How to Decorate for Easter on a Budget

Pastel bunny windsocks. Inflatable 4-foot-tall rabbits on the front lawn. Chick and egg window decals. Dyed eggs. Decorated baskets loaded with goodies. Before you know it, your budget for Easter decorations can match---or even surpass---the amount you spend on Christmas presents.
With a little planning and some homemade arts and crafts, your house and even your yard can be readied for the Easter holiday season without breaking the bank. If you have children, you're in luck: With their help, you can create lifelong holiday memories, make some great decorations, and save money, all at the same time.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Food coloring Apple cider vinegar Eggs Paint Yarn Budding branch Vase Pebbles or marbles Waterproof storage bins

1. Time your purchases. It may be too late for this year, but stores tend to put their leftover Easter decorations on sale immediately after Easter. Check out your local craft store (like Hobby Lobby or Michaels) or even Wal-Mart a day or two after Easter. Stores will offer a 50 to 90 percent discount on holiday items---and the savings increase as the holiday gets further away.

2. Make your own Easter egg dye. A four-pack of liquid food coloring (red, yellow, blue and green), a large bottle of apple cider vinegar, and boiling water is, in the long run, much cheaper than buying the prepackaged dye sheets, especially since the food coloring and vinegar can be used in other cooking projects throughout the year. You can also create any dye color you want, rather than having to stick to the prepackaged choices.
   Take out as many large mugs as you want colors. For pastel colors, add a tablespoon of vinegar per mug. For dark colors, use 1/3 cup of vinegar per mug. Add the food coloring (more food coloring will make more intense colors), and top it off with boiling water.

3. Create eggs that last. Take raw eggs, poke a small hole in each end, and blow the yolk and white into a bowl. (Plan on making an omelet for dinner afterward.) Carefully rinse out the hollow eggs, allow them to dry, and dye as usual. Paint, or have your kids paint, flowers, bunnies, chicks and other Easter icons on the eggs. Thread some colored yarn through the holes, and hang the painted eggs on a budding tree branch.

4. Make an Easter egg tree. A branch with many twigs, cut from a tree or bush in bloom (such as pussy willow or forsythia), makes a great Easter tree. Secure it in a vase with pebbles or glass marbles, add water, and hang your homemade hollow painted eggs on it. Add a few eggs every year until you have a keepsake collection that will last for years.

5. Store your decorations safely. Invest in a few good rubber storage containers with lids that snap on tightly. Store your decorations inside, safe from humidity and wear and tear, and reuse next year.

Tips & Warnings

• Make your own Easter basket treats for the children in your family. With a few tried-and-true family cookie and candy recipes, there's no need to buy expensive prepackaged candies to fill the kids' Easter baskets.