Hop to it! Deliver real Easter eggs to your overseas sweetie

A dozen eggs from the commissary at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts? $1.52. Egg decorating kit? $2.63. Sending cheerful, handmade Easter eggs to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan? Priceless. The key to this gift is one simple trick: Empty the eggs by blowing out the yolks and whites. You will be left with hollow Easter eggs that — hip hop hooray! — won’t spoil during their trip overseas. Here’s how to do it: 

O say can you see the small holes on top of these hollow Easter eggs? Barely.

1. Wash raw eggs. The shells may carry harmful bacteria, so clean them for safety’s sake.
2. Use a pin or needle to poke holes in both ends of each egg. Make the hole on the egg’s bottom slightly larger than the one on top so that it is easier for the egg’s insides to exit. Leave the eggs in the carton while you’re poking them, below; that way there is less chance of accidentally smashing the eggs while you’re holding them.

Stickpins, sewing needles, thumbtacks, and safety pins are all sharp enough to use on eggshells.

3. Take a deep breath, then blow. Put your mouth over the hole at the top of the egg, blowing the yolks and whites out of the egg and into a bowl. If the yolk refuses to leave the egg, stick a needle through the hole on the bottom of the egg to break up the yellow orb.  

Err on the side of smaller holes to start. You can always enlarge the holes as needed.

4. Rinse eggs well. Let dry overnight.
5. Ready, set, dye. Channel your inner five-year-old, and play around with food coloring. 
6. Don’t throw out that egg carton! Pack the fragile, dyed eggs in their original carton to cradle them safely in a care package. 

Recycle! Use egg cartons to pack your decorated eggs for their overseas trip.

7. Plan tonight’s dinner. Might we suggest omelets, quiche, and French toast?