Why Throw Plastic Easter Eggs In The Landfill?

Thanks to Easter last week, I am faced with a surplus of plastic eggs. They seemed like a good idea at the time, but I really can't justify throwing them away, where I know they will make the short journey to the Johnston Landfill. So I asked the parents on the Familytopia Facebook page to share their ideas for how to re-use the eggs and I am so inspired by their creativity. Enjoy!

• "I save them and reuse them. Use them for clues to a surprise family vacation/getaway. Or use them for the kids to collect their vacation money to spend."
• "Here is a fun idea from FamilyFun - A herd of eggimals."
• "We save them for the next Easter. If the kids question it we say that we recycle and leave eggs out for the easter bunny to fill again."
• "Egg hunts are a fun alternative to piñatas at birthday parties. For my daughter's 4th birthday, she had a dinosaur theme. We spray painted the plastic eggs so they were brown-and-white-speckled and used them for a dinosaur egg hunt."
• "We often fill them with small rocks from our rock collection and I glue them shut with super glue, instant musical instruments. My daughter who is 4 also likes to sort items so we use an old egg carton and place glass marbles in each one. I am always amazed by how long she will sit to sort, unsort, fill, empty, refill."
• "I put my bluetooth in an Easter egg when I am not using it. So I use the egg as a case. I also use them as a change carrier in my purse."
• "I have seen them used as 'conversation starters.' Put a little slip of paper with a question written on it inside each egg. Pick out an egg at dinner or bedtime, read the question and talk about it."

Thanks to all the creative parents who responded to this question!

Johanna Corcoran is a Johnston resident, member of our Mom's Council, and founder of Familytopia. Learn more about Familytopia by visiting www.myfamilytopia.com.