Food allergies: 7 alternatives to coloring eggs

As you know, my son is very allergic to eggs. Whites, yolks, cooked or not, baked in, brushed on, whatever. One bite and he throws up. If he touches egg white and touches his face,  his eyes puff up and his face breaks out.

And beings he is a very expressive individual (like his mom), he will tell you loudly that he'd just as soon never touch even the shell of an egg or ever see one or even be near one for the rest of his life.

Pretty much wipes out any chance of coloring eggs. But I have such fond memories of making Czechoslovakian Easter eggs with wax, that I want to build some memories for him. Here are some alternatives:

1) Paint wooden eggs. You can find these at Michaels or other craft stores, maybe even in Walmart's craft area. We did that one year and had a lot of fun. And they last forever!

2) Decorate Styrofoam eggs. We haven't tried this but you could use paints, glitter glue, markers, stickers, whatever you have or find at the craft store.

3) Jello eggs. This recipe makes 3 whole eggs, so double as many times as needed.

3-ounce package of jello, any flavor
1-1/4 cups boiling water

Lightly spray egg mold (plastic eggs, I'd guess) with nonstick cooking spray. Snap mold together and set it on a small tray to catch any spills. Combine jello and boiling water, stir for 3 minutes. Slowly pour mixture into egg molds. Chill for at least 4 hours. Then slowly pry the halves apart (use a butter knife to gently coax apart) and decorate with frosting or coolwhip.

4)  Rice Krispie eggs. This is probably what we'll do this year. Here's a recipe: 

3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 pkg (10 oz)or 4 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups rice cereal (regular or cocoa)

In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add cereal, stir until well coated. Using 1/3 cup measure cup coated with cooking spray, divide warm cereal  mixture into portions. Using buttered hands, shape each port into egg shape (or coat the inside of plastic snap-apart Easter eggs with cooking spray, press cereal into the eggs, snap, and then remove), cool and decorate with frosting or candies.

A twist: Add a few drops of food coloring to the warm butter-marshmallow mix or stir in pastel M&Ms or fruit-loop type cereal.

5) Decorate plastic Easter eggs. Use stickers, glitter glue, paints, feathers, sequins, gems, markers, felt, whatever your imagine can come up with.

6) A Herd of Eggimals. Get plastic Easter eggs, pom-poms, felt, craft glue and permanent black marker. Here is the original article with templates for a owl, dog, cat, pig, mouse and skunk.

7) Snowflake eggs. From "Family Fun" March 2013 magazine: "These lacy decorations are made using the same technique you'd use for classic paper snowflakes. Cut a large oval from a piece of thin paper. Fold the oval in half, then in half again. Accordion-fold the resulting quarter into thirds. Cut shapes from either side of the triangle (but not the curved top), then unfold the paper to reveal your pattern.