One of the most fun things about preparing for Easter is getting to color boiled eggs. However, it can become an annoyance if the eggs crack before revelers get a chance to dye them. To make sure the beauty of the colored eggs aren’t marred by any imperfections, check out some tips to make sure they don’t crack this Easter, courtesy of eHow.com and WikiHow.com.

The most important thing is to cook the eggs “properly,” according to the Los Angeles Times. While most people are familiar with boiling eggs, ensuring they are not cracks when they’re finished cooking takes more finesse than dropping them in the water. This method will normally result in the sulfurous rotten egg smell, and no one wants that.

"Place the eggs in a pan just big enough to hold them in a single layer," L.A. Times Test Kitchen and Food Editor Russ Parsons said. "Cover them with cold water and bring them to a rolling boil. Cook for one minute, then remove them from the heat. When the water has cooled enough that you can put your hand in (about 20 minutes), the eggs will be perfectly cooked."

That method works because the single layer is one way to prevent the eggs from breakage. Cooking them for a short time also decreases the change of cracking. For those who like to eat their eggs once the dye job is over, the green ring that sometimes accompanies boiled eggs’ yolk won’t be there, because the eggs should be cooked to perfection.

Some other tips are adding one teaspoon of vinegar for each egg. Do this before the burner is turned on. The vinegar purportedly makes the proteins in the egg congeal and plug the imperfections in the shell that already exist.

Another thing to do is use eggs that have been refrigerated for a few days. When an egg gets older, its content shrinks. So if there’s less mass inside the egg when it’s cooked, it’s less likely break the shell when it expands.

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