How are your children spending their Easter holidays? Watching television? Playing Nintendo? Instead, spend an afternoon making fun Easter-inspired crafts with the whole family. Decorating eggs has long been a popular tradition at Easter-time, and there are actually many ways of going about it - all resulting in a different look. Some of these methods may get a little messy, so make sure you cover your work surface with newspaper or plastic and dress your kids in old clothes.

When you're finished, take photos of your children with their Easter egg creations and submit them for a chance to appear in an upcoming issue of Downhome.

The 70s Look. Dip your hard-boiled egg in a bowl of water dyed with a light colour. Remove, let dry, and either wrap masking tape (or tie elastic bands) around your egg. Dip egg into a bowl of water dyed with a different, darker colour. Remove from water, let dry and discard tape or bands. Once dry, brush with a thin coat of vegetable oil for a glossy look.

Marbled Eggs. In a mug, combine a tablespoon each of cooking oil, vinegar and dye, plus enough water to cover one egg. Stir and place hard-boiled egg in mixture. After a few seconds, remove egg, which should have a "marbled" look. Once dry, brush with a thin coat of vegetable oil for a glossy look.

Crayon Eggs. Have your child use wax crayons to draw a design on their egg. Then, place the egg into a bowl of dyed water. Remove egg. The wax should resist the dye, leaving you with a colourful Easter egg with a beautiful design peeking through. Once dry, brush with a thin coat of vegetable oil for a glossy look.

Character Eggs. Visit a craft or dollar store to find cheap craft supplies that'll make this craft extra fun (think glitter, googly eyes, yarn, etc.). Draw funny faces onto your hard-boiled egg with coloured markers and attach craft supplies with craft glue. Once dry, brush with a thin coat of vegetable oil for a glossy look.

Hands-on Eggsperience. Kids will have a blast with this Easter egg decorating method. First, place hard-boiled egg in a bowl of water dyed with a light-colour. Leave to dry and let kids dip their fingers in different colour paints to create simple designs on their egg.

Green Tip: Instead of purchasing an Easter egg dyeing kit, check in your cupboards and refrigerator for natural dyes that work just as well. For pink/red hues, try placing cranberries or fresh beets in water. For bright yellow, add ground turmeric. Blueberries or red cabbage leaves leave behind a blue dye, while chili powder turns water a brownish-orange colour. Try adding spinach leaves to water for a pale green hue. Experiment with various food items to see what other colours you come up with.