certainly are convenient and won't start to smell bad like hard-boiled eggs if the children don't uncover all of your egg hiding spots. However, plastic is certainly not very environmentally friendly, especially if those plastic eggs end up in the trash year after year. Instead, make it a craft project for kids to mold eggs out of dough, clay, or even papier-mache. Paint and hide to be retrieved for little prizes.

* Dine on colored Easter eggs. Don't let those hard-boiled colored eggs go to waste. Use them to create egg salad, slice them to add to a Cobb salad, or enjoy them for breakfast or a snack.

With a little forethought you can make this year's Easter celebration a green one.