Easter brunch, Easter egg hunts and fun Easter baskets don’t have to cost a fortune.  Frugal Easter celebrations are an art, and you’ll get better and better at keeping the costs down without losing the magic each year.  We’ve written some other Easter articles you might find helpful too:

• Frugal Easter Baskets
• Easter Menu: 41 Mouth Watering Easter Brunch Recipes
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart

(As you can see from the pictures of me holding the egg carton and of my daughter, London Ice, Easter egg hunts here in Alaska are a little different!)

How to Keep Easter Frugally Fun:

Tip #1: Combine Your Celebrations

Our very large extended family all gets together at one house, making for a frugal Easter for all of us. Whoever is hosting the festivities sends out an email sign-up sheet for food ahead of time, and in a potluck sort of way, an entire meal materializes for everyone attending. The kids get to play together, the adults get to socialize, and nobody spends a lot to put on a full-fledged, plated meal at their house. Is your family out-of-state? Try getting together with a few families from church or your neighborhood.

Tip #2: Keep Your Frugal Easter Celebration Early in the Day

Going to church in the morning? Try to have your celebration soon after. The earlier in the day your event, the less expensive your food options become. Few people expect a sit-down meal in the afternoon, and simple, inexpensive foods such as deviled eggs and finger sandwiches can make an appealing and frugal lunch spread. These foods will probably score higher with the kids anyway!

Tip #3: Reuse and Reduce (Your Spending)

Every year I grudgingly pull every bit of plastic Easter grass out of the baskets once all the goodies have been plucked from within. It gets packed in plastic bags (grocery or zipper bags work great) and put into the storage box labeled “Easter.” Don’t forget to throw in your Easter décor, little plastic bobbles from abandoned Easter goody bags, stickers, coloring books, and of course the empty wicker baskets. Just as easy as that, your materials for making Easter baskets for next year are ready – just add candy, eggs and presents from the Easter Bunny!  The extra work now to pack it away neatly makes it easy to make frugal Easter baskets next year.

Tip #4: Plan Ahead

Plan a year ahead, to be exact! The day after (or in some stores, Easter day)  clearance sales are the way to go for getting your Easter supplies.  Check your mass retailers, grocery stores, craft stores and party supply stores for terrific clearance events on Easter items. Keep your head, though. Greatly reduced prices can make us overspend; look specifically for the items you know you will use, such as serving dishes, Easter basket supplies, etc.  Make sure you leave a little in the budget to update your Easter décor as well.

With a little advance planning and a great system for managing your stored holiday items, everyone can keep their Easter frugally fun!

This article was originally published March 12th, 2008.  Photos ©Homemaker Barbi.

Related Articles:

• Frugal Easter Baskets
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart
• Sometimes Expensive Can Be Frugal After All
• Save Money and Paper with Gift Tags for Kids
• Poll Results: Is Splitting Kids’ Meals at Restaurants Okay?

It’s Time for Easter Brunch!

Just in time for Easter, we’ve prepared a complete selection of 41 printable Easter recipes to choose from to create your full Easter menu.  Our Easter recipes include appetizers, main courses, drinks, salads, quiches, and desserts perfect for Easter brunch.  This collection includes favorite Easter recipes from Martha Stewart, Pillsbury, and Betty Crocker.

Enjoy putting together your Easter brunch from this fabulous collection, and feel free to leave links to your favorite Easter brunch recipes in the comments. Happy Easter from the team at Homemaker Barbi!

