An Egg-Dyeing Spring Garden Party and Naturally Fun Parties for Kids Book Review

So, as most of you know, I have a problem with lying. I can't do it. The truth just seems to come pouring out of my mouth. So when I offered to review Anni Daulter's new book, Naturally Fun Parties for Kids, I thought, OH CRAP! I hope it is good. I don't want to have to write a bad review. Thank goodness, it is great! However, our Easter Egg-Dyeing Party may not have turned out exactly as Anni would have hoped.

In my head I was going to try all of the natural dyes and some of the most delicious looking recipes. In reality, I'm a little broke and only had paprika and coffee in my pantry. So I decided to make those two dyes and I bought the ingredients for the Garden Cooler Lemon-Mint Ice Pops (they were awesome!). As Daulter recommends, I found glass vases at the thrift store (as well as baskets) and I used fabric scraps to decorate and make the lovely fabric banner hanging from the table (it is now hanging above our fireplace).

We started off with the natural dyes..., watching the eggs..., waiting for them to soak.

 Checking on them over and over.

Now, here comes the part Anni probably did not have in mind. (God forgive me), I broke out the Paas.

My girls loved dyeing the eggs, but my son had other plans.

The good thing about naturally dyed eggs is you can eat them after. I didn't exactly want my kids eating the Paas infused eggs, so we made the most of them by having an egg hunt.

 We then, (God forgive me again),  tried juggling them,

 dissecting them,

 and chunking them as far as we could.

I really feel bad about this, but the kids had the best time (please allow me this little justification for my deplorable decision making skills). 

After egg dyeing, more fun was to be had!

And the kids, after waiting oh so patiently for them to freeze, finally got to eat their ice pops!

 Even this scary looking child got some.

Thanks to Anni and her new book, we had an amazing day! Although we didn't follow her ideas exactly, we took what we could and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. What I love best about the book is all of the decorating ideas and recipes. It's practically a cookbook! We will certainly be trying out the artichoke spread and mac and cheese in the very near future (and I'm looking to buy her Organic Family Cookbook now). Although the book is meant for party planning, the ideas can be picked over and used for just about anything. With Anni's help, I'm decorating my house and planning dinner for next week! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Click here to check it out!