Easter Egg Decorating Brunch

We recently hosted an Easter egg decorating brunch at our house, and it was so much fun! K is finally old enough to get excited about holidays, even if she doesn’t really know what they mean yet, aside from gifts. She was very excited about the idea of decorating eggs!

We had about 10 kids come over, mostly toddlers and babies, so we had a few different age-appropriate options for egg decorating. Traditional egg-shaped cups of colored vinegar were not very appealing for this group. So, we stuck with stickers, crayons, and markers. As well as the Egg Mazing machine that we originally saw on Shark Tank a few years ago.

Since our group was mostly toddlers, I was a little worried that egg decorating might be over their heads, but it went over really well. So, if you’re thinking about throwing an Easter egg decorating party, maybe this will give you some inspiration.

How I prepared

Have you ever hard boiled 12 dozen eggs? Because I have. LOL. It took a couple hours the night before the party, but it’s a pretty hands off task, so I just did it while cleaning up and getting other things ready. I probably could have done it quicker, but I’m always nervous that I’ll undercook the eggs, so I played it safe and took my time. I was expecting just under a dozen kids, so I wanted to make sure everyone could make at least a dozen eggs to take home. And I made extra in case some broke (which they definitely did… hello, a bunch of 2 year olds handling eggs). We ended up having some extra, which I turned into egg salad, one of my favorites, so I’m not complaining. Better to have too many than too little.

I wasn’t exactly sure how we would handle the egg decorating, so I was prepared for it to go any which way. We decided the traditional egg dying wasn’t a great idea. I put out some crayons and food-safe markets, and bought a few different kits from Target like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Paw Patrol and PJ Masks. Each kit came with stickers and a few other show-themed pieces. We also bought two of the Egg Mazing machines from Bed Bath & Beyond (finally used some of our 20% off coupons). The Egg Mazing was perfect for the kids, and it’s fun for adults to use too! It’s mess-free and makes picture perfect Easter eggs.

Tip: If you boil eggs in advance, which you should, make sure you take them out of the fridge about an hour before you plan on coloring them. If they’re too cold when you color them, they may sweat and the color could rub off.

The setup

We extended the table so there was plenty of room for the kids, and for parents to help of course. And I covered the table in a pastel waterproof table cloth, just in case. I found bunny ear headbands in the Dollar Section at Target for $1 each, so every kid had ears. Even though most of them didn’t want to wear them half the time. We had food setup along the kitchen island for easy access. And of course, mimosas were setup on my bar cart that I love dressing up for holidays. It’s usually just stocked with liquor bottles that we use maybe once a year, because I’m one of those #momsthatlovewine now.

We don’t have a ton of Easter decorations, but I found a big cute bunny at Homegoods recently that I had to have. I decorated my standing chalkboard sign with some chalk paint. K “decorated” the other side while I worked on mine. LOL. And for the entryway table, I found some foam eggs on long sticks to put in my dried flower bouquet from Pike Place, and a little glittery welcome sign. It was only $3 total for two sets of eggs and the sign, and it made our entry a little more festive for the holiday.

The menu

I tried to keep it easy since I was planning on making all of the food myself (except the scones). The casserole, pigs in a blanket, and monkey bread were all easy to throw together and put in the oven about 2 hours before the party started. I made the brownies and pound cake the night before, and you can prepare the casserole the night before too so you can just throw it in the oven in the morning. And, the charcuterie board was put together right before everyone arrived. (Getting ready with two little ones is guaranteed to have you running a little behind.) Here’s what we served, with links to some of the recipes. I also have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to brunch inspo, if you’re not already following me. *wink*wink*

A charcuterie board with meats, cheeses, crackers
Sausage, egg and cheese casserole (I just substituted cooked Jimmy Dean sausage for the ham)
Monkey bread (I would recommend either doubling or 1.5x the sugar butter you pour on top before baking. Mine was a little dry at the bottom of the cake once it was flipped over)
Cream cheese pound cake (one of my favorites)
Brownies
Pigs in a blanket
Scones
Mimosas, duh

The kids loved decorating the eggs, and K has been asking every day since to decorate more. Since Easter is so late this year, we’ll probably do another round in a week or so.

Kirsten