We are only weeks away from Easter now and there is plenty of fun to be had in the lead up and on the day itself. Holidays like Easter can break the bank if you get carried away but it’s not necessary to spend a lot of cash to have a memorable Easter season and to make it amazing for your kids.
In 2022, Americans spent almost $170 on Easter according to the National Retail Foundation’s annual survey. That’s the average which means that many families would have spent much more than this. Let’s explore ways that we can enjoy an amazing Easter season and spend much less doing it.
Leading up to Easter
House decorating. When the kids were little, I had decorations for all seasons. When Christmas ended, I left up some snowman decor until I switched over to Spring, then Easter. We never had a ton of decorations, but they were carefully stored each year and after Easter the kids and I would go shopping to add one more to the bin for next year… at a deep discount, of course. Let the kids help to decorate, that’s the best part. The house won’t look perfect, but your family will be so happy.
Easter stories. It’s good to have a few books tucked in with the decorations for each season. This way, they are fresh each year but are also a tradition for the kids and maybe you can even pass them down one day for your grandchildren. Of course, only have a few that you buy – the rest can come from the library!
Easter movies and shows. Same as the stories, you can tuck away a few seasonal DVDs into your tub of decorations to watch each year. Pop some popcorn and grab a bag of mini eggs and enjoy a few special movie nights leading up to the big weekend.
Easter crafts. Let there be crafts! There are endless coloring and activity books for every season. Easter is no exception. Crafting can cost a bundle but it’s not necessary. Keep a bin of craft supplies left over from each activity and before you know it, you won’t have to buy anything to make a great craft because you’ll already have it on hand. Construction paper and pens and sparkle glue are more than you need when they’re little. And… these crafts can become part of your yearly decorating. The kids gain so much self confidence when their work is loved and presented.
Don’t forget to dye eggs. The great thing about this messy activity is that you can still eat the hard boiled eggs after the kids have dyed them (so long as they’re handled safely), you can display them as decorations, or even include them in the hunt.
Easter baking. Easter is all about sweets for the little ones. Let’s get them in the kitchen to bake up a favorite. If you’re able, maybe bake together and then send it to their class to share and enjoy.
On Easter weekend
Big family/friends dinner. Easter is a great excuse to gather around a table full of blessings. If you can make it a potluck, then it won’t cost as much. Grab a nice ham using your grocery points and some fancy non-alcoholic drinks – then let your guests bring the sides. Most people are super happy to contribute to a dinner and take the burden off of the hosts.
Community egg hunts. All of the communities that we have lived in have hosted a community egg hunt. It’s a great way to gather, build some excitement for the kids and maybe even sit and get your picture taken with the Easter bunny.
Church festivities. This is a big weekend in the christian church so there are usually extra services and gatherings and activities for the kids to celebrate together. These usually come with some great crafts and games along with some chocolate treats for bigs and littles alike.
One year, when we lived in a rural community, my boy was the only child to come on the morning of the egg hunt – you should have seen how much fun he had and how much chocolate he brought home! I won’t lie, I enjoyed helping him eat it.
Business events. This might not seem so intuitive, but certain businesses that benefit greatly from the Easter holiday will give back to their customers by throwing an event around Easter.
When I owned a candy store and the kids were little, we sold a kajillion dollars worth of Easter treats, then closed up shop on Easter Monday and hosted a huge community party at our rural property. The older kids in the neighborhood would help to decorate and hide the treats. One year we hid over 800 treats. It was a great way to use up some of the excess product in the store and to say “thank you” to the families that supported our business. The garden shop did the same as they had great space and gave away seedlings to each family. It was beautiful – and totally free.
Family egg hunt. The family egg hunt is the bread and butter of Easter weekend when you have kids. The coveted egg hunt! There’s no getting around it, the kids love this and look forward to it every year. Something to remember – they aren’t fussed about the quality of treats, it’s all about quantity. So, if you can buy a big bag of those plastic refillable eggs and reuse them every year, then you can get away with buying the tubs of candies and chocolates that cost way less and just packaging them up in the plastic eggs to hide. Mix in a couple of the fancier treats or a few little toys and they’ll be super happy. It doesn’t have to break the bank.
Scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts are a fun way to make Easter more exciting for the bigger kids in your world. It takes some work to pull together one but it is totally worth it. One year, we had 9 kids in our household between 6 months and 21 years old and I put together little gift packages for each of them and started building a scavenger hunt for the lot. It was so fun and the bigger kids helped the little ones. They were happy with their gifts. It was amazing. I wish I had the bandwidth to do that every year. Maybe for grandkids one day…
Easter activities you can do without.
New spring outfits. Who said that the kids need a brand new outfit to celebrate Easter? That’s just a retail marketing ploy. I’m sure that your kids have great outfits in their closets that they can wear.
Fancy pre-filled Easter baskets. Sure, you can buy these but your kids won’t find them as exciting as if you give them an empty basket (that you store and reuse each year) that they can fill on their egg hunt.
Gifts for adults. Why? Just why? I used to do this too, but I’ve wisened up. Easter is not about giving gifts to adults. This is another idea put in our heads by the marketing mavens.
Now that we have some great ideas for less expensive Easter activities and traditions, I challenge all of you to shift this holiday to less materialistic and oriented to celebrating family fun and togetherness.
What other ways do you keep the costs down for Easter?
These are great reminders. It’s easy to get overly spendy for holidays like Easter.
Thanks Sarah – I hope you have a wonderful Easter season!