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Creatively Frugal
Easter Baskets
Tell us how you save money as you put
together
Easter baskets for your children.
"Our
church has a huge Easter egg hunt, and there are so many
eggs (and so few children) that the baskets are always
overflowing and sometimes eggs are left behind. So keeping
it simple at home is easy. We reuse the same baskets each
year. One was given to me with a plant when I gave birth to
one of the children, and the other is so old, I don’t even
remember where we came by it. But since they are used just
that one time a year and packed up, they still look nice.
Into the basket goes an inexpensive chocolate bunny, and one
or two 'practical items' - which could include a package of
new pencils, socks with bunnies on them, etc. We have
limited baskets to this since the children were tiny, so
there have never been any other expectations.
" ~ Angela
"I go to the Dollar Store and buy small Christian books
and a stuffed animal for the baskets. I also buy
little things like Matchbox cars, and I always try to
include something healthy, like a new toothbrush and
toothpaste. I try to stay away from candy, so instead
fill the plastic eggs with little trinkets and loose pocket
change." ~ Beth
"This
is not so much about baskets, but at our Church every year,
I do a special Easter memory, which changes annually.
This year I will be using flat white
stones and writing on them, 'He still moves stones.' The
basic cost is for the pebbles, obtained at a local
hardware/garden shop, and a metallic gel pen with gold ink."
~ Leonie
"After Easter I pick up a few sale items for next
year. I reserve the Easter grass to use again each year. I
put bulk Easter candies in the plastic eggs that can be
refilled too! With the goodies, I like to put in a
book that I've picked up on sale. I like it to have an
Easter themed book but this is often difficult. I
either look for spring-themed books or something that
focuses on Christian values. Finally, when my boys
were babies, they were given several stuffed bunnies,
chicks and ducks. I only bring these out at Easter.
Although it's not part of their basket, they sure like
having them around again. It's different and brings a
sense of nostalgia." ~ Christine, Edmonton, Canada
"I was at Walmart six
weeks ago and found a lot of miscellaneous candy and small
packages of cookies on clearance. Items were mostly 25
cents. I bought those types of things for my three
children's Easter baskets for this year. They will get a
small chocolate rabbit and a few things from the
Dollar Tree. I spent about $7 per basket but the baskets
will be really full and look nice." ~ Tonya
"I always tried to use something other than a basket to put
the candy and little trinkets in. You can use sand pails, lunch
boxes, back of a toy truck, any kind of hat, purse, small
wastebasket for a bedroom, etc. This year I bought adorable hats
for my granddaughters at Target for $1 each. If you want to use a
basket, pick them up at yard sales throughout the year for 25
cents." ~ Jan
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"I usually put items in Easter
baskets that I would buy for my kids anyway such as swimsuits and flip
flops, summer pajamas, or underwear. I also go to a store (such as Wal-mart)
in the days following Easter to get some Easter bunnies and toys at a
big discount for next Easter. Also, I try to watch the sale
ads from our local Christian bookstore so I can find a book
or video about the real meaning of Easter to include in our baskets.
Finally, I stock up all year on little things that I find on sale."
~ Jamie, Louisiana
"I buy Valentine candy when it
goes on clearance for 50%, 75%, or, my favorite, 90% off. There are
lots of individually wrapped 'fun-size' items to choose from, some of
which aren't decorated for Valentine's Day, for those of us who are
still keeping the Easter Bunny secret (my kids would totally know it
was me if it looked clearance-y!) Also, if you have a box for storage,
you can buy non-candy Easter items such as stickers, small toys,
bubbles, etc. on clearance this year for next year's use." ~
Crista
"When my kids were still into the
Easter Basket thing, I decided to trim down the waste and cost as much
as possible. I bought some very nice baskets from the local dollar
store, used primer and painted them white, then used craft paint
to make them festive and individualized for the kids. Then I would get candy
for the basket, I would also get crayons, markers and such to fill the
basket, and limited the candy to a chocolate cross or bunny, jelly
beans, and one other item for each. For the 'grass', I had
colored raffia that I had found at a discount craft store. After
Easter, the grass was put in a ziplock, the basket in a bag, and
everything went in the attic for next year. The boys still remember
those baskets and whose was whose!" ~ Amy
"I just went to our local discount stores and purchased the
following all for under a $1.50: a large bottle of bubbles (we will
keep the container and make our own for the summer after we are done
using it), water balloons, squirt gun, silly string (my son loves
this), a huge sand bucket and my cards. So what I have really
done is bought his summer fun stuff that he always loves to play
with when the weather turns warm. Our family will all play together.
Where I really spend the money is the
professional Easter pictures!" ~ Tracy in AR
Editor's Note: Thanks to these readers for taking time to share
their ideas!
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