Make This the Holiday You Dye Easter Potatoes!

Spring is here and the flowers are blooming! Time to celebrate the season with decorations for the house and the Easter baskets. Let’s dye the potatoes. Potatoes? Not eggs?

The news is filled with stories right now about the high price of eggs. Many people are not buying eggs when they do their grocery shopping and might be looking for another way to make some decorations to celebrate the holiday this year. 

Try something new this spring and surprise the Easter bunny and your friends with dyed colored potatoes!

Decorating Eggs Through the Years  

In the late 19th century, eggs became treats for children in Victorian families. They made the art of dyeing Easter eggs a tradition and popularized Easter egg hunts. The first Easter Egg Roll took place at The White House on April 22, 1878 with President Rutherford B. Hayes and continues today. A practice of drawing on eggs with wax and dye called “pysanky” became a popular Ukrainian tradition in the 10th century. In the year 1290, England’s King Edward I ordered 450 eggs to be colored or covered with fancy gold leaf and given to royal relatives.  

You can read more about the history of the White House Easter Egg Roll here.

Dyeing Easter Potatoes with Fun Colors

Make this the year you try something different and have a session of dyeing potatoes with colors for the Easter celebration. It’s easy and you don’t have to worry about dropping them and having them break or crack.

What You Need

A bag of small or medium-size white or yellow potatoes with skins on

Water-based food dye 

Paint brushes 

5-6 small bowls  One bowl of water and others for mixing colors  

Old newspapers, paper towels, old t-shirts or sheets 

Rubber gloves 

Step One

Rinse potatoes in the sink under cold water and place on the counter to dry.

Step Two

Set up your art space with old newspapers and towels to paint.

Step Three

Put dye colors in bowls. Use some bowls to mix colors together to create different shades.

For mixed shades of color:

 Mix two drops of red and two drops of blue to create purple

Two drops of blue and two drops of yellow to make green

Two drops of red and two drops of yellow to create orange

When you are making mixed colors, remember to go slowly. Try mixing ½ drop of food dye at a time until you have the shade of color you want. 

Step Four 

Get painting!

Put on your gloves, pick up your brush and start to paint the potatoes! 

Place the finished painted potatoes on clean newspaper and allow to dry for one hour.

When the potatoes are dry, you can add stickers, color a pattern with markers, or glue some glitter for added sparkle.

Write a person’s name on the potato and make a place setting at the holiday table or write a message and put it in an Easter basket.

You just might start a new Easter tradition for dyeing Easter potatoes!