Holiday Fun During COVID-19: 3D Printed Easter Eggs, Seder Plates, and Ramadan Lanterns

Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, this spring is going to be really difficult for a lot of people. On top of cancelled classes, closed restaurants, and people panic-buying at grocery stores, Passover began earlier this week, Easter is this Sunday, and Ramadan starts in two weeks. Many people like to spend time with their loved during holidays like these, and with countries all over the world in various stages of lock down and quarantine, that’s likely not going to happen. The ongoing coronavirus crisis has upended life for a lot of people, and additive manufacturing companies and makers at home have been rushing in to help, to the best of their abilities, by 3D printing things like face shields and masks, nasal swabs, ventilators, field respirators, and even hands-free door openers.

A face shield made with a 3D printed adapter and a standard hard hat. (Image: GE Additive)

However, while this call to arms is admirable, we need to remember that regulations and certifications for 3D printed medical devices are put in place for a reason. Even the best intentions can lead to some harmful consequences, and we must make sure we’re not causing additional harm by 3D printing items that don’t need to be 3D printed. My suggestion is that maybe, we use 3D printing to take care of our mental health, which is just as important during these strange times. So I refer back to my opening statement – it will be hard not spending the holidays with your family and friends.

So, if you’re stuck at home with a 3D printer, why not make the best of things and create some holiday-themed prints? For instance, just because you’re not expecting a passel of guests doesn’t mean you can’t still decorate with this Easter Egg-shaped holder for electric candles, published by MyMiniFactory user 3dprintinggeek, or this ‘Happy Passover‘ print on Thingiverse, which user jrembrandt created with the Customizer feature.

Ramadan Moon

This Ramadan Moon decoration by Thingiverse user YehiaJammoul can be 3D printed in different sizes, so long as the bed is “perfectly leveled.” I also like this Ramadan lantern print by the same user, who designed it in SOLIDWORKS and printed it on a Creality CR-10S.

Easter Cookie Cutters

A lot of people are getting through these difficult times by stress-eating. So long as you use food-safe filament, help feed your craving with the help of these cute Easter Cookie Cutters by MyMiniFactory user Benjamin_Lau, or this one from aptly named Cults3D user Cookiemonster. Thingiverse user ianwarelec turned to Fusion 360 to design this Ramadan Kareem Cookie Cutter, shaped like a crescent to represent the lunar month of Ramadan. Also on Thingiverse, I found this Matzo Slicer by Shoogon and a Matzo holder by itaysp.

You can celebrate the holidays by dressing up if you want, and these Easter Bunny Earrings by MyMiniFactory user Idea Lab, or this adorable Bunny Ears Head Band, will surely land you on the Easter Bunny’s best-dressed list…if he makes one.

Bunny Ears Head Band

“Don’t forget to cut off the tabs, they are present to act as a strategic brim to help bed adhesion and prevent curling,” Cults3D user bLiTzJoN writes about the head band.

I found this really lovely Vertical Seder Plate on Thingiverse – user stevemedwin’s wife is a rabbi, and challenged him to make the vertical plate.

Vertical Seder Plate

” I ended up designing a seven piece assembly that holds the traditional seder plate liners. OpenSCAD came to the rescue as the tolerances on the pieces was critical for it to be stable,” he wrote.

“The arms can be rotated independently in order to fit the items as needed.”

He 3D printed the plate on his MakerBot Replicator 2, with no raft or supports, at 10% infill and a layer height of 0.200.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Easter without 3D printed eggs, like these Floral Easter Eggs and Woven Easter Eggs by MyMiniFactory user TechDave204, and I also really like this Resin Easter Egg Collection on MyMiniFactory from user ChrisBobo, “made with Fusion 360 and Meshmixer and printed on an Anycubic Photon.”

If you’re interested in an indoor hunt for your 3D printed Easter eggs, you can hide them in this 3D Printable Grass by Cults3D user Superbeasti, which can be cut to length and should be printed with a raft for better adhesion.

3D Printable Grass

“As with any “hairy” print, these are printed sideways, and then one of the plates is cut free. The parts should be oriented so, that each strand starts printing from the top of the grass and ends on the root (Cura changes this when you rotate the block 180 degrees on the Z axis).This way you get a nice effect, where the grass is thinner on the top, and adheres better to the bottom plate. You can choose, if you want to have a thick bottom plate or the thin one, by simply orienting the parts accordingly and cutting the opposite plate off,” he wrote.

Bringing things full circle, Thingiverse user menzach created this Coronavirus Easter egg, which needs a raft and supports and will require an extra step of gluing the red S-proteins to the rest of the egg. Once you’ve collected all of your 3D printed eggs, you can place them in this Easter Eggs Basket by Cults3D user SE_2018. But maybe leave the coronavirus egg where you found it…we’ve had enough of that, I think.

Happy holiday 3D printing and stay healthy!

Did you create any holiday 3D prints? Let us know at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.