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: Request : From 3/17/2000
I am curious if anyone has any thrifty Easter ideas. For
baskets, presents, meals, games for kids, crafts, etc. Any ideas
would be appreciated.
Linda
: Answer :
When my kids were younger, for Easter morning, we liked to fill
and hide those colored plastic eggs that you can take apart, (we
reused them year after year), and fill them with inexpensive
Easter candy bought in the bulk food section of the grocery
store. We also put coins or VERY SMALL gifts in them, like little
erasers that look like animals (bunnies are nice!), or those
fuzzy little yellow chenille chicks. I think even a "coupon" or
"gift certificate" for a later treat, such as an outing for ice
cream cones, or a trip to a park to fly kites would be a nice
idea, too.
We used the same Easter baskets and Easter grass over year after
year, and did not buy the expensive, highly-decorated Easter
chocolates (the ones that look pretty but don't always taste so
good). We mostly bought bulk candy/chocolates to put in the
Easter baskets. We also tried to put something other than candy
in the baskets -- usually new inexpensive kites and string, or
maybe balsa wood airplanes, to encourage the kids to go outside
and enjoy the day.
Ness
: Answer :
When my son was in Kindergarten (many moons ago) several of us
would meet at the school and make Easter baskets out of gallon
bleach bottles. Draw an outline of a bunny face, including the
ears, on the front of a clean. bleach bottle. Then take scissors
or a craft knife and cut out the ears and around to the back of
the bottle, leaving the handle for the basket handle. Use markers
or paint to paint the face and inside the ears. These turned out
really cute.
When I was young, my mother had an Easter party for my brother's
birthday. Instead of the conventional Easter egg hunt she came
up with the idea of a treasure hunt. She hid small prizes in the
plastic eggs as well as regular dyed eggs and some that were
marked for special prizes. She provided each child with a
different "map" that included riddles of where the special eggs
were hid. This way each child would find the same amount of eggs.
It was a lot of fun. We also played pin the cotton ball tail on a
bunny.
And finally...when my son was young he was as much a fisherman
then as he is now, so one year I filled a tackle box with the
conventional Easter grass and included fishing tackle and gear in
it instead of all the candy and bunnies. I think you could do
something similar using other things that might interest the
child. I can imagine filling a sewing basket with the items for a
young girl to learn to sew or some other craft. Or a makeup box
filled with toiletries and makeup for a teenage girl. And a
bucket filled with car washing supplies for a teenage boy who has
his own car or for your husband. Or a file crate filled with
books or games.
Hope this helps.
Ann
: Answer :
Saving on Easter Baskets: Go to any thrift store and purchase
Easter Baskets very cheap, then go to the Dollar Store or any
Walgreen store and purchase the candy much cheaper. Also these
places have the grass that you can put into the basket and
stuffed animals. You can go to yard sales, garage sales, moving
sales and church rummage sales. Most of these places have new
stuffed animals for Easter and Christmas, I have purchase new
stuffed animals that I give away to the kids that I work with.
The also have the Easter Eggs, that you can purchase and put
candy inside of them. Just check out your Goodwill and Salvation
Army Stores or any thrift shop.
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