What is your Easter budget?

[cristina47454]

Just bought my easter egg coloring kit...and started to realize it's time to start think about the baskets. I have three dds, 9,7,and 2.  Not crazy about all the candy (although it's cheap)...what's your budget?

[mommariffic]

I'd say $35 for everything?

I am going to use play silks instead of grass this year (we were going to make grass but haven't yet so I'm nixing it) and we are going to dye our own eggs using beets and whatever else I have written down from Kiwi this issue. I plan on getting DS a little felted rabbit and that's really it because he's way too little --- maybe a ball? DD will get crystals, and some gardening tools. 

[ArtsyMomma]

I have 4 littles, ages 1-8. I'm going to try to limit all Easter spending to $50. They are just getting things like bubbles, sidewalk chalk, kites, new book, some candy. We don't really celebrate Easter, so it's not a big holiday here. I will set up a treasure hunt with clues to make it a bit more fun.

[Drummer's Wife]

I don't know.  Not much, I'm sure.  I'll buy candy, plastic eggs, dye, and baskets.  Though, for four kids I guess it always adds up.  Brunch will come out of our regular food budget, so I don't count that. 

[zebra15]

Hummmm. IDK.... DS needs new swimtrunks so $25 for those (he is hard to fit and GAP works well for him).  Some candy, some more candy that I like- LOL-     Hoping to keep it under $50.00 cuz I want GOOD candy!

[mama to B]

I spent about 110 on her basket, and bought her a trampoline that she got a bit early. I may be getting her a new trike as well. All of the costs are suppose to be split with her dad but I paid for it all already.

[BrennaRawks]

I'm not doing a basket for DD this year (she's 5 months old) but for my 2 DS? I'm hoping to keep it under $25. So far, so good. I bought them some little candies and some natural fruit snacks already. I figure getting a few cheapy toys to round it out will work.

They get so much junk from my mom and my in-laws anyway. What kid needs 5 baskets?!

[woodchick]

Our Easter budget is Zero.  Our girls will have plenty of candy from well meaning folks at Church and Grandparents, I'm sure.  We already have eggs on the grocery list and will *maybe* get a cheapo pack of dye, but we'll see.  Grandparents sent pretty dresses and their church shoes will do just fine.

Easter is not a gift giving holiday in our house, so that helps keep things simple and inexpensive!

[ChristyMarie]

I think I spent about $20.

Sand bucket for a basket.

2 small toys.

Package of  and yarn for making necklaces

Package of small chocolate bunnies

Package of small snickers eggs

Obligatory colored grass  ;-)

Egg dye

I still need to buy the eggs but that isn't very expensive.

[iowaorganic]

Wow!  We are pretty boring here.  One year I bought them each a baby duck- which was actually I guess in the Christmas budget since it turned in to Christmas dinner.  I would like to give them each a lamb this year which would in turn mow the yard.  I think I am super cheap.

My kids just don't need anything.  One gma will get them a basket of candy, the other is getting them each a pair of boots, thier aunt will give them a goody basket.  So what is left for us to get them?  We like to give them the gift of life with a new pet that is practical at least. 

eta- I really like the idea of a trampoline though- not really in the budget- but they would have a lot of fun on that.  I might have to look into that.

[cristina47454]

Originally Posted by iowaorganic 

Wow!  We are pretty boring here.  One year I bought them each a baby duck- which was actually I guess in the Christmas budget since it turned in to Christmas dinner.  I would like to give them each a lamb this year which would in turn mow the yard.  I think I am super cheap.

That made me laugh. No way I could get away with that. If I tried to serve up the pet duck for dinner there would be protestations all around. Reminds me of that pbs pioneering realty show where the family raised a pig and when it came to slaughter it for the festival the kid was bereft. Bunch of softies in my house, and I am probably the worst offender!

Easter is more of a religious holiday for us, but the Easter Bunny/Basket crept in somehow when my eldest was a toddler and it's just stuck around. It was fine the first couple of times, but at this point, I'm sick of all the JUNK I end up buying that ends up in the trash.  Much like Christmas stockings with lipgloss and socks...how much of that stuff does a kid need? A couple of years worth of easter baskets and our jumprope/bubbles/sidewalk chalk supply is overloaded! Maybe I'll do some gardening related stuff.  Really trying not to spend a lot of money, but with a multiplier of three, it adds up quickly! Thankfully we are no longer in a place where $15 would break the budget, but I still want to be careful...

[JesKace]

The past few years I've gone all out and bought a ton of stuff for the kids, probably spending well over $150.  They usually get way more candy than they need, goodies like play doh and cheap little toys that just end up getting thrown away, and usually an outfit or a few new shirts.  This year I bought them some new clothes with the intention of putting them in their baskets, but the box of clothes sat in my room so long the kids kept asking what was in it and they really needed the clothes sooner than later so I just added them into their wardrobe.

I don't bother to get them fancy clothes since we don't go to church, and really don't have a use for dressy clothes just for one afternoon :)

I think we're going to go minimal this year on the baskets.  I'll just be getting home from the hospital from having baby #4 on either Wed or Thurs so things are going to be a little hectic around here.  I would like to try to make baskets with the kids this year using homemade paper mache and papers that I have shredded.  Then the kids can paint them once they dry.  I got a few different kinds of candy for like $15 and I'll split it up between the 3 of them.  The baby will get a special stuffed animal (they have all got one for their first Easter).  We'll color eggs, we do that every year.  Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can play outside and have a nice family day!

[Knittin' in the Shade]

we don't do the easter bunny or baskets, so the only expenses are new white shirts for each of the boys (and I'm making them bowties) for church, and then food for Easter brunch.

[mylilmonkeys]

We usually end up spending around $100, for six kids.  We'll probably spend more this year, since I need to get new shoes for everyone, dressy clothes for most of the boys and easter dresses for the girls.  Our twins will be baptized Easter morning. :D

[JudiAU]

NO JUNK!!!!

We try and minimize our waste so I bought reusuable buckets a few years ago. They aren't big enough so I'll sew a gift bag that can be resused next year. Each kid is getting 2 books, one art thing, one small nice quality chocolate thing, one nice toy, one little toy, and two basket stuffers. =) I love holidays

[weliveintheforest]

I'm planning to spend about 20 bucks on good chocolate and some fruit juice jelly beans. 

[TiredX2]

It's hard for me to count.

Each kid is getting a track jacket in their Easter basket.  So, about $50, but it's something they need for spring anyway so $0 from "gifts."

The rest is just random candy, so well under $20, probably closer to $10.  I'm considering putting goggles in again, but it's pretty irritating to keep replacing them each year.

I haven't decided if the two chocolate covered bunnies are going in their baskets or my belly.

[A&A]

I have two kids....they are each getting a book, a little candy, and a few other small things.

[redvlagrl]

Originally Posted by weliveintheforest 

I'm planning to spend about 20 bucks on good chocolate and some fruit juice jelly beans. 

This. I am not familiar with gift giving at Easter and we are Atheists so we don't have to buy church clothes. This is the first year DD will have chocolate. I will buy some, do a little hunt inside and then she can eat it when she wants.

[Ruthiegirl]

Maybe 20 bucks for 3 kids -- chocolate bunny, some paper to make cards, eggs to dye.  No religious belief here, so it is a small "Yeah, it's Spring" kind of day for us.