Have a Frugal Easter Holiday

With Easter right around the corner, do you find yourself waiting for just ONE MONTH without a holiday?

Just one month so you can play catch up and ACTUALLY SAVE your goal savings amount. I understand you and a lot of other people out there are with you.

As parents, we are constantly pulled in two directions. Do we save money?  Or do we buy our little one that extra gift or two?  You tell yourself it’s what your parents did for you.  You rationalize it by thinking it’s a holiday!

Again, I’m with you and I get it. My wife and I are navigating these waters as well with our young son.  It’s not an easy thing.  You see the little face and you just want to give them the world.

However, we all need to be role models for our children. To do that, we sometimes need to make the difficult, but necessary decisions.  Can you say adulting?   (Side note: I hate that term and my spell check doesn’t even recognize it).

That’s why I found some top blog posts from the last few years that I wanted to share as we prepare for Easter. I know Easter isn’t as expensive as Christmas or the child’s birthday, but candy, baskets, and presents can begin to break any well-intentioned parent’s budget very quickly.

Fear not. I found some great tips from other amazing bloggers that can keep you on budget this Easter holiday.

Kalyn Brook at Creative Savings: Don’t waste money on non-essentials

In her article 7 Steps to a Budget Friendly Easter Basket, Kalyn recommends ditching the colorful grass for bright tissue paper that you probably already have somewhere in the house.  This works perfectly if the tissue paper is white.  Then again, who cares if it’s Christmas red or green?  Use what you have!

As she explains:

Personally, I think stringy grass is annoying and can end up practically everywhere if you aren’t careful. A wonderful alternative to grass is brightly colored tissue paper, which you probably already have in your gift closet right now. Even plain white will do!

When it comes to plastic Easter eggs, buy them only if you plan on purchasing candy in bulk to divvy up among the eggs, and make sure to reuse them year after year. Otherwise, save the cash and package candy in small snack bags instead. You can even add a printable topper to make them cute!

Tawra and Jill at Living On a Dime: Use play dough, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles as Easter basket fillers

At Living On a Dime, Tawra and Jill got really creative with their ideas in their post, 27 Cheap But Cute Homemade Easter Basket Ideas.  Among other things, they suggest filling Easter baskets with play dough, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles.  Now, I know the sidewalk chalk and bubbles would be a tremendous hit with my little guy.  So, I may just take them on this!

Here’s more from Tawra and Jill:

Include new books purchased at garage sales or thrift stores.

Wacky crayons? Crayon pieces melted together in a muffin tin to make a “big” crayon.

Flower seeds that the kids can grow

Mini-stuffed animals purchased at garage sales or on clearance the year before.

Paper dolls or coloring books. There are many available on the Internet that you can print yourself.

For teenagers, put these items in baskets: lotions, soaps, suntan lotions, fingernail polish, movie tickets, tickets for getting out of a chore, ticket for $5 worth of car gas, clothes purchased on clearance and of course lots of candy!

Oh, and a fun fact for future reference … they say to get Easter candy after Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Put that one in the calendar for next year!

Deborah Taylor-Hough at The Dollar Stretcher: Use the same basket every year

In an article for The Dollar Stretcher, Deborah explains that you can start a tradition with your children by using the same basket every year.  This a great idea as it saves money and gives the child something they could even use with their kids one day.

Here’s more tips from Deborah’s article, Frugal Easter Basket Ideas:

Paper bags decorated with bunnies, eggs, flowers, etc.

Easter bonnets. If you’re going to be purchasing an Easter bonnet for your daughter, turn it upside down and fill with goodies.

Inexpensive colorful plastic sand pails. Include a shovel and sand mold.

Plastic mesh storage containers. Reuse to store toys, games, socks, childhood treasures, etc.

Lunch box.

New novelty pillowcase.

Flower pot (fill w/packet of seeds, soil, drainage rocks, gardening gloves, instructions for growing their own Spring flowers).

Have a Happy Easter!

I hope you found some ideas for a frugal Easter that work for you. There are many things in this post I wouldn’t even have considered.  So, I learned plenty as well.  It just goes to show you, that you can provide a great Easter holiday for your children on a budget.  All it takes is a little time and research.  In the end, you don’t need to blow the budget or buy your children a ton of stuff to make them happy.

Have a wonderful Easter holiday.

Do you have any ways to make the Easter holiday more frugal? Please share your tips below and let us know what you do with your family.