Keep Your Frugal Easter Fun and Budget Friendly!

Easter brunch, Easter egg hunts and fun Easter baskets don’t have to cost a fortune.  Frugal Easter celebrations are an art, and you’ll get better and better at keeping the costs down without losing the magic each year.  We’ve written some other Easter articles you might find helpful too:

• Frugal Easter Baskets
• Easter Menu: 41 Mouth Watering Easter Brunch Recipes
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart

(As you can see from the pictures of me holding the egg carton and of my daughter, London Ice, Easter egg hunts here in Alaska are a little different!)

How to Keep Easter Frugally Fun:

Tip #1: Combine Your Celebrations

Our very large extended family all gets together at one house, making for a frugal Easter for all of us. Whoever is hosting the festivities sends out an email sign-up sheet for food ahead of time, and in a potluck sort of way, an entire meal materializes for everyone attending. The kids get to play together, the adults get to socialize, and nobody spends a lot to put on a full-fledged, plated meal at their house. Is your family out-of-state? Try getting together with a few families from church or your neighborhood.

Tip #2: Keep Your Frugal Easter Celebration Early in the Day

Going to church in the morning? Try to have your celebration soon after. The earlier in the day your event, the less expensive your food options become. Few people expect a sit-down meal in the afternoon, and simple, inexpensive foods such as deviled eggs and finger sandwiches can make an appealing and frugal lunch spread. These foods will probably score higher with the kids anyway!

Tip #3: Reuse and Reduce (Your Spending)

Every year I grudgingly pull every bit of plastic Easter grass out of the baskets once all the goodies have been plucked from within. It gets packed in plastic bags (grocery or zipper bags work great) and put into the storage box labeled “Easter.” Don’t forget to throw in your Easter décor, little plastic bobbles from abandoned Easter goody bags, stickers, coloring books, and of course the empty wicker baskets. Just as easy as that, your materials for making Easter baskets for next year are ready – just add candy, eggs and presents from the Easter Bunny!  The extra work now to pack it away neatly makes it easy to make frugal Easter baskets next year.

Tip #4: Plan Ahead

Plan a year ahead, to be exact! The day after (or in some stores, Easter day)  clearance sales are the way to go for getting your Easter supplies.  Check your mass retailers, grocery stores, craft stores and party supply stores for terrific clearance events on Easter items. Keep your head, though. Greatly reduced prices can make us overspend; look specifically for the items you know you will use, such as serving dishes, Easter basket supplies, etc.  Make sure you leave a little in the budget to update your Easter décor as well.

With a little advance planning and a great system for managing your stored holiday items, everyone can keep their Easter frugally fun!

This article was originally published March 12th, 2008.  Photos ©Home Ever After.

You might like these articles too:

1. Frugal Easter Baskets
2. Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart 2009
3. Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart