13 Things to Do with Plastic Easter Eggs

After the candy's gone, your child can use a plastic egg to create a sweet bunny friend.

How to make it: Bend a pipe cleaner in half. Open the egg and push the ends of the pipe cleaner out through the two holes in the top of the egg. Bend each end into an ear shape, then insert the tips back through the holes. Cut a second pipe cleaner in half. Fold one piece in half and insert each end out through the holes in the base of the egg. Form each end into a foot. Glue a white pom-pom to the back of the egg, low enough so the bunny can lean against it. Add an expressive face with permanent marker.

Try out faces on paper before drawing one on your bunny. Small changes in the position of the eyes or the shape of the mouth can make a big difference!

• RELATED: 9 Fun Easter Bunny Ideas for Parents

Give a traditional egg hunt a fun, nature-friendly spin with this idea from blogger Deb Olmstead of imaginechildhood.com. Fill emptied and washed egg shells with birdseed, then hide them in your yard (or a local park that allows bird feeding) for all your wild neighbors. "You can go on an outdoor adventure when you look for hiding places," says Deb.

If you don't have usable shells for filling, try making this seeds-only egg: Dissolve 2 packets of unflavored gelatin in 1/2 cup hot water, then stir in 2 1/2 cups birdseed. Generously spray the inside of 12 plastic eggs with cooking oil. Pack the mixture into the egg molds, snap them shut, and let them set overnight. Remove the seed eggs and head outside to hide them.

Press a blob of play dough in the more rounded half of an egg, then close it up. Draw on the egg with permanent marker. Tap the egg, and it will wobble without falling over.

• RELATED: 22 Toddler Easter Egg Filler Ideas

Use egg halves to hide pairs of items, such as paper clips, coins, buttons, and beads. (Try not to use the same color egg for matching items.) To play, have a player uncover two objects. If they're the same, he takes them; if they're different, he re-covers them and it's the next player's turn. The player with the most matches wins.

These little cups are perfect for pretend tea parties. Attach a button base to a plastic egg half with a glue dot or hot glue. Then use glue dots to attach sequins, ribbon, or other decorations, or use self-adhesive gems.

These winsome garlands are also an engaging hands-on project for the whole family. For extra party fun, tuck little treats inside the eggs before hanging them and invite guests to choose a critter to open for a sweet surprise.

What you need:

• Plastic eggs with holes at each end
• Black and pink dimensional paint
• White, pink, and orange felt, plus other colors as desired
• White glue
• Crafter's Pick The Ultimate glue or hot glue (adults only)
• White pom-poms, 7 mm size (for bunny tails) and 3- to 1-inch size (for garland)
• Colored craft wire String or yarn Darning needle
• Buttons with large holes

How to make it:

1. Use the dimensional paint to draw facial features on what will be the top half of each animal. Let the paint dry.
2. Cut bunny ears and bird wings from the felt. For beaks, cut felt diamonds and crease them at the center. Use white glue to assemble the bunny ears. Attach ears, wings, and beaks to the eggs with the Crafter's Pick or hot glue. For bunny tails, add 7 mm white pom-poms.
3. To add legs to a bird, bend a 6-inch length of craft wire in half. Insert the wire through the holes in the egg's bottom half. Bend the ends into small loops to create feet.
4. For the garland, cut a piece of string or yarn to the desired length and knot it 12 inches from one end. Thread the needle onto the string. Thread on pom-poms or buttons and birds or bunnies, running the needle through the holes in the eggs.

Use black permanent marker to draw seeds on plastic eggs. For each, cut a berry top from felt, snip a small hole in its center, poke a piece of pipe cleaner through the hole, and attach the two to the top of the egg with glue dots.

• RELATED: These Edible Easter Egg Crafts Are Almost Too Cute to Eat

Cut eggshell pieces from a cardboard egg carton. Use glue dots to adhere googly eyes and a cardstock beak to a plastic egg. If you like, set your chicks in a shredded paper nest.

Use glue dots to attach faces and accessories to your eggs. Here's some inspiration.

• RELATED: 30+ Fun Easter Egg Decorations for Kids

"We always have extra plastic Easter eggs lying around, so my 11-year-old created a spelling game with them. She writes different common word endings, such as "at" or "ed," on one half of each egg and different consonants on the other side. My 6-year-old twists the eggs to make new words and to practice reading." — Mom Kindra Gordon, Whitewood, SD

"Every Easter, my mom hosts an egg hunt at her house for my two daughters, ages 9 and 5. She puts puzzle pieces in plastic eggs, and the girls, after collecting them, try putting the puzzle together to see if they have found them all. If a piece is missing, they know an egg is still out there and they need to keep hunting!" — Donita Calef, Chester Springs, PA

Here's a clever idea that ensures the big moment of the morning is equally fun for toddlers and tweens. Sort treat-filled plastic eggs by color and wrap buckets (we used plain half-gallon paint buckets) with matching strips of colored paper. Assign a color to each child. A younger guest's eggs can be set in easy-to-spot places, while the older kids' can be tucked into trickier nooks and crannies. When it's time for the hunt, give each child her bucket and let the quest begin.

For an instant percussion instrument, place two teaspoons of rice inside an egg. Tape the two halves together with electrical tape, then cover that tape with decorative Washi tape.