Appropriate age group(s):
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Estimated time to make this gift:
approx. 15 minutes per wabbit

Materials:
Clean, dry one-gallon plastic milk jugs

Construction paper (pink and blue)

Rubber cement

Permanent jet-black marking pens (not fine point!)

Utility scissors

Hole punch

"Paper Twist" craft paper

Instructions:
Cut an opening for the "bucket" that basically takes out the spout of the jug, just above the top of the handle, and takes out a sort of "smiley" shape curving around what will be the crown of the bunny's head, or crown area. (It's simply a hole big enough to reach into, with no sharp edges left behind, fairly symetrical, and leaving as much front corner of the jug as pretty and practical for the bunny forehead.)

His pink nose will be a rounded triangle, placed about midway up the 'corner' opposite the jug's handle. Adhere with rubber cement.

His eyes will be blue paper discs, with black shaded 'pupils' being 3/4 of the eye (marker). Leave a blue crescent moon shape to the left, and ink in most of the rest of the eye except for the feathery, slim bit left parallel to that crescent (this is the light/fun/mischief in the eyes!). Eyes are placed to left and right of the nose, and slightly higher...adhere w/rubber cement.

The rest of the face is freely drawn on with the marker, and little kids are not going to be hypercritical about the results! Think of the marker as a brush, relax and breathe, and swish on some 3-stroke eyelashes on both sides, outline the pink nose, take a line about halfway down from the base of the nose and swish bunny cheeks, left and right, ending in a smile; quick stroke 3 bold whiskers on each side, and finish with big bunny teeth.

For ears, whack off a 2 foot section of pink paper twist. Punch holes to the left and right side of the handle, about one inch from top, and insert the paper twist in one hole, pull it into the bucket, and push it out through the opposite hole. Tug lightly until the twist is of even length on both sides.

Unwind the paper twist from the ends until you reach the handle, on both sides. These are the 'ears,' and they won't slip out, don't need glue, etc. Floppy ears are allowed. Trim and taper the ends of the ears to nice shape. Once filled with flowers, treats, or cushiony filler and eggs of any kind, the bunny is ready for action.

Other comments or suggestions to consider:
We tried other adhesives, like basic white glue, and the eyes and nose would soon fall off--the bond does not hold.

If the little ones draw their own faces on their Wabbits, provide some sort of smocking/aprons to protect their clothes, and roll up those sleeves! The eyes are a little trickier; consider supplying them pre-inked and ready to glue on.

The Wabbits can be recycled after Easter if you are sneaky and brutal enough to take out the ears and rip off the eyes and nose--but woe to the parent whose kid finds Mr. Bun Bun in such a state in the curbside bin or garage...the bucket also makes a good place to plunk all the fill-'em-up plastic eggs when you pack them up after the Easter fun. Tie the bunny head in a couple o' plastic shopping bags, and hang him from a hook in storage.

Look at the milk jugs at the store. Some brands have one round depression, some have 2. Two in the right place are cool! Half-gallon jugs might be adaptable to tall slim Bunnies; haven't tried that.

The adhesive on the milk jug labels is so stubborn to get off that it's not worth wasting much time or elbow grease; slap some big ol' paper labels on the back to cover it. That gives a place to write kids' names---just a bonus!