Saving Money on Easter Baskets
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Dollar Store
Shop the dollar stores! They usually have baskets and other items you can use as a basket as well as candy, gifts and little objects to fill the basket with. They also offer shredded "paper" to use as filler, cellophane bags for wrapping the baskets, etc. You don't have to fill it up with candy. There are lots of things offered at the dollar store. Depending on what you want, there's something for everyone!By Darlene
Give Growing Things for Spring
Instead of having candy baskets (they'll get plenty of that), how about a small plant pot instead with flower seeds and a note that you'll help with the growing of it. If it's a child, it might be a new experience. If it's an elderly, it'll be something to do with you. If it's someone with a yard, maybe plants and the offering of helping them plant them.By LRP
Use Recycled Shredded Paper
Use shredded paper from your home or the office -- shred some magazines, junk mail, and newspaper along with the regular white paper and you'll end up with a color other than white.Be sure to recycle afterwards!
Coins Instead Of Candy
How about coins and a fortune in an egg for a low calorie and interesting treat. MarthaStewart.com has some instructions for snow drops and crocuses made of crepe paper that are beautiful.By Kibby
Creative Basket Ideas
Make your own Easter baskets. Use baskets from around the house or reuse strawberry baskets. You can use fresh grass from outside as basket filler!Mary Ellen from Flagstaff, AZ
Cheerleader Pompoms Instead Of Grass
To avoid the mess and the waste of Easter grass, use cheerleader pom-poms in the Easter Basket instead. There's no mess and they serve as an extra surprise!By Beth from Tucson, AZ
Easters Hats Instead of Baskets
When my children were babies, instead of Easter baskets, we picked out a cute summer hat and used it as a basket instead. We put little things in it a baby could use, like a small bottle of juice, a teething toy, a small book, etc.When my second child, a son, was a baby, we gave both of our kids sunglasses for Easter. They looked so cute, so we took their picture, and it's one of my favorite family pictures! My son looked SO CUTE in his hat and sunglasses!
By Marie from Idaho Falls, ID
Candy Sharing
If you only have a few Easter baskets to make, you either end up with a lot of leftover candy or your baskets don't have a good variety. To fix this, ask a friend if they are interested in "candy sharing." You each buy a few bags of easter candy and make your baskets. Then comes the fun part - trade the half-full bags of candy with your friend. That way each family gets a wider variety of candy and no one ends up with too many duplicates.By Martha from Metairie, LA
Reuse Easter Supplies from Last Year
The key to this tip is storage. I place all my items in a plastic tote so I can find them NEXT year. We have an egg hunt every year for ALL the kids in the family (there are 6 children and 5 grandchildren.) My sister and I each do eggs as does Grandma. We have 3 separate egg hunts so we can extend the FUN and keep our eggs sorted to assure we get them back to re-fill next year. To make it easier each child is given a COLOR of eggs to find. This eliminated writing names on the eggs. We ALWAYS get our eggs back to reuse the next year.For the "BIG Kids" I do a small basket with items I purchased after Easter last year (this year's basket includes some FRESH Candy, a chick/egg salt and pepper shaker and a chick that lays jelly bean eggs, a Nerf football, note pad,etc.)
For the little kids, I search all year long for items post HOLIDAY. I am including lip gloss, watches and some EASTER books purchased at the 1/2 price day at our church's kids consignment sale. Target occasionally offers items in it's dollar shop which have been marked down to 25 cents. I have picked up Tweety bird totes, coloring books, playing cards, hair decorations, etc. I've glued decorative buttons on sunglasses for an Easter theme (Jesse James buttons and E-6000 glue). They are darling! You can make seasonal earrings or pins by gluing hardware to the back of buttons or resin items purchased from the craft store. Place these on your own Business Card or make one stating this is from the BUNNY BOUTIQUE.
Clean out your jewelry box and give away the unused seasonal items you haven't worn in years!
I also go to the Outlet Mall during Spring Break and stock up at the Paper Factory for seasonal items. Valentine heart shaped playing cards appeal to the girls as do Racing themed items for the boys. Think outside the season.
I redeemed my receipts at an outlet mall one year and got FREE stuffed bunny Rabbits. I supplemented these with POST holiday purchases and every child will get a BIG plush bunny this year. Their eggs will have a puzzle piece in it-fit it together and redeem for the prize. I'll make the puzzle out of card stock - a decorative clip art egg cut into 3 pieces, one piece in 3 different plastic eggs.
Purchase ring post, individually packaged chips or cookies that can be taken in the lunch box extend the holiday in to the next week.
For items too large to place in an egg we have a ticket made on the computer that says "Redeem for a prize" We recycle these too! My sister always has a pinata too!
For the best RECYCLING idea: We also hunt for the RADIO-ACTIVE bunny and the kids LOVE this part the best. The bunny is a chocolate bunny from 1991 that graced my husbands basket and he NEVER ate it. We finally shrink wrapped it. There is always a prize for who finds this (usually an 8 pack of Reese eggs or marshmallow bunnies-so they can share). The radio active bunny is 17 this year and still going...
We have a potluck and have so may great photos and memories. the big kids NEVER want to miss the egg hunt and several are married! Happy Easter! Remember the reason we celebrate it!
Editor's Note: For more thrifty ideas, check out this post from last year. Happy Easter!
Feel free to post your ideas below!
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