This Sunday is Easter and chances are, between virtual learning with the kids and working hard from home, you might be feeling a little unprepared.
If you forgot to get an egg decorating kit, or the store just didn't have any, don't worry. There are easy ways to dye eggs different colors. The best part? You can do it with stuff you likely already have in your home.
1. Use vegetable peels and spices
Pass on the chemicals used in traditional egg decorating kits and go natural by dyeing your eggs with veggies and spices. This is a great way to use up food scraps and kids will enjoy seeing how versatile everyday items can be.
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Here are some of the vibrant colors you can create with foods and pantry staples:
Red or pink: beets, paprika, red zinger tea, strawberries, cherries, cranberries
Blue or purple: red cabbage, blueberries
Orange: yellow onion skins
Yellow: ground tumeric, carrots, yellow apple peels
Brown: coffee grinds
To make a dye using vegetables, boil whatever veggie you're using in 2 cups of water and let simmer for 20 minutes (spices take about 15 minutes). Strain dye through a colander and add 1/4 cup white vinegar to the reserved liquid. Once the water cools, you're ready to dip your eggs. The longer you let the egg sit in each cup of dye, the darker the color will be.
2. Use food coloring
A few drops of food coloring can also create eggs-cellent Easter eggs. Last year, Hoda Kotb sat down with NBC News' Vicky Nguyen who answered a question from Savannah Guthrie about what to do if you procrastinated and didn't get an egg-dyeing kit.
Nguyen said it's easy to create an edible dye by mixing 10 to 20 drops of regular food coloring with a teaspoon vinegar and a half cup boiling water. Wait for the water to cool before dyeing the eggs. Do that for each color and you'll be ready for the hunt in no time.
3. Use a marker
If you don't have any food dyes or extra veggies, don't fret. Use colorful markers to create fantastical tie-dyed eggs with a Q-tip and nail polish remover.
Brit Moran, the founder and CEO of Brit + Co, showed TODAY how to first use Sharpies to color block Easter eggs, then, using a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover, gently dab the egg to make patterns. The colors will blend together into beautiful, tie dye-like swirls. Let the eggs dry completely before setting them out as decoration.