Appetizers

• Easy Crescent Danish Rolls recipe  
• Sunny Morning Star Biscuit Soufflés recipe 
• Bacon-Cheese Pull-Aparts recipe
• Creamy Apple Puffs recipe
• Upside-Down Caramel-Apple Biscuits recipe
• Mascarpone-Filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls recipe
• Cinnamon-Pecan Pull Apart recipe
• Cranberry Orange-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls recipe
• Ham, Spinach and Cheese Strata recipe
• Raspberry French Toast Bake recipe
• Tropical Prosciutto Bites recipe
• Streusel-Topped Pretzel Twists recipe
• Deviled Eggs recipe
• Parmesan-Black Pepper Breadsticks recipe 

Main Courses by Martha Stewart

• Marmalade-Glazed Ham recipe  
• Layered Spring Omelet recipe
• Glazed Ham with Apricot-Mustard Sauce recipe
• Baked Easter Ham recipe
• Easter Pizza Piena recipe
• Roast Rack of Lamb with Mint recipe
• Lucinda’s Spinach-and-Ham Pie recipe

Drinks

• Sunrise Mimosas recipe (alcoholic)
• Mimosas recipe (alcoholic)
• Raspberry Punch recipe -crowd size (non-alcoholic)
• Banana-Orange Sunrise recipe (non-alcoholic)
• Lemon Tea Slush recipe (alcoholic)
• Cranberry Limeade recipe (non-alcoholic) 

Salads

• Smoked Turkey Salad with Strawberries recipe
• Easter Salad recipe
• Apricot Salsa Grilled Chicken Salad recipe
• Frisee and Baby-Spinach Salad recipe

Quiches

• Bacon Quiche Biscuit Cups recipe 
• Spinach and Gruyere Quiches recipe from Martha Stewart
• Breakfast Quiches to Go recipe
• Broccoli, Potato and Bacon Quiche recipe

Desserts

• Gooey Chocolate-Cinnamon Pull-Aparts recipe
• Ricotta Cake recipe
• White Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries recipe
• Spring Cupcakes with Sugared Flowers recipe
• Ultimate Chocolate-Cappuccino Cookie Cups recipe
• Lemon Dream Tassies recipe

If you liked this list of printable Easter brunch recipes, please link to it on your blog or tweet about it at twitter by clicking here.  Thank you!  Quiche photo by yoppy.  Ham photo by Allerina & Glen MacLarty.

Related Articles:

• Take and Make Menu Plan: Easter Leftovers Recipes
• Take and Make Menu Plan: Spring Recipes
• Take and Make Menu Plan: Recession Recipes
• Take and Make Menu Plan: Recession Beans Recipes
• Take & Make Menu Plan: Ragin’ Cajun Recipes

This sign appeared in my local Walmart in Fairbanks, Alaska a few days ago about free pictures with the Easter bunny.

In my local store, it looks like there will be an Easter egg hunt and free pictures with the Easter bunny on Sunday, April 5th from 10am to 2pm.  This doesn’t mean all Walmart stores will be the same though.

When we get a link with more information, we’ll update this post.  In the meantime, please call your local Walmart store to find out if they are also having free pictures with the Easter bunny and/or an Easter egg hunt, and ask them what day and time, just in case not all stores are participating at the same time.  

Please post your local Walmart Easter bunny photos days/times in the comments below when you find out.  Thank you!

Bunny photo by Lin Pernille ♥ Photography.

Related Articles:

• Load Up on Freebies and Free Samples!
• Keep Your Frugal Easter Fun and Budget Friendly!
• Happy Easter!
• Frugal Easter Baskets
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart

Related Articles:

• Keep Your Frugal Easter Fun and Budget Friendly!
• Frugal Easter Baskets
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart 2009
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart
• Watercooler: Michael Jackson Tribute & 4th of July

The supplies:
· Easter grass x 2 bags = $2.00
· Plastic Easter eggs 48pk =$1.68
· 2 wicker baskets = $0.00
· Jelly beans (in eggs)= $ .50
· Chocolate bunny = $ .94
· Easter jump rope = $1.00
· Mini pastel bibles x2 = $4.94
· Pennies (inside eggs) = $ .14
· Bunny = $0.00

Total cost of supplies for 2 Easter baskets = $11.20. That means each basket cost just $5.60!

Related Articles:

• Keep Your Frugal Easter Fun and Budget Friendly!
• Free Pictures with the Easter Bunny at Walmart
• Save Money and Paper with Gift Tags for Kids
• Poll Results: Is Splitting Kids’ Meals at Restaurants Okay?
• How to Make Frozen Grapes