Make It! Cascarones

My son recently started at a new preschool where one of the things they do is learn a new Spanish word each day.   The deluge of his cultural questions began from there, and hasn't stopped since.

Inspired, I decided that since he was home sick with a bug last week, we might as well do a little seasonal and cultural crafting.

Cascarones are a Mexican tradition.  Hollowed out eggs are decorated and filled with small toys and/or confetti.  The hole is covered with a delicate layer of tissue paper and allowed to dry.  Near Lent and continuing through Easter these eggs are then joyously cracked on top of heads, covering friends and family in a shower of confetti and eggshell. 

For this project you will need:

Raw Eggs
Markers
Two small bowls - 1 for egg shell garbage, one for raw egg material
Confetti, glitter, rainbow rice crispie treats, etc.
Tissue paper,
Scissors
Qtip
Elmers Glue
Butter Knife

Begin by holding a raw egg over a bowl.  With a small, sturdy butter knife gently tap the pointed end of the egg to crack the shell.  Using your fingers remove any loose egg shell hanging from the egg.  Try not to make the opening too large.  You want it big enough to place the confetti in, but not so big that it's difficult to cover with tissue paper.  Dump your raw egg into a bowl to be used later - scrambled eggs, egg bakes, etc.  

Rinse your shells out and allow them to dry over night upside down so that all the water drains out.

Get busy with markers!  Traditionally, the eggshells are dyed at this point - but we were lazy.  Sharpies worked just fine for us.

After the eggs are colored to your satisfaction fill them partway with punched paper bits, glitter, rice cereal, tiny toys...whatever your heart desires!

 We kept things fairly simple with just the confetti paper and glitter.  The paper went in via our fingers - the glitter we poured in through a spout.

Using a Qtip, spread a little white glue around the outside rim of the eggshell.  Cut a small piece of tissue paper just slightly bigger than the opening and press it down.  I found going over the edges of the tissue paper with another thin layer of glue really helped the tissue paper stick down.

Allow your eggs to dry for several hours.   They are now ready for cracking!   Ours are set aside for a spring Ostara egg hunt planned with friends in a few days.   You can crack them directly on top of heads, or if you have little ones, try cracking the egg several inches above their head and let the confetti rain down on them.

We also purchased several dozen beautifully dyed cascarones from Gracies Eggies on Etsy, knowing we wouldn't have time to make that many ourselves.  They came carefully shipped and ready for some springtime festivities!

Make some with your own kiddos.  I promise you'll have fun!

Simple Mama