Easter is a season filled with the opportunity for New Life! But with any celebration, there’s a temptation to overspend. This year, keep your holiday meaningful without the extra expense. Use these FREE and Affordable Easter ideas to keep your budget on track.
1. Free Events
From egg hunts to Easter church services, you can find amazing experiences in your community that don’t cost a dime. Check local community center websites and churches near you to look for upcoming events. Here in the Indianapolis area, I’d highly recommend checking out the Indy With Kids Easter Egg Hunt Round Up. In our area, there are egg hunts at night, underwater, with hot air balloons, and even a few featuring helicopters! You can even hunt eggs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A few years ago, we went to a fantastic egg hunt at our local Culver’s. Look online and keep your eyes peeled when you’re out and about for events in your community.
2. Skip Boiling the Eggs
A watched pot never boils. If you’ve struggled with getting eggs just right in the past, there are plenty of wants to hard boil eggs without the actual boiling. If you have an Instant Pot, you can make Hard Boiled Eggs in it. You can even make hard boiled eggs in your crockpot. But my favorite non-boiling method is by placing the eggs in a muffin tin with crumpled aluminum foil at the bottom of each cup (this prevents the egg from getting brown spots where it touches the pan). Place a dozen eggs in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Transfer the eggs directly into a bowl of ice water until completely cooled.
3. Bring Eggs to Room Temperature
As a side note, be sure you bring your eggs to room temperature before you boil them. This will help you avoid the tragic experience of cracking and wasting eggs that need to be decorated!
4. Temporary Tattoo Eggs
If your family is anything like mine, you have a cabinet filled with stickers, temporary tattoos, and stamp pads. These can easily transform an egg with very little effort. In the past, I purchased Printable Temporary Tattoo Paper for a birthday party and then I didn’t end up using it. So we created unique images of our own to put on eggs. If you order paper like that (or already have some), here are a few quick tips:
- Be sure to reverse the image before printing.
- The sticky paper is really tricky to work with. Proceed with care.
- Choose images that are smaller and then trim them carefully.
- Use the paper to gently rub the edges down.
But you don’t have to order the paper, you can use any tattoos that you find at home or pick up at the dollar store. Be sure that your eggs are completely cooled and dry and then apply straight to the surface. I’m totally non-crafty and I was able to pull it off.
5. Add Glow Sticks to Plastic Eggs
Want to skip the dye process? Add glow sticks to plastic eggs instead for an after hours egg hunt. Use a bracelet, or if you can smaller glow stick (I found teeny ones for flying discs that fit perfect!). Be sure that you don’t activate the glow stick until right up until the last minute. Then, curve them to squeeze them into an egg. The kids will LOVE this simple trick!
6. Purchase Reusable Easter Baskets
When our girls were small, we invested in some nice Easter baskets. I actually bought them on clearance the year before but they were still a bit sturdier and pricier than your typical plastic bucket. These metal baskets have been used for sixteen and eleven years respectively. We store them in the same place in our hall closet and each year, they become a treasured possession all over again. Resist the urge to buy a different basket every year. Even if it means you spend more in up front costs, you’ll save over the long haul.
7. Kool-Aid Eggs
We use white vinegar for almost everything in our household from fabric softener to glass cleaner. This year, you can opt for a much more pleasant smell when you dye your Easter eggs. Choose Kool Aid instead! There are some flavors to avoid (Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, and Grape), but you can find the full directions on how to make it happen here.
8. Keep Track of Your Decor
Plastic eggs, center pieces, placemats and more can all be used again next year. Find a good plastic tub and label it well so that you can find exactly what you’re looking for next Easter. I found three kits I picked up on clearance last year for a dime.
9. Skip the Easter Grass
Oh that green crinkly cellophane that you find under your couch and stuck to the carpet six months later. I know it’s oh-so-festive, but it’s also literally something you will throw away almost immediately. Opt for materials you might already have on hand like wrapping or tissue paper, construction or kraft paper, or even shredded comics.
10. Rice Eggs
If you didn’t pick up an egg dying kit on clearance last year, you can make unique eggs with items you already have in your cabinet. Fill a small plastic baggie with rice and add a couple of drops of food coloring. Work the coloring through your bag. Then place a hard boiled egg in the bag and gently work the egg through the rice.
11. Keep Your Meal Simple
It’s easy to get carried away with a big brunch or Easter dinner. Try not to fall into the too many side dishes or desserts trap. Focus in on a main dish, a fruit, a veggie, a bread, and a dessert. Or if you’re gathering with extended family, ask others to “pitch-in” and share the expense of an Easter spread. Also, while you’re shopping, look for low prices on eggs and ham.
12. Avoid the Dollar Section or Store
There are so many adorable gift-y items that seem perfect additions for an Easter basket. However, most of these items will be tossed aside in a week’s time. Spend a little bit more and buy something that will last. Cute bunny yo-yos don’t really mean as much in May. We focus on outdoor toys like bubbles, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, seeds, and books.
13. Maximize Grocery Deals
Stores will be fighting for your holiday dollars over the next two weeks. That means, they’ll have all sorts of fantastic deals on staples used to celebrate on Easter Sunday. If you have the budget, it’s a great week to stock up on items like eggs, ham, strawberries, oranges, asparagus, and specialty breads. Remember, many items (even milk) can be frozen until you’re ready to use them. Those low prices provide an affordable feast but can help you feed your family throughout the spring, too.
I’d love to know the ways you save on your Easter fun! Where do you? What do you? How do you make the holiday special without spending at all?
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